Children's Home run by The Amicus Community (Arundel) Ltd in West Sussex

Inspection report for children's home: SC449155 1 SC449155 Registered provider: The Amicus Community (Arundel) Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is part of an independent children’s therapeutic community which is accredited by the Royal College of Psychiatrists. It provides care for up to 4 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2023. The registered manager is on maternity leave, and the interim manager is planning to apply for registration.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC449155 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

6/11/2025 06/01/2025 Full Full Requires improvement Outstanding 21/02/2024 Full Outstanding 01/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC449155 3

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Summary of findings

This home is judged ‘requires improvement to be good’ due to significant weaknesses in safeguarding and communication, which undermine overall effectiveness. Children experience positive relationships, they make educational progress and have their health needs understood. However, they are not informed of outcomes of allegations, investigations are not consistently completed and staff do not fully explore concerns raised by children. Planning for independence is limited. Communication with parents and professionals is inconsistent, reducing confidence in partnership working. Supervision is not held regularly, team meeting actions lack clarity and appraisals have not taken place, weakening accountability and limiting leaders’ ability to monitor and improve staff practice.

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improvement to be good

This judgement takes into account the weaknesses identified in the 2 subsequent judgements.

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improvement to be good

Children have positive relationships with staff. Staff engage warmly with children, laughing and joking with them in a relaxed and natural way. As a result, children feel comfortable and emotionally secure in the home.

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improvement to be good

Children are actively involved in decisions made in the home. For example, the home has ‘choose Tuesdays’, when children decide what the evening meal will be. This promotes choice, strengthens children’s sense of ownership and supports a positive, participatory culture in the home.

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improvement to be good

Relationships between the children are encouraged and supported. They take part in shared activities, including ‘big Saturday’, when they watch a film together and enjoy a takeaway of their choice, and children and staff eat meals together regularly. These routines help strengthen relationships and support children to feel settled and connected in the home.

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improvement to be good

Children are making progress in education. All children attend the organisation’s school full time and are engaging well. When children struggle to attend, staff provide support to help them engage. This promotes educational stability and helps children maintain positive learning routines.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are met and understood. Staff work with specialist services, such as child and adolescent mental health services, to ensure children’s health needs are met. Staff engage in additional training aligned to children’s needs. Inspection report for children's home: SC449155 4 Children take part in a range of activities they enjoy. Staff work closely with children to explore hobbies and interests, helping them find activities that suit their preferences. This supports children to develop confidence and discover new interests.

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improvement to be good

Children are well supported when they move on from the home. Staff make sure there is a clear plan for how the move will happen, and this is explained clearly to the child and the professionals involved. Staff also keep in touch with children after they leave, offering continued reassurance and connection. This reduces anxiety around moving on, and supports a positive, stable move into their next home.

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improvement to be good

Children are not informed of the outcomes of any allegations they make against staff. There is no clear process to ensure this happens or to reassure children that their concerns have been taken seriously and that appropriate action is being taken. Consequently, this can leave children feeling unheard and limit their confidence to raise concerns. Additionally, there are missed opportunities to work with children when false allegations have been made.

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improvement to be good

When allegations are made against staff, leaders and managers do not assure themselves that full information is provided to the local authority designated officer (LADO). On one occasion, a referral to the LADO did not include important information reported by a child, meaning that this concern was not explored fully. This weakens safeguarding oversight and increases the risk that concerns raised by children are not fully investigated and that staff practice is not addressed when necessary.

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improvement to be good

When children report concerns, staff do not ask the relevant follow-up questions, and show a lack of curiosity. For example, when a child said they had been hurt by a staff member, there was no exploration of any injuries. As a result, some incidents are not explored fully, weakening safeguarding practice.

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improvement to be good

Children are not supported to access the community independently. There are no clear plans in place to help them build independence skills for when they move on from the home. This limits children’s opportunities to develop practical life skills and the ability to manage everyday tasks safely in the community.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have a therapeutic understanding of children’s behaviour. They can clearly explain and justify why physical interventions have been used, linking their decisions to children’s emotional needs and presenting behaviours. This thoughtful practice helps ensure that interventions are used appropriately and, as a result, the number of physical interventions is reducing. Inspection report for children's home: SC449155 5

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

The registered manager is currently on maternity leave. As a result, the home is being led by an interim home manager. The interim home manager is taking steps to register as a manager with Ofsted.

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

Feedback from professionals and parents is mixed. Children are reported to be well supported, however, communication is not consistent. One parent reported limited collaboration and that information agreed with senior leaders was not always disseminated to staff. Professionals say that phone calls and emails are not always responded to in a timely manner and responses at times lack clarity. One professional said that concerns that they had raised about communication had not been sufficiently addressed. This reduces confidence in partnership working and hinders effective planning for children.

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

Appraisals have not been held, and line management supervision is not taking place consistently. For example, one bank staff member who works in the home regularly has not received supervision. Although attempts have been made to arrange this, there is no clear plan on how this will be addressed. Additionally, managers do not receive notes from their own supervisions. This weakens accountability and limits managers’ ability to monitor and support staff practice effectively.

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

Outcomes and actions from team meetings are not always clear. This makes it difficult to track progress and ensure that any agreed actions are completed in a timely manner.

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

Staff recruitment and retention have been from senior managersa challenge for leaders and managers. However, leaders are taking appropriate steps to fill vacancies and stabilise the workforce.

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

Staff feel supported by leaders and managers. They report that leaders and managers are accessible when needed. This helps staff feel confident in seeking guidance.

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

Staff receive training aligned to the children’s needs. Additional bespoke training is provided to staff when needed to ensure that they have the necessary skills and confidence to meet children’s needs effectively. Inspection report for children's home: SC449155 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; 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

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;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that, when children have reported concerns about staff, there is a clear process of actions and investigations to be taken following the outcome of referrals to the LADO, and that this is recorded 23 November 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC449155 7 clearly. This is to provide assurance that all steps have been taken to ensure children are safe.

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager must also ensure that outcomes of actions and investigations are shared with children when they have raised concerns about staff and that this is clearly recorded. This is to ensure that children feel listened to when they report concerns.

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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

In meeting the quality standards, 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; seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered 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)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they communicate effectively with parents and professionals.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that, where possible, they work in partnership with parents, that parents are included in decisions made about their children and information is shared with them in a timely manner. 23 November 2026

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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

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; 23 November 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC449155 8 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (2)(a)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager and provider must ensure that all staff, including bank staff, receive supervision regularly, in line with the organisation’s policy. Supervision notes must be recorded in a timely manner, and notes should be shared with supervisees and confirmation obtained that they are in agreement with the stated actions. Additionally, staff appraisals must take place annually to support staff development.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure staff help each child to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or to live independently. In particular, this includes supporting the child to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope without the home’s support, including practical skills such as cooking, housework, budgeting, self-care and accessing the community. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)

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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: SC449155 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Amicus Community (Arundel) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Coach House, Arundel Road, Fontwell, Arundel BN18 0SX

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Inspectors

Chido Mangava, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Lee Kirwin, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children's home: SC449155 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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