Children's Home, Residential special school run by Acorn Norfolk Limited in Norfolk

Unique reference number SC435322 Inspector Gwen Buckley Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Residential special school (>295 days/year)

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Registered manager Melissa Georgina Mathews Date of last inspection 24/06/2014 2 of 11 Inspection date 28/01/2015

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Previous inspection sustained effectiveness Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness good

Outcomes for children and young people good Quality of care good Keeping children and young people safe good Leadership and management outstanding

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Overall effectiveness

A particular strength of the home is the monitoring of practice and the awareness that the management team has of the home’s strengths and areas where practice can be developed. The home provides personalised and very well planned care. Young people make good progress developing their independence skills and education and they enjoy living at the home. They get the help needed, especially in regard to the management of their own behaviours and improving their ability to make choices and be heard.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from positive relationships with the staff and receive excellent support to develop as individuals. Their relationships with staff, who know and understand their needs very well, are excellent and integral to the quality of care provided. Their welfare is safeguarded by the trained experienced staff.

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Overall effectiveness

The home supports young people very well to achieve positive outcomes which include dietary and health care needs. Extremely positive feedback has been received from parents and social workers in relation to the care and support provided at the home.

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Overall effectiveness

Areas for development include improving recruitment and fire procedures. Records following instances of restraint should be fully recorded and the practice of locking 3 of 11 doors should be reviewed. 4 of 11

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Information about this children’s home

The children's home is registered to provide accommodation for 40 children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. The home and school are owned by a private company who also own other social care services. The school is registered with the Department for Education as a school to cater for boys and girls aged from four to 19 years. They have children staying for 52 weeks a year.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/06/2014 Interim sustained effectiveness 24/09/2013 Full adequate 31/07/2013 Interim inadequate progress 03/10/2012 Full good

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure where there has been physical restraint, children's homes must be able to call on medical assistance as required and children are always given the opportunity to be examined by a registered nurse of medical professional (NMS 3.16)  ensure no children's home restricts the liberty of any child as a matter of routine or provides any form of secure accommodations unless that home is an approved secure children's home (NMS 3.19)  ensure there is an emergency escape plan that all staff and children are familiar with and have practiced so they know what to do in an emergency. This specifically relates to night time drills and practice if a child refuses to leave the building (NMS 10.9) 5 of 11  ensure the home consistently follows good recruitment practice, and all applicable current statutory requirements and guidance, in staff recruitment is followed. This specifically relates to including the Disqualified for Caring for Children Regulations in the recruitment process.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

All young people attend the on-site school. School is an integral part of their daily routines. Some young people did not attend school prior to moving into this home, they now attend one hundred percent of the time. School and home staff work in tandem whereby residential staff continue the work undertaken by the school staff. Accordingly, young people receive a consistent approach to their developmental needs. As a result, they make significant progress socially.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people access a wide range of health and education professionals on site. They engage with the professionals as they feel secure meeting them in their home. Consequently, young people have cohesive care plans and their emotional and physical wellbeing improves. Staff consistently monitor and promote young people’s progress. A parent said, ‘They have done so well with our daughter. They are doing brilliantly compared to everywhere else she has been.’

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Staff encourage young people to develop appropriate social and practical skills, which will be beneficial for them when moving on. Staff are knowledgeable about the YP’s individual needs. A parent commented, ‘staff are knowledgeable. They are thinking about my son socially rather than academically. They are addressing the skills he needs, social skills rather than academic skills.’

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Outcomes for children and young people good

