Children's Home run by My Choice Children’s Homes Limited in West Sussex

Inspection report for children’s home: 2736862 1 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: My Choice Children’s Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private organisation and provides care for up to 6 children who experience social and/or emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, 6 children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 2023.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2736862 2 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/07/2025 Full Good 03/07/2024 Full Good 06/12/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2736862 3 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Summary of findings

Children enjoy living in this home. They are cared for by staff who know them well and who genuinely want them to achieve. Children are well supported by staff and feel that they can trust them.

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Summary of findings

Safeguarding incidents in the home are well managed, and children are kept safe.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers work hard to ensure that they have positive and frequent communication with family members and professionals. As a result, children receive robust and holistic care and planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good experiences in this home; they are happy and speak fondly about the memories they have made. Children are cared for by staff whom they trust and have formed positive relationships with.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress in comparison to their starting points. They are supported in line with their individual plans, and staff work with children to help them to reach their goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel that they are looked after by people who genuinely care about them. They trust staff and know that staff are proud of them. One child said, ‘The staff and managers are always here to boost you.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is valued by staff and managers. Staff work closely with the professional network to ensure that children can access education in a way that is accessible for their individual needs. Consequently, all children are engaging in some form of education. One child, who had not been attending education before living in the home, is now attending school daily.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well prepared for independence. They are given opportunities to build on their independence skills and are given the space to take appropriate risks, all the while being supported by those they trust. Children look forward to independence planning and feel supported by staff when doing so.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Thorough planning for moves into and out of the home is in place, meaning that children have positive experiences in these areas. The registered manager consistently advocates for children when considering how such moves may impact them. Children who join the home are well prepared. Similarly, children are prepared for moving on, even when their time at the home may have been tricky. Inspection report for children’s home: 2736862 4 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is bright and has a homely feel, evidently decorated with children’s artwork and things they are proud of. Children personalise their home in line with their own likes and preferences. Some areas of the home need more regular maintenance and basic cleaning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans are not always uploaded to their files. These are missed opportunities for managers and staff to ensure that they are fully supporting children in accordance with their local authority plans.

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

Children are listened to and are well supported. Allegations are managed appropriately. Incidents are reported to the local authority designated officer in a timely manner, and internal investigations are carried out where appropriate to ensure that children are safeguarded.

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

The use of physical intervention in the home is rare, and it is only ever used as a last resort. When physical intervention does occur, it is in the least restrictive way possible and for the least amount of time necessary. Children are spoken to following incidents, as are the staff. This helps children and staff to reflect on what happened and enables opportunities to explore what could be done next time should there be a similar incident.

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

Behaviour management techniques in the home are positive; staff use the home’s practice model to support behaviour management. Staff work effectively to support children to understand their feelings and behaviours and to develop positive ways of managing these.

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

When children have gone missing from the home, it has been well managed. There is clear guidance around managing these incidents, and staff know what to do to keep children safe. Staff make every effort to keep in contact with children while they are missing, and they talk with them when they return home. This helps staff to identify how best to support the child and understand what led to them going missing from the home in the first instance.

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

Children’s risk management plans are clear and proportionate and consider children’s individual needs. As a result of this, all staff know how best to support children and to keep them safe.

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

Children know how to make a complaint. The registered manager supports them in doing so. When complaints are made, they are taken seriously and children are listened to. Investigations are carried out to ensure that complaints are investigated, and the manager ensures that children are kept in the loop about the progress of their complaints. However, some complaints about staff practice have not been actioned promptly. This has resulted in staff being unaware that concerns about their practice had been raised, which limits opportunities to address practice concerns without delay. Inspection report for children’s home: 2736862 5 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is dedicated to providing high-quality care to children. He has a good understanding of children’s individual needs and has built positive relationships with all the children. The registered manager has clear insight into the running of the home and aspires to develop and make continuous improvements to ensure that children have positive outcomes and experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in the home. They know the children well and show genuine care and affection for them. Staff have positive relationships and emotionally warm interactions with children. Staff feel well supported by leaders and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Parents are positive about the care their children receive at the home and that staff keep them safe. Parents feel that their children are happy and well supported. Staff communicate effectively with parents, who feel involved in their children’s plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Social workers are positive about children’s progress. They are pleased with how staff care for children and are impressed by the level of genuine support and positive experiences that children receive. One social worker commented, ‘I wish I could place all of my children at [name of home].’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff inductions are in depth and give them the opportunity to settle into their new roles well. Key elements of training are considered and completed during the induction process and beyond. Training is of a good quality, and staff feel that the training offer is very good.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision is of a good quality and provides staff with clear reflective time. There is a clear focus on staff progress and areas for professional development. However, staff do not receive supervision in line with the timescales stated in the home’s statement of purpose. Inspection report for children’s home: 2736862 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

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

that each child’s relevant plans are followed;

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they have obtained all children’s up-to-date local authority care plans and that these are used in line with their other relevant plans. 5 August 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff receive supervision in line with the timeframes set out in the home’s statement of purpose. 05 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2736862 7 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is maintained to a high level of cleanliness, with general cleaning taking place regularly, and that children’s bedrooms are well maintained and free from any hazards. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.3).  The registered person should ensure that any complaints made by children are considered in a timely manner and that appropriate action is taken promptly. (Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 21, paragraph 4.4)

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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: 2736862 8 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: My Choice Children’s Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 3a Mill Green Business Estate, Mill Green Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH16 1XQ

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Inspector

Sheniz Hudaverdi, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2736862 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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Inspector

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