Children's Home run by Cranmead Limited in East Sussex

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2797976 1 Registered provider: Cranmead Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered in November 2024 and is owned and run by a private organisation. It provides care for up to 3 children who experience social, emotional and mental health 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 registered manager position has been vacant since 1 December 2025.

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This monitoring visit

This children’s home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 13 July 2026. Serious and widespread concerns were identified. As a result, a notice restricting accommodation was issued on 20 July 2026. Alongside 3 compliance notices under Regulation 12, the protection of children standard, Regulation 13, the leadership and management standard and Regulation 27, appointment of manager. In addition to the compliance notices, 3 requirements were set under Regulation 7, the children’s views wishes and feelings standard, Regulation 33, employment of staff and Regulation 35, behaviour management policies and records.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was undertaken to assess the provider’s adherence to the restriction notice and to look at the progress made in response to the compliance notices and requirements issued at the last inspection. One compliance notice has been met. However, several requirements set, including those subject to a compliance notice, have not yet been suitably addressed by leaders and managers to ensure that children have safe and positive experiences of their care in the home.

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This monitoring visit

As a result of this inspection, a failure to meet compliance notices and concerns over the effectiveness of leaders and manager over a sustained period of inspections, a notice of proposal to cancel has been issued. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2797976 2 Leaders and managers have been ineffective in independently responding to concerns raised in previous inspections. Action plans created are not clear and monitorable. Tasks have been listed as complete even they remain outstanding. As a result, managers have been unsuccessful in ensuring timely and focused improvements to the care and support offered to children.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders have developed the policies for managing behaviour, use of restraint and responding to allegations. These are now clearer and provide accurate guidance on what actions staff and managers should undertake and what interventions are approved for use. However, managers have not shared these policies with staff or delivered suitable training to ensure that all staff are able to respond to the concerns in the home and understand the techniques and strategies they are permitted to use to keep children safe.

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This monitoring visit

There has been a reduction in the use of physical intervention in the home and only one has been used. Leaders and managers responsible for the home at the time of the incident failed to ensure timely oversight and records of the intervention used. Records of the intervention were amended 16 days after the incident, following a review by the incoming manager. This was undertaken due to inaccuracies in the descriptions of the intervention used. As such, leaders and managers reviewing the incident in the regulatory window had not undertaken appropriate steps to ensure they were clear on the proportionality and effectiveness of the intervention used by staff.

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This monitoring visit

Children’s risk management guidance has not been reviewed in a timely manner and remains unclear. One child’s risk management plan was not reviewed for 9 days following an incident of physical intervention, and another does not have clear guidance for monitoring and managing the child’s access to online devices, despite their known vulnerabilities online. As a result, staff do not have appropriate guidance to support them in taking effective and timely action to identify concerns and escalate them appropriately.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have not received training in responding to allegations raised by children. This is continuing to create vulnerabilities in the processes for responding to children’s concerns. There have been incidents where staff subject to the allegation have been involved in exploring the concerns with the child and sharing the information with professionals, or recording the child’s account. This has impacted on the independence of the reviews undertaken and creates weaknesses in ensuring the children’s voices are heard, and that they feel able to raise concerns.

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This monitoring visit

There are weaknesses in the management of allegations. Leaders have failed to ensure that all concerns are appropriately reported to the local authority designated officer and Ofsted. Concerns have been shared with social workers in a timely manner via email. However, leaders have not shared full and factual information or Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2797976 3 ensured that attention is drawn to areas where external scrutiny is required. When concerns have been raised about staff, leaders have failed to undertake any risk assessment or management plan to ensure that their suitability to continue working with children is reviewed and any potential risks to children are reduced.

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This monitoring visit

There have been improvements in supporting children to feel heard. Children are now receiving written acknowledgement and feedback when they raise complaints. However, managers have not implemented systems to ensure that children are kept informed of the outcome of investigations into allegations they have raised. As such, children have not been supported to understand the actions being taken to keep them safe and, as a result, may not feel that their concerns have been listened to or acted on.

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This monitoring visit

Supervision sessions for staff are taking place on a more regular basis. Leaders have implemented a system to have oversight of supervision frequency and quality. However, they have not used supervision effectively to drive improvements in practice and knowledge of staff in the areas identified in the compliance notices or requirements. As such, these improvements are not yet effective at building consistency in response to safeguarding, practice and standards of care in the home.

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This monitoring visit

There continues to be a high turnover of staff in the home. The previous interim manager has left, and a new manager has started and submitted their application to register with Ofsted. The new manager has started an induction and has received training in providing supervision. The record for monitoring the progress of the manager’s induction is unclear on what tasks must be undertaken, and there is no clear format for identifying if tasks have been completed or setting actions to address tasks that are outstanding. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2797976 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/07/2026 Full Inadequate 23/04/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2797976 5

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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 with 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;

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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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 6 October 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

promotes their welfare. 6 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2797976 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child; 6 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2797976 7 make each child aware of and, if necessary, remind them of each of the matters in sub-paragraph (d)(i) to (iii);

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Requirement Due date

is enabled to provide feedback to, and raise issues with, a relevant person about the support and services that the child receives;

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Requirement Due date

what advocacy support or services are available to the child, how the child may access that support or those services and any entitlement the child may have to independent advocacy provision; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the views of each relevant person are taken into account, so far as reasonably practicable, before making a decision about the care or welfare of a child. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(vii)(b)(i)(iii)(d)(iii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each permanent appointment of an employee is subject to the satisfactory completion of a period of probation.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1)(a)(b) (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is restated. 6 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home. 6 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2797976 8 The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(b) (3)(a)(iii)(iv)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2797976 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 117 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex BN3 2AF

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Inspector

Georgia Carty, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2797976 10 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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