Children's home run by Sussex Children’s Care Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2664249 1 Registered provider: Sussex Children’s Care Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The privately owned home provides care for up to two children who experience social and emotional difficulties. There were two children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since December 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

In this report, the staff are referred to as ‘adults’, as this is the term which is used in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2664249 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/03/2024 Full Good 27/09/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: 2664249 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress because they are looked after by adults who care deeply about them and have high aspirations for what they can achieve. Adults speak very proudly about the progress children have made from their starting points. Children’s successes are celebrated and regularly discussed with them. As a result, children understand their own achievements and can confidently talk about them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are important to adults and are central to all decisions about the way they are looked after, changes to the home environment and meal and activity planning. Children also make good use of ‘feelings books’. They find it helpful to write down how they are feeling and feel comfortable to share this with adults. Consequently, children know that their voices will be heard, including when they are talking about things that they find difficult.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s relationships with each other are generally very positive. During the inspection, they enjoyed some lively singing and dancing to music together and there was much laughter. There are times when the children struggle to live together harmoniously, and so planned activities need to change. Adults are proactive and always have an alternative plan than allows children to spend individual time with adults if necessary.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress with attendance and achievement in education. Adults work closely with staff at children’s schools to support children’s learning. Adults help children with their homework and read with them in the evenings. The deputy headteacher from one child’s school said, ‘Staff are always very professional and have excellent communications with us. The child appears to have formed a close bond with all staff and she responds well to them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Adults are fully informed about the therapeutic model that is at the centre of the home’s ethos and is deeply embedded in practice. Adults are attentive and familiar with the children’s needs, and interactions between children and adults are warm and nurturing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Adults build and maintain positive relationships with children, and this supports children to feel comfortable to talk about their early life experiences. However, one adult said they lacked confidence about how best to support children when they talk about past traumatic events in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager recognises that one child would benefit from life-story work to help them to understand their developing sense of identity. They have requested that the child’s social worker carries out this work with the child. In the meantime, there have been missed opportunities for adults to engage the child in meaningful discussions about their heritage and identity. Inspection report for children's home: 2664249 4

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

Adults know the children well and so they understand how to manage their known risks. In one example, a child has completed work on the Green Cross Code to improve their road safety awareness. Children’s plans clearly describe how to keep them safe.

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

Positive behaviour is noticed and rewarded. Adults are adept at providing additional support when children are struggling. When behavioural incidents occur, adults make good use of de-escalation techniques and strategies to help children to find other ways of expressing how they are feeling. As a result, the frequency of behavioural incidents is decreasing and there has been only one incident of physical restraint since the last inspection.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. There is a robust response from adults to ensure that children return safely when they go missing. When children return to the home, the registered manager talks to children about the reason why they left and suggests safer ways of letting adults know if they are unhappy about something. Adults also make sure that children have an opportunity to speak to an external professional, which contributes to children’s safety and sense of security.

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

Since the last inspection, one child has made an allegation about an adult in the home. Managers did not recognise the allegation as such, and therefore did not put any safety plans in place. Additionally, managers did not discuss the allegation with the local authority designated officer (LADO) or report it to Ofsted. Consequently, there was no independent scrutiny of the managers’ response to the allegation. This shortfall did not have a negative impact on the children’s safety and well-being on this occasion.

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

Recruitment files for adults do not fully demonstrate safe recruitment practice. In the case of one adult who has been recruited since the last inspection, managers did not explore their reasons for leaving a previous position involving work with children and vulnerable adults. This fails to ensure an important level of scrutiny regarding their conduct and performance in previous relevant roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate in his efforts to be a trusted figure for the children, and he has high aspirations for what children can achieve. This makes the manager a good role model for the adults. He has a sound understanding of children’s strengths and vulnerabilities and is committed to ensuring that they receive good-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Adults speak highly about the support that they receive from the registered manager and the responsible individual. They say that leaders listen and act when they talk to them about ideas and concerns. For example, when some were worried about lone working with children, the responsible individual arranged for the LADO to deliver bespoke training. This has improved adults’ confidence in relation to lone working. Inspection report for children's home: 2664249 5 The registered manager or deputy manager review all the daily records that adults complete on the home’s electronic recording system. As a result of this monitoring and oversight, the managers have a well-rounded view of the progress children are making and the quality of care they are receiving from adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Good management of health and safety matters means that the physical environment is safe and secure. The responsible individual has a comprehensive action plan for improvements that will be made to the home, with the intention of enhancing children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that adults receive training that equips them to meet the needs of the children they are looking after. Managers have access to external therapists who they can contact if they need advice about supporting children who are facing specific difficulties.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children speak to adults or managers if they are unhappy about any aspect of their care. However, they are not provided with information about who to contact outside the home if they are worried about the response that they receive. This has the potential to prevent children from raising concerns and accessing the right support. Inspection report for children's home: 2664249 6

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to making sure that all adults have the skills, knowledge and confidence they need to respond appropriately when children discuss past traumatic events in their lives.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, managers should ensure that external safeguarding professionals are consulted when children make allegations about staff. 31 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d)) 31 January 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2664249 7 In particular, the registered person must seek to verify candidates’ reasons for leaving all previous roles involving work with children or vulnerable adults.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children can take up issues or make a complaint. Children must be aware of this procedure and be reminded of it as necessary. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13)  The registered person should ensure that the importance of understanding who we are and where we come from is recognised, for example, through undertaking life- story work or other direct work. Staff in children’s homes should play a full role in work of this kind. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.14)

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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: 2664249 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sussex Children’s Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 74 Brodrick Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex BN22 9NS

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Inspector

Louise Webling, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2664249 9 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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