Children's Home run by Child First Limited in West Sussex

Inspection report for children's home: SC044259 1 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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SC044259 Registered provider: Child First 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 home is owned and operated by a private provider.

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Information about this children’s home

According to the statement of purpose, the home uses a care model that involves providing love and care to up to 5 children who may have experienced early childhood trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

In this report, the staff are referred to as ‘adults’, as this is the term used in the home.

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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: 8 September 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: SC044259 2 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/09/2025 Full Good 09/09/2024 Full Good 19/03/2024 Full Good 09/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC044259 3 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Summary of findings

Children are happy in this home and speak positively about their experiences. Adults in the home build good relationships with children and are proud of them and excited about their achievements.

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Summary of findings

Long-standing relationships are built with children, characterised by warmth, affection and a sense of belonging. These are maintained even once children have moved on from living in the home. Children feel supported while living in the home and beyond their time here.

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Summary of findings

Managers and leaders are passionate about providing the best outcomes for children. There is strong oversight of the home, and any shortfalls are identified and rectified promptly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy in the home. They enjoy living here and have positive relationships with adults. One child said, ‘They are just always there for you,’ when talking about how well supported they feel by adults in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have fun in the home. Adults ensure that children have access to a range of activities. They listen to children’s views and provide opportunities for them to do the things they enjoy. Adults encourage children to step out of their comfort zones and experience things that they otherwise may have been reluctant about.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is valued in the home. Children are supported to access education that meets their individual needs. Adults advocate effectively for children when there are barriers to education and help them to re-engage with learning. Children make good progress from their starting points, including after significant periods of disrupted education. Children are supported to explore opportunities specific to their own likes and needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children also make good progress when it comes to independence, and again they are supported to do so in line with their own individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move out of the home, this is well managed, even when the circumstances have been difficult. Children who have previously lived at the home are welcomed back to visit and to maintain enduring positive relationships with adults and children important to them. The home continues to provide practical and emotional support to children who have moved on. This replicates a ‘typical family’ relationship where children are able to return home at times when they feel that they may need support or guidance, or simply to share their current achievements with adults. Inspection report for children's home: SC044259 4 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is homely. Children’s bedrooms are personalised in line with their own likes and preferences, but children are not sufficiently supported to keep them as tidy as they could be. During the inspection, some hazards and areas in need of improvement were identified, and leaders and managers acted on these promptly.

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

Physical intervention in the home is rarely used. When physical intervention does occur, it is in the least restrictive way possible and for the least amount of time necessary. Children and adults are spoken to following incidents to help them understand what went wrong and to explore learning to reduce the risk of similar incidents reoccurring. Leaders and managers have clear and effective oversight of all incidents that do occur. Alongside this, incidents of physical intervention are also reviewed by someone external from the home. This has provided a level of external scrutiny and enabled the home to ensure that their interventions are proportionate and consider the impact on children.

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

Adults respond quickly, and in line with agreed and well-understood procedures when children go missing from the home. Missing-from-home procedures are followed, and adults maintain contact attempts with children throughout their time away from home.

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

When allegations are made, they are fully explored and children’s views are taken seriously. Referrals to the local authority designated officer and notifications to Ofsted are completed promptly, and internal investigations are undertaken. This ensures that children feel listened to and know that they can trust adults to listen to any concerns about their care.

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

Adults are vigilant and intervene effectively to support children who are at risk of harm through exploitation. They support children through difficult times to help them become safer. Adults work effectively in partnership with external agencies in response to safeguarding concerns. The registered manager has keen oversight of safeguarding practice and intervenes effectively to maintain safe and consistent care.

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

Children’s files are kept up to date and adults have good relationships with placing local authorities. However, children’s most recent care plans are not always stored on the home’s system, so they may not be easily accessible to staff. On one occasion, an updated local authority care plan had not been requested since 2024. This runs the risk that care practice is not informed by the most recent and relevant plans for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is passionate about providing child-focused care that is as close to ‘family life’ as possible for children. They are keen to work with children to build a life where they feel cared for and supported and are able to build relationships that they will maintain for many years after leaving the home. Inspection report for children's home: SC044259 5 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Written records in the home are of very good quality. They are child focused and give a good picture of children’s day-to-day lives. Management oversight is strong, and when shortfalls are identified, these are rectified promptly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Adults’ supervision occurs frequently and is of a high standard. Adults in the home feel well supported by leaders and managers and feel that there is an open culture in the home whereby they can access support when needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Adults enjoy working in the home. They have good relationships with children and evidently want what is best for them. Adults speak with a real passion about children and are excited and proud of their achievements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals speak positively about their experiences of working with the home. They feel that adults know children well and that they work positively in line with children’s individual plans. Professionals recognise that the home has faced challenges and complex situations, but they are praised for their commitment and advocacy for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders’ arrangements for external scrutiny through their independent visitor provide them with a good overview of the home’s strengths. However, limited feedback from parents and professionals, and little critical analysis in the independent visitor reports, continues to reduce leaders’ opportunities to identify areas for continuous improvement. Inspection report for children's home: SC044259 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 the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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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)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all children’s up-to-date care plans are sought and stored appropriately on the data recording system to ensure that all staff are working in line with children’s current plans. 8 September 2026

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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 children’s bedrooms 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 actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from monitoring, including actively gaining feedback from parents, carers, professionals, children and staff both internally and through other external mechanisms. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Inspection report for children's home: SC044259 7 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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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: SC044259 8 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Child First Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 62 The Street, Rustington, Littlehampton BN16 3NR

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Inspector

Sheniz Hudaverdi, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC044259 9 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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