Children's Home run by HeadStart Residential Care Ltd in East Sussex

Inspection report for children’s home: 2690173 1 Registered provider: HeadStart Residential 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

This home is owned by a private company. The home is registered to care for up to 5 children with autism, learning difficulties, communication needs and/or social and emotional difficulties. There were four children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 14 November 2024 and is suitably qualified.

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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: 22 January 2025

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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: 2690173 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/01/2025 Full Good 14/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2690173 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in the home are cared for by a staff team that are passionate about the work they do. Staff provide the children with experiences to promote building independence but also to ensure that they are having fun. Children are supported to attend theme parks, go swimming and go on trips to the zoo and holidays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s relationships with their families are promoted, where it is safe to do so. Families are welcomed into the home to spend time with children and staff also support children to see their families in the family home. Providing flexibility allows children to spend the best possible quality time with family members.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children attend the on-site school full time and enjoy going to school. There is close joint working between the staff in the home and school, with some staff members attending school with the children to support them. The children are also supported to build on their learning and skills by completing additional learning in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to provide their views. Communication aids are well used and are embedded into daily routines. Children choose what activities they want to do, the food that they want to eat and the decoration of their bedrooms.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into or out of the home, their transitions are carefully considered alongside a multi-agency group. Plans are clear and staff work effectively to ensure that children have positive outcomes. Children’s needs, wishes and feelings are held as a priority. However, when children remain living in the home after their 18th birthday, risk assessments are not always completed to ensure that their needs as an adult, or any associated risks, are overtly considered.

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

Staff response to incidents within the home is excellent. They manage behaviours that challenge well and utilise opportunities for reflection with the children, using communication aids to engage the children in discussions about the incident and how they are feeling.

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

Staff work well together to meet the needs of the children. They are established as a team and can quickly and effectively respond to keep both the children and themselves safe. Handovers are informative and all staff contribute to ensuring that the day ahead is well planned. Staff ensure high levels of supervision and support and children do not go missing from the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2690173 4 Management oversight of incidents is good. When necessary, investigations are completed by senior leaders and the manager and appropriate action is taken to address any concerns.

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

Staff understand risks well and respond appropriately. However, the recording within children’s case files lacks detail, reflection and analysis at times. Consequently, some records are not fully up to date and do not reflect the detail of what happened and the positive impact that staff responses to children are having.

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

Staff use of restraint with children is proportionate. Staff are trained and supported by in-house trainers, which allows for effective support to be given and training to be provided whenever needed. However, some records that show the debrief with staff following a restraint are not detailed and do not always show the support offered for each member of staff involved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy manager have an excellent understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. They work well together to ensure a consistent approach. They are ambitious and aspirational for the children and are clear about the steps needed to drive improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported in their roles, and this has resulted in good staff retention. Having a permanent and stable staff team has resulted in care for the children that is consistent and predictable, meaning that children are settled and happy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers are respected by the professionals that work with them. Professionals praise the effective and meaningful communication. The manager challenges other professionals, when needed, to ensure that the needs of the children are met and that children’s rights are promoted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight is evident throughout records and the manager is building new systems that are starting to embed. However, some policies require updating to reflect the practice within the home, especially with regard to the use of internal door locks and the process for staff debriefs following incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with supervision. However, newer members of staff are not consistently provided with more frequent supervision as outlined within the home’s policy. The supervision model is not consistently used, and staff are not always held to account when actions are set.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are offered a wealth of training opportunities covering a range of subjects. However, staff do not always prioritise training or undertake courses in a timely way. Although the impact on children is limited, these delays are not always adequately addressed by managers. Inspection report for children’s home: 2690173 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, 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

In particular, ensure that the necessary risk assessments are in place when a child turns 18 years old and continues to reside in the home. 30 April 2026

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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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)( c)) 30 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which— 30 April 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2690173 6 include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(x)) 30 April 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person has specific responsibilities under regulation 34 to prepare and implement policies. All policies should be reviewed regularly and revised where appropriate. In particular, the manager should ensure that policies regarding internal use of door locks and details regarding when and how staff debriefing sessions are completed are reflective of current practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.19)

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report for children’s home: 2690173 7 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: 2690173 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: HeadStart Residential Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 30-34 North Street, Hailsham BN27 1DW

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Scott Fasciolo-Barnes

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Inspector

Faye McCarthy, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2690173 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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