All staff are trained to administer medication. Young people see the onsite nurse monthly for a routine health check, this ensures young people have up to date health plans. They access the on-site multi-disciplinary team. Subsequently members of this team contribute to care planning. This reduces the need for young people to be exposed to anxiety including situations outside of the home. All young people have individual nutrition plans. As a result, young people are introduced to new foods and eat a balanced diet.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people meet with an activity worker to plan activities focussed on stimulation, learning and enjoyment. As a result young people experience activities in line with their likes, dislikes and individual needs. Staff have established relationships with community organisations. Consequently, young people benefit from engaging in routine tasks, for example, food shopping and recreational activities in the community. Parents and family members are able to engage in activities with young people. Staff have developed activity packs related to local resources enjoyed by the young people. This means young people benefit from assessing a range of activities.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Some young people live a considerable distance from their home areas. Family members and significant people can stay on site in houses provided specifically for this purpose. This ensures that young people and family members are able to enjoy more quality contact time. 7 of 11 Staff facilitate familiarisation visits to support young people moving on to new provisions. Likewise, young people visit the provision a number of times before moving in. As a result, young people develop a sense of the forthcoming change. Staff work in partnership with family members and professionals to plan for transition.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people make good progress with self-care skills. For example, staff encourage them to wash their own clothes and prepare meals. This support begins to prepare young people for a relative degree of future independence.

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Quality of care good

Young people receive consistent care in line with their individual care plans. Staff are knowledgeable about individual young people’s unique needs. This means, young people are able to predict staff responses, which helps them to feel secure. Staff are attuned to the young people’s varying levels of social skills. Staff use this understanding to encourage appropriate interaction between young people, for example, using group activities. One parent said, ‘there are lots of positives. They try to take him out. They try to get him mixing with other children.’

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Quality of care good

Staff use individual communication preferences to offer young people choices. Young people participate in meetings where their views are sought for example, in respect of activities and food choices. An independent visitor visits twice a month and young people meet with the advocate individually or in groups, with or without the support of staff. One parent commented, ‘I will say my daughter is very high on autistic spectrum. The staff are marvellous. The care and attention is absolutely wonderful.’

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Quality of care good

Young people have clear and comprehensive in house placement plans covering all of their health, education and basic care needs. Although care plans are not specific about young people’s cultural, religious or identify needs, staff have a sufficient commitment to promoting diversity and equality. Staff and young people use the organisations multi-disciplinary team to develop potential opportunities to improve young people’s well-being. An example of this is the use of a ‘sensory diet’ plan, which focusses on how daily activities can be used to meet a young person’s need for sensory stimulation. Young people are consulted in respect of planning and their responses to interventions inform future planning. This ensures that young people feel that their views are valued.

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Quality of care good

All staff have training in administering medication. There are up to date, robust recording and monitoring systems in place to support the safe administration of medication. First aid trained staff are available at all times, means young people are responded to in a timely manner should there be an accident requiring medical attention.

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Quality of care good

Young people visit the provision a number of times before moving in. The manager 8 of 11 and staff encourage parents, carers and family members to visit the provision. Staff offer young people the opportunity to personalise their rooms prior to moving in. A social worker said, ‘One young person wanted a room that was identical to the one she was leaving. Staff decorated her new room to the exact specification of her old room. This familiarity supported her transition.’

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Quality of care good

The home is undergoing improvement work. Young people currently benefit from two recently completed sensory rooms and new living accommodation. The homes are furnished with provision for relaxation, creative activities and areas with electronic devices for example televisions and DVD players. There are thick pile carpets in the communal areas, which provides sensory stimulus for young people. Young people choose a range of games and books for their bedrooms. This is their personal space and staff acknowledge having this space is beneficial to the young people’s wellbeing.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The safety of residential pupils is very well managed. Staff have a very clear understanding of their role in keeping young people safe and consider safety at all times. Robust policies and procedures are well established and implemented by staff at all levels. The Local Authority Designated Officer is complimentary about the way the senior staff work with her and the way work with her team and manage allegations.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Staff effectively help young people, subject to their individual understanding, to develop an awareness of different forms of abuse. This helps them feel safe and ensures they know what to do to keep safe or if they are concerned. The staffing levels at the home are linked to risk and this helps to keep the young people safe.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Sharing information between the parents and different professionals involved in the care of the young people means a range of highly individualised plans are used. These reflect particular strengths and vulnerabilities which helps keep young people safe. A particular strength of the staff team is their ability to focus on and develop their understanding of the highly differing ways young people communicate. This work is taken forward within a multi-disciplinary team including speech and language therapists. This newly established therapeutic support means highly individualised and effective communication systems for each young person are being developed. As a result, they are each able to make choices and have a voice to maximise their independence.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Staff help young people manage their behaviour and assist them to develop strategies to address issues they may have. Parents consider the communication with the home has improved in the last year and they are confident staff will hold the boundaries and keep the children safe. They feel their children are cared for by staff who listen and address any concerns they have. 9 of 11 Very few sanction have been imposed and when used they are well recorded. For the vast majority of young people, due to their level of understanding, sanctions are not part of behaviour management. Physical restraint, when used, keeps young people safe. Records of these incidents are generally well maintained and the management review of records raises action to improve the records. However, on a very few occasions staff omit to record if the young people have been given the opportunity to see a medical practitioner. In each case, however, there is no

