Children's Home run by Child First Limited in West Sussex

Inspection report for children’s home: SC044259 1 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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SC044259 Registered provider: Child First Limited

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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 home is owned and operated by a private provider. According to the statement of purpose, the home uses a care model that involves providing love and care to up to five children who may have experienced early childhood trauma. Four children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 2025. In this report, the staff are referred to as ‘adults’, as this is the term 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

Date of last inspection: 9 September 2024

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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: SC044259 2 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/09/2024 Full Good 19/03/2024 Full Good 09/01/2023 Full Good 02/02/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC044259 3 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with love, care and support by adults who are passionate about providing an environment that feels homely and safe. One child said, ‘Adults listen to me, and it feels like a family.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Adults know the children well and make concerted efforts to build relationships based on trust and open communication. Frank conversations are held between adults and children around risk, and this has resulted in children regularly seeking out adults for conversations and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Adults endeavour to build relationships with children’s families. Parents are sent weekly updates, when suitable, as well as other forms of communication when needed. Adults support children to see their family and keep in contact. For one child, this included daily visits from adults over a sustained period to ensure the child’s safety, and a wealth of support was provided to their parent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to engage in learning. Although this is not always successful, sustained effort is made to promote this with the children. All the children have different education plans, which results in adults needing a high level of organisation and communication with education professionals to ensure plans are followed. Adults consider ‘out of the box thinking’ regarding education to ensure that the child’s needs and capabilities are the focus, with children attending alternative provisions or having more than one education provider to ensure their needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to prepare for independence through encouragement to complete tasks themselves, and adults frequently consider ways to promote an independent approach. Preparation for independence is considered with the child and their network in plenty of time to allow for good planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager is keen to hear and understand the children’s views. Children know how to make a complaint and are supported to do so when needed. These are dealt with well by the management team, which has resulted in children feeling heard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s experiences when they move into the home or move out of the home are good. Adults excel in planning for children to move on from the home when they are an adult. They have an excellent support system established for children to continue accessing a level of support appropriate for them, and this strongly supports the home’s ethos. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044259 4 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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

Adults have a good understanding of the risks to children. They show curiosity and a ‘can-do’ approach in addressing risk.

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

When children go missing from the home, adults know how to respond and ensure that communication is a priority throughout. They work incredibly well with professionals during this time. One professional said they ‘demonstrate exceptional skill in multidisciplinary collaboration. Their commitment to open communication and transparency is evident in the strong working relationships they build with the wider networks supporting young people.’

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

For one child at risk of exploitation, adults understand the risks and the plans in place to keep the child safe. Professional curiosity has led to progression in safety planning and ensuring that the right professionals are involved. Making links within the community and with other professionals has been key in developing an understanding of the risks, and this is approached with confidence while always maintaining a caring approach to the child.

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

New adults are recruited into the home safely. The manager has good oversight of the checks completed, and these checks are completed in a timely way.

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

The use of restraint is rare. When this has been used, it is proportionate. Instead, positive conversations, distractions and incentives are used frequently as a way of encouraging positive behaviour. However, the recording of restraints is not always in keeping with the regulations as necessary information is missing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate about ensuring that children know they are cared for, that their rights are promoted and their voices heard. This passion ripples through the team and results in a team of adults who feel passionate about the job they do.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Adults feel supported in their roles and are provided with regular and good-quality supervisions, with additional reflective group sessions held regularly. Adults are encouraged to seek support when needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals working with the manager and adults consistently praise them for excellent communication and their ability to build positive relationships with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children make progress with their care plans, and this is due to adults having a good understanding of their needs and what they enjoy doing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Relationships between the children can at times be strained. Efforts are made by the manager to find ways of building positive relationships, such as group days out, Inspection report for children’s home: SC044259 5 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

encouraging the children to play games in the evenings and sitting together weekly to discuss the week ahead and any issues they may have.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight and is building effective systems for monitoring, including working with the independent visitor for the home. However, the reports produced from these visits require more scrutiny and challenge by the manager to ensure that patterns and themes raised have a plan of action to be addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home and has ideas for how to move things forward. However, a workforce development plan is not in place to support this. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044259 6 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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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”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 8 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC044259 7 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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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)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan that can fulfil the workforce- related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. The reports produced of their visits should be evaluative, analytical and provide professional challenge when required. The registered person needs to work with the independent visitor to ensure that patterns and themes raised have a plan of action to be addressed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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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: SC044259 8 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Child First Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 62 The Street, Rustington, Littlehampton BN16 3NR

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Inspector

Faye McCarthy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC044259 9 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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