Children's Home run by East Sussex County Council in East Sussex

Inspection report for children's home: SC373941 1 SC373941 Registered provider: East Sussex County Council

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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 local authority and provides care for up to 4 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, there were 3 children living in the home.

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Information about this children's home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2025.

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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 October 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: SC373941 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/10/2025 Full Good 21/01/2025 Full Good 03/01/2024 Full Good 19/10/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC373941 3

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Summary of findings

Children experience warm, individualised care that helps them to make good progress in all areas of their lives. Staff know the children well and advocate strongly for their education, emotional wellbeing and aspirations. Children feel valued, included and part of the home. Safeguarding practice is effective, with clear boundaries, strong relationships and well ‑ understood procedures that keep children safe. Leaders and managers provide committed, child ‑ focused oversight and work well with external professionals and families. Staff receive regular supervision, although there are gaps in some mandatory and specialist training. Overall, the home provides a stable, nurturing environment where children thrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand each child's individuality and respond with care that is tailored to their specific needs. Children make progress despite the challenges they face, largely due to the focused and consistent support provided by staff. One child has made notable improvements in their social relationships, while another is managing school expectations more effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff form part of strong, well ‑ coordinated networks around each child, which also include external professionals and parents. Children recognise that these adults work together in their best interests, which helps them to feel valued and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are invested in the home. Their presence is evident throughout the environment, reflecting a culture of openness and belonging. Children experience stability and enjoy positive relationships with warm and committed staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress across all areas of their lives. Staff demonstrate an excellent understanding of children's educational needs and advocate strongly for them. They ensure that all options are explored so that each child has access to the most suitable educational provision. As a result, children feel valued. Staff also support children's mental and emotional health, ensuring that they access the services they need to maintain or achieve good health. Children access a range of specialist services to meet their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are consulted about all aspects of their lives. For example, when one child expressed a wish to complete a maths GCSE to support future university aspirations, their education plan was adapted accordingly. Children's involvement in decision ‑ making strengthens their sense of importance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to lead full and enjoyable lives. They provide opportunities for activities like those accessed by their peers, such as horse riding, bike riding, fishing and scootering. Children also pursue individual interests, including cars, LEGO and gym Inspection report for children's home: SC373941 4 sessions. They benefit from an outdoor lifestyle, supported by attendance at a farm school, which has led to showing animals at an agricultural event.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Effective processes are in place to prepare children for independence. These plans progress at a pace suited to each child. Staff encourage children to develop skills that will support their future independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Planning for children moving into and out of the home is well considered and effective.

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

Staff understand the importance of keeping children safe, while also recognising their need for appropriate freedom to explore their environment. Children have varying levels of free time and use their mobile phones to maintain contact with staff when needed. Phone use is monitored effectively and clear agreements for phone usage are in place.

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

Robust procedures support staff in responding when children go missing from home. Staff understand the relevant protocols and work closely with external professionals to ensure each child's safe return. Children are offered return home discussions with their social workers. Staff have a good understanding of child sexual exploitation and self ‑ harm, and most have kept their training up to date in these areas.

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

Staff know the children well and understand their behaviours. Effective behaviour management helps the children to learn and respond to expectations. Clear boundaries help to shape children's conduct and strong relationships with staff underpin this progress.

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

Safeguarding procedures are clear and effective, and staff follow them to ensure children's safety. Incidents are reviewed carefully and staff use learning from these to strengthen practice and improve outcomes. The manager and staff work collaboratively with a range of agencies to safeguard children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A strong management team is in place and managers advocate effectively for children to ensure that plans for them are achieved. Managers have a good understanding of the factors that contribute to children's progress. They are ambitious for children and encourage their aspirations, ensuring that opportunities are available to help them succeed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers provide a supportive environment for both staff and children. Staff receive regular, good ‑ quality supervision. They have access to relevant training, although some have fallen behind with mandatory and specialist courses, such as autism awareness. Inspection report for children's home: SC373941 5 Managers understand the service's strengths and areas for development. A comprehensive development plan is in place and staff are familiar with it. They recognise the importance of working together to achieve improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Strong professional relationships support high ‑ quality care across all areas of children's development. Managers and staff work to maintain these relationships. Leaders have appropriately escalated concerns for children without school places.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager encourages a culture that values difference and inclusion. There is zero tolerance of bullying and discriminatory or racist language. Staff work effectively with children to help them understand the impact of such behaviour. One ‑ to ‑ one sessions provide opportunities to explore these issues further. Inspection report for children's home: SC373941 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 registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)) 15 July 2026

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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: SC373941 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: East Sussex County Council, County Hall St Anne's Crescent, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1UE

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Inspector

Vevene Muhammad, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC373941 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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