Children's Home run by Break Charity 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:

 The management team provide strong, inspirational leadership. The manager and deputy undertake a range of monitoring activities.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 There is a strong and consistent focus on the needs of the young people. Staff and managers challenge practice that they do not consider to be good enough.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The staff support young people to access and attend education and healthcare appointments. The young people have made progress whilst living in the home.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The staff establish strong, positive relationships with young people. They encourage and support contact with family members.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The young people have regular opportunities to contribute to decisions about their care. The staff attempt to encourage a culture of reward to motivate the young people.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Supervisions are beneficial and contribute to the well-being and development of staff.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The staff use risk assessments positively to identify ways in which activities can take place. Group risk assessments take place prior to young people moving into the home.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 When young people have been missing, arrangements have not been made with the responsible local authority for the child to have an independent return home interview.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff do not currently access training relating to the risks associated with young people who go missing.

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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 that staff gain and refresh skills in safeguarding, with particular reference to issues relating to the risks associated with children who go missing. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 43 paragraph 9.12)  Ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, arrangements are made with the responsible local authority for the child to have an independent return home interview. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 45 paragraph 9.30)

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Information about this children's home

This home provides care and accommodation for up to four children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties, aged between seven and 17 years and is owned by a registered charity.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

19/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

p.5

Good

There is a strong and consistent focus on the needs of the young people who are living in the home. The staff support the young people to form trusted and secure relationships. They spend time with the young people, know them well and are interested in them as individuals. There is a clear focus on ensuring that young people can remain in placement. This helps the young people achieve a sense of belonging.

p.6

Good

The staff build good relationships over time with young people. They also establish a quick rapport with new residents. These relationships often outlast the young people’s stay in the home. The home stays in contact with many young people who have moved on. One young person recently returned to participate in recruitment evenings. This helps the young people who are currently living in the home see that staff are committed to them in the long term.

p.6

Good

The home has high quality case records. The homes care plan is child friendly and informative. It provides a rounded picture of the young person. The plan articulates the young people’s personalities and interests as well as their needs and planned outcomes. This reflects and reinforces the homes focus on the young people as individuals.

p.6

Good

The staff compile monthly, three monthly and annual reports in relation to the young people. These have a focus on young people’s progress. Each report is a bespoke document and individual to the child and the period of time it covers. As a result staff and managers have a thorough, well documented understanding of the needs and progress of young people.

p.6

Good

The staff ensure that young people register with health professionals. There are thorough health care files available for all young people. The staff link young people with specialist services quickly. For example, a new young person has already accessed specialist support in relation to drug and alcohol misuse and smoking cessation. This conveys the message to the young people that there health is important and the staff are keen to help them.

p.6

Good

The staff support young people to access and attend education. They encourage and assist young people to complete homework and maintain links with educational providers. A head teacher said: ‘From the very beginning, if I have ever needed advice or help they have always been available to me. They have backed up whatever we are trying to do in. I cannot ask for any more than that.’ A deputy head teacher said: ‘They challenged me to make sure that the provision was going to be able to meet his needs.’ As a result there is a strong culture of educational importance within the home.

p.6

Good

The staff support young people to develop some independence skills appropriate to their age and understanding. This assists young people to acquire some of the skills they need when they move on from the service. One young person has moved out of the service following a placement breakdown. The manager has reflected on this experience and amended practice accordingly.

p.7

Good

Regular young people’s meetings take place. The young people habitually attend and engage in them. As well as providing the opportunity to explore young people’s views the staff also use these forums to explore certain issues such as e- safety or current news topics. The young peoples are all involved in the recruitment of staff. This means that the young people have regular opportunities to contribute to decisions about their care and see that staff have an interest in their views and opinions.

p.7

Good

The staff promote contact. They have been proactive to support one young person to establish contact with her birth father for the first time. They are organising this carefully to ensure that both the young person and the father are able to manage the complex feelings that are emerging. The staff supported another young person to achieve reunification with her mother in another country. As a result young people are able to maintain, and on occasions increase, their contact with people important to them.

p.7

Good

The young people live in a safe environment. The staff support the young people to manage the distress that they feel on occasions. They are empathic in their responses. Young people have access to an independent visitor. One young person has an advocate, others have had mentors. Social workers visit and spend time with young people. As a result young people have people they can talk to if they feel unsafe.

