Children's Home run by Treehouse Educare Limited in West Sussex

Inspection report for children's home: 1241023 1 Registered provider: Treehouse Educare 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 children's home is operated by an organisation that also operates a registered school on the same site.

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Information about this children's home

The children's home provides care for up to 8 children, across 2 different houses. One home is registered to provide care for up to 4 children who may experience social, emotional or mental health difficulties. One home provides care for up to 4 children with learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection, all children were living in one home due to emergency repairs being carried out.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living in one house. There were no children in the other house due to emergency work being carried out. Inspectors only inspected the social care provision on this site.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2026.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1241023 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/10/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/03/2025 Full Good 21/02/2024 Full Good 14/12/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1241023 3

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Summary of findings

Children are making progress, particularly in education. They have fun and access a wide range of activities that are relevant to their interests. Children enjoy having pets. This helps them to learn to take responsibility and provides them with additional emotional support. Children spend meaningful time with those who are important to them and are encouraged to maintain friendships outside of the home and school.

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Summary of findings

The management and staff teams are now more consistent, and they have built positive relationships with children in the home. Staff understand risks for children and are proactive in the support they offer to keep them safe. Missing episodes are well managed and there have been no physical interventions used.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers have made improvements to address the shortfalls identified at the last inspection. However, there are some areas to address to further strengthen practice. These areas are set out in the leadership and management section of this report.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress, particularly in education. All children are accessing education, with one having passed their course and obtained the relevant qualifications needed for their future. Another child, who was on a significantly reduced timetable, is attending more hours and there are plans in place for them to attend full time in the new academic year. Another child has been accepted onto an engineering course in addition to his current studies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have fun. Staff provide children with opportunities to engage in a range of activities that they enjoy. Hobbies and interests are encouraged and promoted. One child has been supported to maintain a friendship with a school friend outside of school, as well as pursue their special interest at a weekly club. Children have planned their own holidays with staff's support, encompassing what they enjoy and trying new things.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Pets in the home give children responsibility and a sense of purpose. For one child, this has supported in their emotional wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are settled in the home. There is now a more consistent staff team. They have quickly built strong, positive relationships with children. Because of this, children have been able to manage an unexpected move into one house. A social worker said that this is the most settled one child has ever been.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend time with people who are important to them. For one child in difficult circumstances, they were able to see family for additional reassurance to help them Inspection report for children's home: 1241023 4 cope. Children and families are supported to rebuild relationships and overcome challenges together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, no children have moved into the home. However, one child moved to a new home. Staff supported a well-managed move for this child, to meet their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are generally healthy. They are supported to meet their health needs. Staff support them in attending appointments and help them to understand the impact of their medications, which means that children make informed decisions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to build relevant independence skills in line with their abilities. Children are able to prepare meals, complete laundry tasks and access public transport. Staff are supporting further life skills around budgeting and finances. This supports children who are preparing to move away from the home into more independent accommodation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For one child, there is a disagreement among the professional network about their move on placement being suitable to meet their needs. Managers have not advocated strongly to ensure that their assessment of this child's needs is fully considered to inform the child's care plan.

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

Staff and managers quickly identify risks, and appropriate support is sought for children where needed. Where needs for children cannot be met by the home, the provider appropriately consults and works with the child's social worker to find the child a better suited home that is aligned with their needs.

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

Allegations made by children about staff are taken seriously. Leaders and managers report concerns appropriately to the local authority designated officer and thorough investigations are carried out.

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

Staff implement clear boundaries and expectations for children in the home. They understand children's needs and are reactive to small changes, offering thoughtful support to de-escalate situations. Because of this, since the last monitoring inspection, there have been no instances of physical intervention.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff respond appropriately. There are clear and individualised protocols in place for each child in the home. Staff work cooperatively with other professional agencies to best support children to return to the home safely. However, return home interviews are not always offered by the local authority and leaders and managers do not yet effectively challenge this.

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

Safeguarding notifications have not been consistently reported when there are serious concerns about staff practice. However, leaders and managers do take appropriate Inspection report for children's home: 1241023 5 actions to ensure that children are safeguarded, and appropriate action is taken to address any concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not have robust monitoring systems in place to ensure that there is consistent support and oversight of the home for periods when the registered manager is absent from the home. Additionally, there is no process in place to ensure that staff keep key documents for children up to date.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager's review of the quality of care in the home lacked the feedback and reflection needed to support the registered manager to inform service development. The report was not submitted to Ofsted within the time frame required by regulations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Feedback from professionals is mixed. Professionals said that children are well supported and are making progress. However, some raised concerns about a lack of communication with the home and impact of staff changes on children. While improvements have been made to staff stability, a lack of communication remains an area of development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager is supported by 2 deputy managers who work closely alongside her to deliver good-quality care. Together, the management team is making steady progress in addressing the shortfalls identified at the last inspection. As a result, children and staff are now experiencing a more stable, safer and better coordinated standard of care that is visibly improving their daily lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers have positive relationships with children and know them well. They spend quality time with children and can articulate children's progress well. As a result, managers are able to make fully informed decisions about the support that children receive and provide clear direction to staff in relation to day-to-day care practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Supervision and team meetings are now taking place regularly. Managers meet weekly to discuss staff supervision to ensure that it is taking place consistently and in line with staff's needs. As a result, staff feel supported by managers and are receiving support that is tailored to their individual needs. However, for the few staff who have worked in the home for more than one year, appraisals have not yet taken place. Inspection report for children's home: 1241023 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 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

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;

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should provide consistent oversight in the home to ensure that the children receive good- quality care. Systems in place should be reviewed or implemented so that supervisions, appraisals and the reporting and recording of allegations are appropriately overseen by all leaders and managers.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 30 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 30 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 1241023 7 a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should cover the action that should be followed if the event arises at the weekend or on a public holiday.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child's placing authority effectively in the child's care, in accordance with the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child's needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority's or a relevant person's performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child's needs are met in accordance with the child's relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered 30 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 1241023 8 person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children's home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that communication with the wider network is consistent and timely. In addition, managers must actively advocate for children to ensure that care plans reflect children's needs.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

A copy of any plan for the care of the child prepared by the child's placing authority, and of the placement plan.

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Requirement Due date

The date and result of any review of the placing authority's plan for the care of the child, or of the child's placement plan.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children's plans remain relevant and are updated. (Regulation 36 (1)(a) (Schedule 3)(19)(20)) 30 October 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that when compiling a report for Regulation 45 they have a system in place which allows them to monitor the matters set out in the regulation at least once every 6 months. The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. Reviews should be underpinned by the Quality Standards as described in regulations 5 to 14. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 64, paragraph 15.2)

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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: 1241023 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Treehouse Educare Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: New Barn School, Guildford Road, Broadbridge Heath, Horsham, West Sussex RH12 3PQ

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Inspectors

Emma Blake, Social Care Inspector Chido Mangava, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1241023 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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