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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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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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 that 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 outstanding

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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: 6 November 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: 2664249 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/11/2024 Full Good 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

Since the last inspection, one child has moved on for safety reasons. The move was carefully planned and managed sensitively. Adults prepared the child to move, and they are happy at their new home. One child has remained living in the home and is settled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Adults are passionate about providing a loving, child-centred environment. They provide calm and consistent support using a warm, playful and nurturing approach. This has enabled the child to develop trusting bonds with the people around them. As a result, the child has gained confidence and is able to confide in adults about difficult topics. This shows that the child feels safe and secure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has recently started attending a new school. This followed managers working closely with the social worker to identify a suitable provision. Adults understand the challenges that the child faces in this new environment and guide them to reflect and share any worries or concerns they have. This has helped the child have a positive start.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to pursue their hobbies and interests. Adults plan activities designed to help the child do their favourite things and learn about spending time with other children. The child enjoys time with adults, widening their experiences, such as going on fun holidays together. Photos are captured in albums so that the child can look back on happy memories. This helps the child develop their social skills and enhances their experiences while living in the home

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is helped to see the people who are important to them. Managers take action to maintain relationships in complex situations and keep the child’s best interests at the centre of plans. As a result, children are helped to see family and enjoy spending positive time with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and decorated with homely touches. There is a large garden, and the child is supported to personalise their bedrooms. However, the child’s bedroom requires more frequent maintenance development to make it a more nurturing area.

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

Since the last inspection, managers and adults navigated an unsettled period when there were safeguarding concerns for both children. They understood and identified when dynamics between children created an increased risk and implemented strategies to reduce these risks. When concerns escalated, the manager worked closely with social workers to review the placement and agree a plan for one child to move. As a result, the child currently living in the home has settled and has started making progress.

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

Managers and adults know the child extremely well. They understand the impact of previous trauma and that behaviour is a form of communication. They use a therapeutic Inspection report for children’s home: 2664249 4 model effectively in order to look at issues from the child’s perspective. Adults give the child space to talk while enabling them to learn more about themselves and how to manage difficult feelings. As a result, the child is making safer choices and there has been a decrease in incidents.

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

Since the last inspection, restraint has been used on a few occasions. When a child is held to keep them safe during a difficult time, this is done as a last resort, and the child is offered the opportunity to reflect following the incident. Adults consistently promote positive behaviour. They use their relationships with the child to help them when they are upset or distressed. The child responds well to this.

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

Adults understand what to do if the child goes missing from home. They are finely attuned to changes in the child that might indicate risk behaviour and use distraction strategies to prevent incidents escalating. If a child leaves the home, adults respond quickly. Emergency services are contacted appropriately to make sure children are kept safe when there are ongoing concerns about their well-being.

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

Children’s complaints and allegations are not always robustly managed. On one occasion, when a child was accidentally scratched, this was appropriately reviewed and reported. However, other complaints and allegations have not been consistently followed up and there was no consultation with the local authority designated officer. This means that the comments were not fully explored in order to understand what happened and what could be done differently to prevent future harm to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is led by a deeply dedicated manager, who understands the strengths of the service and works creatively to provide the best possible care to the child. They continuously strive to provide the child with love, stability and support that is guided by the therapeutic model. This culture is fully embraced by the adult team, who share a common vision to improve the child’s life experiences. The manager is supported by a stable adult and management team and has access to a range of resources to support the continuous growth and development of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers work continuously with other professionals to ensure that the child has access to the help they need. When there are gaps in services, the organisation commissions its own practitioners to offer the child specialist support. When the child found accessing therapy too difficult, the manager and adults worked sensitively and creatively to positively encourage them. As a result, the child is starting to engage with therapy, which is significant and important progress for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has good oversight of the home activity through monitoring systems. Records are clear, comprehensive and are effective in enabling the understanding of children’s engagement and experiences. Managers review records and have made this into a positive experience for adults, who appreciate the time taken to positively acknowledge their work. Care planning is updated so that an exact picture of current issues is kept at the centre of guidance for care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2664249 5 Adults consistently report that the strength of the team lies in its cohesion and mutual support. There is a real sense of teamwork, a strong emphasis on learning, development, and investment in further upskilling adults in working therapeutically. One adult said they feel ‘incredibly supported’ by the manager and feel ‘empowered to make a real difference’. Another said that ‘the home is not just care, but a true sense of

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Professionals speak highly about the managers and the child-centred care provided by adults. They say that adults adapt their approach to suit children’s individual needs, and this positively helps children to build trusting relationships. One social worker said there is ‘strong communication’, and that adults and managers are ‘amazing and committed to the child achieving the best outcomes’. As a result, the child has been helped to feel like she belongs. 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that they take action to respond to allegations made by children and identify learning that can be put into practice. 30 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2664249 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that the home is a nurturing, homely and supportive environment for children. Particularly, managers must ensure that children’s bedrooms are suitably maintained. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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

Shirin White, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2664249 9 regulates 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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