Children's Home run by Crusoe Care Limited 06843979 in East Sussex

Inspection report for children's home: SC484302 1 SC484302 Registered provider: Crusoe Care Limited 06843979

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for up to two children with social, emotional and mental health difficulties. It is owned and run by a private organisation. At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since April 2015 and is suitably experienced.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 21 September 2023

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC484302 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/09/2023 Full Good 13/12/2022 Full Good 25/05/2021 Full Good 19/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC484302 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care. They have warm, caring relationships with staff that are helping them to make good progress. Staff are guided to deliver this care by clear and well-written plans that focus on the individual needs of each child. Staff competently support children to engage with routine health appointments and help them to live healthier lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children come to live in the home, this is managed with great care and planning, to make sure that children have positive experiences. One child had an extensive transition plan that was appropriate to their needs and understanding. Staff got to know the child well through this process and this helped the child to have a positive experience of moving in and to settle well.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making great progress in relation to their individual starting points. Staff understand children’s needs and any potential barriers to their progress. They provide well-informed care and support to help children to become more independent and safer. One child is now able to have time unsupervised in the community and to have greater control of their own finances.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of children’s education. They have high expectations for children to engage with and enjoy their education. As a result, they work very closely with education teams and the local authority to ensure that children have the support that they need to be successful. Children speak proudly of their efforts. One child was able to talk confidently and knowledgably about what they had learned about animal care. Another child who has historically struggled with school attendance is now attending every day.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to develop and maintain positive friendships. They enjoy spending time with friends, having fun and doing activities that interest them. One child attends a local youth club and has started spending time in the community playing with friends. This is a significant step for them. Children are also supported to have meaningful time with their family. This is managed in a sensitive way to ensure that children are safe and well cared for. As a result of the efforts made, one child has been able to spend more time with their brothers and sisters.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are important to staff. Staff are skilled at using opportunities to listen to children and take action when this is appropriate. As a result, children’s bedrooms are suited to their own tastes and interests, and they enjoy a wide range of activities that broaden their opportunities in the community. Inspection report for children's home: SC484302 4

p.3

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children feel settled in the home. They like living there and as a result there have been no episodes of them going missing. When children have left the house without permission, this has been because of imaginative play, and staff have been able to deal with this creatively, helping children to return to the home quickly and safely.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

When children feel distressed, staff respond in a caring and supportive way. They have a good understanding of children’s needs, which means that they are often able to manage incidents without the need to use restraint, instead skilfully using distraction and appropriate humour to help children to calm. When restraint is used, it is only for a short period of time to enable staff to keep the child and others safe. Records of these incidents are clear, however, some do not adequately demonstrate that children and staff have had the opportunity to talk through incidents to reflect and learn.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff have a good understanding of children’s individual vulnerabilities and risks. They are guided by risk assessments that are clear and proportionate. These are usually reviewed frequently to reflect the changing needs of children, however, on one occasion this did not happen. The child was not at risk of any harm because of this oversight, as staff had taken appropriate action to manage the risk.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Some staff are not always confident in articulating their understanding of safeguarding processes in the home. However, in practice, when concerns arise regarding children’s welfare, effective action is taken to ensure that children are safe. Managers work closely with social workers to ensure that information is shared and that any risks are managed appropriately.

p.4

How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The manager has no written assessment in place to identify potential risks relating to the location of the home. In practice, children are accessing the local community safely and staff know the area well.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and some of the weaknesses, though was unaware of some of the identified shortfalls. The manager is not ensuring that monitoring processes offer effective oversight of the home and enable them to improve on practice. For example, the manager continues to fail to provide timely quality of care reports, despite this being identified at the previous inspection.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff benefit from a range of training that helps them to feel more confident in their roles. The training is varied and any additional training specific to children’s individual needs is arranged by managers. However, one member of staff had not completed safeguarding training, which means they are not familiar with some aspects of the safeguarding arrangements.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers continue to recruit staff who have the right values and attitudes to care for children. However, vetting processes are not always appropriate and new staff have been Inspection report for children's home: SC484302 5 allowed to start employment before all relevant checks have been undertaken. There were no additional safeguards in place to reduce the potential risks of unchecked staff having access to children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff speak positively about the supportive environment in the home. They have good relationships with managers and feel confident in raising concerns. Staff benefit from regular supervisions where they have an opportunity to reflect on their practice. In addition, they receive appraisals that help to monitor their performance and set appropriate targets for the coming year. Staff speak positively about how these processes have improved recently.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers have effective relationships with other professionals, and they work collaboratively to ensure that children receive the support that they need. One social worker reported that staff keep them well informed about their child. Inspection report for children's home: SC484302 6

p.5

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(h))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff receive timely information regarding safeguarding processes in the home. In addition, the registered person must ensure that they establish and use monitoring systems that allow them to have effective oversight of the home. 22 November 2024

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete;

p.6

Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2; 22 November 2024 Inspection report for children's home: SC484302 7 the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person. (Regulation 32 (7)(a)(b)(c)(d))

p.7

Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

p.7

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 22 November 2024

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality-of-care review") at least once every 6 months. (Regulation 45 (1)) 22 November 2024

p.7

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is suitably located so that children are effectively safeguarded and, under regulation 46, the registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1) Inspection report for children's home: SC484302 8

p.7

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children's home: SC484302 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Crusoe Care Limited 06843979

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Crusoe Care Limited, 25 Clinton Place, Seaford, East Sussex BN25 1NP

p.9

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Timothy McIlwaine

p.9

Inspectors

Jay Shekleton, Social Care Inspector Georgia Carty, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC484302 10 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.9

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10