Children's Home run by Davis Homes Ltd in West Sussex

Inspection report for children’s home: 2779773 1 Registered provider: Davis Homes Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first inspection since its registration with Ofsted and is currently the organisation’s only registered children’s home. The home provides care for up to two children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were no children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since January 2024.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2779773 2

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improvement to be good

The home has been judged requires improvement overall mainly due to inconsistencies in the leadership and management of the home, which have led to ineffective support for staff and a lack of clear oversight of the quality of care provided to children. Since the home’s registration, one child lived at the home for three months. There were no children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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improvement to be good

The home is a small and well-decorated space. However, further work is needed to create a ‘homely’ environment, where children can develop a sense of belonging. Management shared that this would occur once children are living in the home. The space will be tailored to align with children’s individual interests, ensuring the home becomes a more personalised and welcoming environment.

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improvement to be good

The child did not attend school while living in the home. Therefore, tutoring was in place. Staff explored alternative ways of learning to meet the child’s needs, which included ‘military mentors’ and an apprenticeship. However, staff achieved only limited engagement with the child and, therefore, the child made limited progress. However, a staff member shared that the child had begun to settle by displaying their photos and making their room comfortable. Care plans and records of the child’s stay in the home were incomplete, fragmented and difficult to access.

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improvement to be good

Staff supported the child to attend health appointments and encouraged them to maintain good hygiene. When appointments were missed, staff were tenacious in their encouragement and rebooking of appointments to ensure that the child’s health needs were met.

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improvement to be good

The child’s move into the home was well planned. Staff attended the child’s looked after reviews and met with the child prior to them moving in. This supported staff’s understanding of the child’s history and their needs. However, care plans were generic and not individualised to the child’s specific needs.

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improvement to be good

The child engaged in a range of activities that they enjoyed, which included DJ sessions, bike rides, ice skating and go karting.

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improvement to be good

Incidents are generally well managed with child-focused recordings, but some may have been prevented with better staff practice. For example, unsecured keys allowed the child to access a confidential cabinet, leading to their arrest and negative consequences for the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2779773 3 Staff are safely recruited. However, the recording and storing of recruitment checks was fragmented. This undermines the manager’s ability to have clear oversight of recruitment checks. The current responsible individual is implementing new processes to ensure that there is a consistent approach in place.

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improvement to be good

Staff are offered a range of training to support them in meeting the child’s needs. However, there was inconsistent attendance and engagement, with some staff not completing the training. Attendance of training is not fully recorded to provide the manager with assurances of staff engagement. The manager’s failure to complete mandatory training also hindered their ability to lead effectively and by example. As a result, the child did not receive the full benefit of properly trained staff to ensure their overall development.

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improvement to be good

The child went missing regularly. When they were away from the home, staff would make attempts to look for them and communicate with the relevant professionals to share their concerns. Staff understand the value of a multi-professional approach in supporting the child and reducing concerns. This meant that there was a co-ordinated approach in supporting the child to encourage their safe return to the home.

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

At the time of the inspection, there was no manager in post. However, the responsible individual stated that a new manager had been appointed, subject to recruitment checks.

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

The home does not currently have enough staff to care for children. Staff were laid off when the last child left the home, which led to many staff resigning. Senior leaders acknowledge the current challenges, and therefore do not have plans to accommodate children until enough staff have been recruited and provided adequate training.

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

The lack of stable leadership has led to inconsistent support for staff and ineffective practice, impacting the quality of care provided to the child.

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

Staff, including the manager, do not receive effective supervision. When supervision did occur, one staff member felt it was unhelpful, describing it as a ‘tick box’ exercise. The inconsistency or absence of supervision for management means that managers are not able to effectively support staff in meeting the child’s needs. There has also been a lack of structured support offered to senior leaders to improve and maintain practice. For example, the current responsible individual has not received supervision since they started their role.

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

Leaders and managers have struggled to work effectively together and there is a lack of clarity in terms of managers’ roles and responsibilities. This has undermined their ability to provide cohesive support and guidance to the team.

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

Staff highlighted inconsistent support and a lack of communication from managers. Inspection report for children’s home: 2779773 4 The current responsible individual acknowledges the areas for improvement and has begun addressing the concerns. Changes are being made to staff supervision, training and recording processes, aimed at improving care practice.

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

Feedback from the child’s social worker was positive. They commended the staff’s ability to build relationships with the child. Communication with the social worker was described as ‘very good’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2779773 5

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(a)(c)(h)) 30 June 2025

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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

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. (Regulation 11 (2)(a)(x)) 30 June 2025

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and 30 June 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2779773 6 retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This is in relation to recruitment, training and improving overall recording of documents in the home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a child’s care plan forms the basis of their care. In particular, plans should be individualised to each child’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 10, paragraph 2.1)  The registered person should have a record of supervision kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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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: 2779773 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Demar House, 14 Church Road, East Wittering, Chichester, West Sussex PO20 8PS

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Inspector

Chido Mangava, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2779773 8 and inspects to 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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