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Keeping children and young people safe good

evidence that a young person has been injured, the staff are simply not completing the form as expected.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Should a young person go missing, staff are aware of the actions to take to keep young people safe. The manager has a protocol agreed with the local missing person liaison officer. This helps them understand the needs and vulnerability of the young people and ensure an appropriate response is made by the police should a young person go missing.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Staff recruitment checks undertaken are in line with the regulations which ensure all checks are undertaken prior to a member of staff starting work. This helps to protect pupils. However, the recruitment process does include the Disqualified for Caring for Children Regulations.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

There has been extensive refurbishment to the buildings used by young people. Some areas have been closed completely for refurbishment and gradually brought back into service. As a result, young people are safe and new buildings meet their needs and provide a range of communal and quite areas. Where fire doors were not operating as expected, the Registered Manager has found a way to resolve the issue. Day time fire drills take place very regularly and young person know how to leave the premises. All young people have a personal emergency evacuation plan in place and on a few occasions young people have refused to leave the building during a fire drill during the day. No night-time drills have taken place to establish if the procedures are effective or procedures need to change.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Bedrooms reflect the needs of individuals and their ability to manage different levels of stimuli, helping young people to feel safe. These measures ensure young people have a pleasant place to live. However, in some areas the use of key fobs which mean that young people are unable to leave the building without staff. For some young people, this may be seen as safe practice, but as the home is not a secure unit and sits within secured grounds this needs to be reviewed.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Medication administration is well managed. Medication is safely stored and there is always more than one member of staff on duty with a relevant first aid qualification. This ensures residential pupils are kept safe. 10 of 11

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Leadership and management outstanding

The leadership and management of the residential provision is a particular strength of the service. The Registered Manager is an experienced childcare worker who holds the National Vocational Qualifications at level four in both management and care. The actions and recommendations raised at the last inspection have been addressed. Internal and external quality monitoring system have significantly improved which means they have an excellent understanding about the home’s strengths and areas they want to develop further. This is reflected in a clear development plan, which looks at each of the home’s different accommodation blocks, and the support needed to develop each one.

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Leadership and management outstanding

A strong management team sets the ethos of the residential provision and the management structure is clear with lines of accountability transparent. A multi- disciplinary approach to care ensures staff work effectively with others to help each young person achieve and develop. Staff actively consult and involve the young people and their parents ensuring consistency of care between family members, the children’s home and school.

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Leadership and management outstanding

The residential service is integral to the school. Senior managers are accessible to both the staff and the young people. The management and detailed planning of activities ensures the smooth running of the home.

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Leadership and management outstanding

Staff training is a priority at the home ensuring the care staff develop a very good understanding autism which helps them support young people more effectively. The focus of safeguarding training from external providers and the access to other specialist training means staff feel they are listened to and more prepared to support and care for the young people. As a result, the very knowledgeable and experienced staff team has an excellent understanding of each young person’s unique needs and how best to support them as individual’s.

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Leadership and management outstanding

There are very good monitoring arrangements in place. The external monitoring take place monthly, it ensures compliance with expected practice as well as setting actions to develop practice further. Internal monitoring reports show areas, which need to be improved, and includes the views of young people, their family members and external professionals. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management outstanding

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Judgement Description

Outstanding A service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Good A service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Adequate A service that only meets minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Inadequate A service that does not meet minimum requirements.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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Information about this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the framework of inspection for children's homes.

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