Children's Home run by The Amicus Community (Arundel) Ltd in West Sussex

Inspection report for children's home: 1246834 1 Registered provider: The Amicus Community (Arundel) Ltd

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is part of an independent children’s therapeutic community which is accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. It provides care for up to five children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, five children were living at the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2012.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

p.1

outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

p.1

outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

p.1

outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1246834 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/07/2024 Full Outstanding 28/06/2023 Full Good 14/11/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1246834 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are making exceptional progress. All the children are attending school regularly and are making educational progress in line with their individual goals. When children are struggling with their education, staff are in regular communication with the school to ensure that there are appropriate resources and support in place. For one child, this was instrumental in supporting them to understand their learning needs. As a result, this has increased the child’s confidence in school, and they now enjoy going to school.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are generally in good health. Staff are attentive to their health needs, supporting regular appointments and encouraging healthy lifestyles. They advocate for the children to ensure that their views are considered as part of medical decision-making. For one child, staff input led to a medication review that significantly improved their alertness.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children feel happy and well supported. They enjoy positive experiences and take part in a variety of activities such as cinema trips, trampolining and fishing. Each child is encouraged to pursue a hobby that matches their interests. This has played a key role in building their confidence to form friendships beyond the home. Staff also facilitate the children meeting their friends, offering support much like a parent would, to help nurture and maintain these friendships.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff take pride in celebrating children’s achievements, whether big or small. Recently, one child who plays on a football team received an award from the team for their engagement. This accomplishment was warmly acknowledged and celebrated. The staff also mark the anniversary of each child’s arrival at the home with a celebration party, with guests chosen by the children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff listen carefully to children. This creates an environment where children feel safe to express their feelings and know that they will be heard. Responses are timely and carefully consider what each child genuinely wants and needs. Regular child-led meetings give children a platform to share their views about the home and suggest changes. Staff follow up on these discussions and provide clear feedback through a ‘You said, we did’ approach, ensuring children see the impact of their voices being heard.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s cultural and identity needs are met through staff’s genuine interest in learning about and respecting each child’s background. Staff actively engage with families to ensure that care aligns with individual needs. Staff also look for local services that cater to the children’s individual needs. This personalised approach helps children to feel valued and respected.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children moving on from the home are helped to achieve this in a planned and gradual way. Children’s feelings and emotions are explored to ensure that the right support is offered. There is communication with the child and relevant professionals throughout the Inspection report for children's home: 1246834 4 process so that everyone involved knows and understands the plan. Following the move, staff maintain contact with the child. The organisation also holds an annual event which children who have moved on are invited to attend.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children live in a safe environment. There are photos on the walls of children engaging in a range of activities. This provides insight into the children’s interests and their lived experiences. Children’s bedrooms reflect their individual interests, however, some furniture that had been broken has not been replaced or fixed in a timely manner. Additionally, some outside spaces need updating. The manager of the home has plans in place to rectify this.

p.4

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

Staff have a detailed understanding of the children’s behaviours; this helps to reduce the need for physical interventions. When physical interventions have been used, they are carried out safely and as a last resort. Managers and senior leaders are proactive in reviewing and analysing these interventions. This gives them insight into the reasons for the interventions, so that support can be put in place. As a result, physical interventions for children since they moved into the home have significantly reduced.

p.4

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

Managers take a reflective approach to learning following any incident. They take appropriate steps to reduce risks, and they remain vigilant to ensure that children receive the support that they need to stay safe. When there are areas of concern, managers are proactive in ensuring that there is clear communication with the relevant professionals.

p.4

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

Children are encouraged to discuss their feelings and emotions regularly during daily meetings. As a result, children’s behaviour and their ability to articulate their feelings continue to improve. These improvements are also due to the skilful and thoughtful way that staff care for the children.

p.4

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

Children are supported and encouraged to develop basic life skills, such as cooking, in a fun and enjoyable way that is age appropriate. For example, during the inspection, children made their own pizzas, which they were proud of. Children are also involved in the upkeep of the house, for example tidying up after meals and cleaning the pool, which they enjoy.

p.4

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

Staff are highly responsive to the individual needs of children. When a child is feeling upset, they provide thoughtful, tailored support. For instance, when one child returned from school feeling low due to a difficult day, staff instinctively played music, knowing that it would lift the child’s spirits. This attentive response reflects the strong, trusting relationships that staff have built with the children, enabling them to offer meaningful emotional support.

p.4

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

Reflective staff meetings are central to the support staff provide to children. Children’s behaviours and staff responses are discussed regularly to help drive continued improvement, to ensure that children receive high-quality care. Inspection report for children's home: 1246834 5 The home follows strong and safer recruitment practices to prioritise children’s safety, ensuring that only suitable candidates are employed.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s registered manager now holds a more senior position in the organisation. The day-to-day running of the home is currently overseen by the therapeutic home manager, who has full managerial responsibilities and has applied to become the registered manager.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a manager who is committed to ensuring that children receive good- quality care. The manager knows the children well and is proud of the progress that they are making. Consequently, the children are supported by a manager who can make well- informed assessments of their needs and make good decisions about their care and support.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have ample opportunities to reflect on practice. They receive a range of different forms of supervision, regularly and in line with the home’s practice model. This includes clinical supervision, group processing space and group clinical space. Practices that are working well for children and staff are regularly explored to ensure high-quality care is meeting the children’s needs. However, line management supervision does not take place consistently, which the manager acknowledged and has plans in place to address.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Appraisals for staff take place annually. Views from children and professionals within the organisation are sought as part of the appraisals. This inclusive and thoughtful approach to staff development provides a well-rounded view of each staff member’s impact.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel extremely supported and listened to by the manager and deputy manager. They speak highly of managers, attributing the home’s positive environment to the managers’ approach in supporting children and staff. One staff member said, ‘This feels like home. It feels like my home life is the work.’ Another staff member said, ‘I absolutely love it!’ to describe their experience of working in the home. As a result, the home has high staff retention and children are cared for by staff who enjoy spending time with them.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers maintain highly effective working relationships with professionals from partner agencies.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from professionals and family members is positive. Communication with the home is good. One family member said, ‘They are willing to listen and take things on board.’ Inspection report for children's home: 1246834 6

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure for children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. In particular, ensure that the outside spaces are updated and furniture is replaced in a timely manner if broken. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should maintain good employment practice as set out in regulations 31-33. They should ensure that one-to-one line management supervision takes place regularly in line with the organisation’s policy to support staff development and performance management. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

p.6

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: 1246834 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Amicus Community (Arundel) Ltd

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Coach House, Arundel Road, Fontwell, Arundel BN18 0SX

p.7

Inspector

Chido Mangava, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1246834 8 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.7

Inspector

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.8

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8