Children's Home run by BREAK in Norfolk

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people’s progress is evident. They enjoy a wide variety of experiences helping them grow in confidence.  The quality of relationships between young people and staff is very good and supports their progress.  Young people all attend school, staff advocate on young people’s behalf to reduce any barriers to attendance.  Extremely good partnership working with parents and external professionals is strength of the provision.  The cohesive staff team are established and stable proving good continuity of care.  The management team strive to make continual improvements to the home.

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What does the children's home need to do to improve

 External and internal monitoring lack depth evaluation and consultation.  The garden area is not consistently maintained. There is in one area that young people use where staff smoking debris is evident.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, 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

Ensure that the independent visitor visits the home at least once a month and produces a report which sets out in particular whether children are effectively safeguarded and whether the conduct of the home promotes children's wellbeing. This is with reference to the length of the visit and the report.(Regulation 44 (1)(4)(a)(b)) 30/11/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the review of care ascertains the views and considers the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (5) 30/12/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must without delay notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (1) (4)( c) 30/10/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s): Ensure staff provide a welcoming and nurturing environment this in regard to making suitable arrangements for staff smoking debris. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 15 paragraph 3.7)

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Information about this children's home

The home is operated by a charitable organisation and provides care for up to four young people who have a learning difficulty, physical disability or sensory impairment.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

20/03/2015 Interim Improved Effectiveness

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Good

Young people have complex needs and little verbal communication. Staff provide highly individualised care that fully encompasses each young person’s unique needs. Staff are resourceful and adept in their understanding of each young person. Young people relish time with staff. Relationships are based on consistency and trust. This has enabled young people to progress in their communication skills and minimise behavioural incidents. This removes barriers to social interactions supporting opportunities outside the home. Staff strive to offer lots of choices and seek young people’s views. Young people choose their clothes, activities and décor. They benefit from regular holidays. Staff take them caravanning, camping and to a guest house on the coast. They regularly attend community clubs, sports camps and enjoy larger events such as air shows and football matches. Their leisure time is interesting and varied and means they

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Good

have a variety of experiences in line with peers of their age. Young people benefit from home cooked meals. There are good supplies of fresh fruit and vegetables. Meals are appetising and healthy. This has enabled young people to regulate their appetites and improve their health. The home provides a welcoming and homely environment for young people. There is ample space for equipment enabling them to move around freely. The home is property maintained and safe. Recent refurbishment has improved living areas and there is a new sensory Jacuzzi bathroom. Young people thoroughly enjoy this facility, encouraging their personal care and hygiene. The garden has a new summer house providing extra space for visitors and young people grow vegetables outside in beds. The garden is generally well maintained, except a bucket of cigarettes debris in the garden placed on the path to the vegetable garden. This is gives a poor message about good health.

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Outstanding

Young people’s safety and welfare is paramount. High priority is given to ensuring young people feel reassured and emotionally contained. Established routines and specific staff support help young people feel confident and comfortable in the home. Risks to young people are highlighted and mitigated against using comprehensive risk assessment. Protocols are in place to ensure responses to potential missing incidents are coordinated and clear. Parents say they know unreservedly that young people are protected by the staff and absolutely safe in the home. Young people have complex needs and require high levels of supervision. There are no reports of bullying. Noise levels and actions may irritate and trigger others at the level of sibling rivalry. Behaviour management plans are clear and up-to-date. These are unanimously implemented by staff and supported by parents. This has resulted in a reduction in incidents enabling young people to improve default behaviours. Consequential

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Outstanding

sanctions are well thought out and closely monitored in relation to young people’s understanding and cognitive ability. The manager ensures staff practice and interventions fully replicate care planning, showing good managerial oversight. Young people’s diagnosis and behaviours do result in physical interventions. These interventions are carried out by trained staff and meet the required criteria. Review of the number of incidents shows an overall decline. Staff are competent and successful in de-escalation techniques. Recruitment procedures are robust and meticulous. All staff undertake safeguarding training and have a strong understanding of procedures and whistle blowing arrangements. This provides good safeguards for young people. Regular drills and checks within the home ensure that equipment is safe and ready for use. Oversight by the fire officer and health and safety manager provide specific expertise to minimise hazards and service firefighting equipment. Fire

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Outstanding

evacuation is practised with staff. This minimises upset for young people while ensuring staff are confident. Judgement grade

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Good

The Registered Manager ensures efficient management of the home. She is established in her post and qualified to a Level 5 diploma. Senior staff work well together to lead and motivate the team. Collective team effort is a key strength of this home. This results in consistency in practice reducing behavioural incidents. Staff share ambitious aspiration for each young person. They are competent and resourceful in their approach and this helps young people make significant progress. This home has many outstanding elements; however, there are regulatory shortfalls in monitoring and reporting. Although there has been a period of weak external monitoring the organisation has recognised this shortfall. Independent monitoring has recently been commissioned to a new visitor and this has improved radically, however, previous reporting was neither adequate nor robust. This weakens the extra safeguard of the independent visitor role. The internal

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Good

monitoring is systematic although compilation of this data into a review does not include consultation with parents, placing authorities or young people. The young people in this service have limited verbal communication and therefore sourcing parental and professional feedback is key. The manager is fully aware of the strengths and areas for development. Action plans define clear targets linked to individual staff. The dates are realistic, action points are completed generating improvements to the quality of care. The home have an excellent rapport with parents and professionals. Parents are warmly welcomed and visibly relaxed and comfortable with staff. Feedback is exceptionally positive. One parent said: ‘They love him as much as we do.’ Another said: ‘They are an amazing group of people and while they are professional they generate a family type environment.’ A social worker said: ‘The families I work with

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Good

talk highly of the care their young people receive’. Another said: ‘Young people absolutely thrive at this home’. Staff relish working within the supportive team. They like the management style and feel supported and appreciated. They have regular supervision, training needs are identified and their professional development is fostered. This is strength of the management team. The staff team are established and long serving. Changes are few providing consistent care to young people. However, there were two concerns raised about the conduct of staff that were not referred to Ofsted. While these have been investigated and closed, this does not mirror the policy about managing allegations and does not enable external professional’s to guide investigations. This was an isolated error made by the manager.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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