p.7

Good

There is a consistent approach to fire safety within the home. Regular drills and a variety of weekly safety checks occur. The newest resident and the newest member of staff have both participated in a drill. The manager has ensured that an up to date fire risk assessment is available. These measures protect young people from the risks of fire as far as reasonably possible. The staff complete thorough risk assessments. They use these positively to identify ways in which they can enable activities to take place. The risk assessments explicitly state the benefits for young people of experiencing acceptable risk. As a result the young people experience appropriate risk and developmental opportunities. This enables young people to take part in a range of activities. For example, holidays abroad take place most years.

p.7

Good

Thorough group dynamics assessments take place prior to a young person moving in to the home. Where the manager does not feel that a young person’s needs can safely be met in the home, or where she feels the impact of the placement would be unduly negative on the existing group of young people then placements do not take place. The manager feels able to say no, and feels supported by her superiors in this decision making. This approach contributes to placement stability and security.

p.8

Good

One previous resident was missing from care on four occasions. Although the home informed the placing authority that the young person had been missing no return interviews took place. Return interviews provide an opportunity to discover information that may help protect young people from the risk of going missing again, from the risks that they were exposed to whilst missing and from any potential risk factors associated with the home. The absence of return interviews meant these opportunities were not fully realised. In addition, the staff do not currently receive training in relation to the risks associated with going missing.

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Good

The staff and managers work positively with young people. A social worker said: ‘They always work in her best interests, they love her there.’ The staff attempt to encourage a culture of reward rather than sanction to motivate the young people. The large number of positive consequences young people have experienced evidences this. The staff use sanctions sparingly. When they do use them they do so appropriately. As a result staff do not punish young people disproportionately or unduly punitively. The young people experience occasional distress and disassociation. This has at times necessitated the use of physical interventions to safeguard a young person. The use of physical intervention has been appropriate and proportionate. The manager monitors the measures.

p.8

Good

The staff are clear about safeguarding processes and are able to articulate how they would respond if they had concerns about a member of staff or a managers practice. Where issues have arisen the manager shares these with the appropriate authorities. Judgement grade

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Outstanding

A registered, permanent, suitably experienced and qualified manager effectively and efficiently manages the home. She has been registered manager since 2007 and leads with passion and enthusiasm. She, along with her deputy, is child focused and committed to providing young people with as high a quality of service as possible. This drive and ambition inspires the staff team. Asked if he wanted to add anything else during an inspection interview, a member of staff stated: ‘You can put down how good the managers are. It comes from the heart. It is their passion.’ Another said: ‘The understanding and the empathy we have, it is the manager and the deputy who model and teach us this.’

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Outstanding

The young people have made progress whilst living in the home. The young people arrive at the home following the breakdown of family or other placements. They have often experienced significant trauma and distress. The home works very hard to form effective attachments with the young people. The stability of most placements is a testament to those relationships and is a form of progress in itself. The young people have made other progress in terms of their ability to cope with stressful situations, their independence and their schooling. The management and staff monitor progress through three monthly and annual progress reports.

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Outstanding

Supervisions occur regularly. Supervisors keep clear and detailed records of meetings. Supervisions provide staff with the opportunity to reflect upon practice and discuss issues affecting them. A member of staff said: ‘They are really helpful. Supervisions give me the opportunity to discuss loads of difference things. If I have any problems the managers are really open and supportive.’ Another said: ‘I get very well supported. I have regularly scheduled supervisions and they are very in depth.’ Consequently, supervisions are beneficial and contribute to the well- being and development of staff.

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Outstanding

The staff have access to a wide range of training opportunities. Where there have been some gaps or delays in the availability of training in areas such as eating disorders or child sexual exploitation, the manager has been proactive at arranging for bespoke training sessions to take place from local providers or has accessed resources for staff to undertake e-learning. As a result staff were able to demonstrate a clear understanding of indicators of child sexual exploitation.

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Outstanding

Staff meetings take place regularly. The minutes offer a detailed overview of discussions and evidence reflective practice. Regular guests such as social workers mental health workers and head teachers attend these meetings. A social worker commented:’ At the team meetings all staff members contribute. There was good knowledge of her needs from all of the staff at the meeting.’ The manager and deputy undertake a range of monitoring activities. This includes completing monitoring reports, monitoring case files and paperwork and seeking feedback from professionals, parents and young people. This feedback informs an overall development plan. A recently appointed independent person visits the home on a monthly basis. These visits offer an appropriate level of scrutiny and are an improvement on previous visits which have lacked depth. These processes enable the manager to have a good overview of the homes strengths and areas for

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Outstanding

Relationships between the staff and the young people are strong. Staff spoke about the young people with genuine warmth. Interactions are positive with staff engaging with each young person on an individual level. This includes young people who had lived in the home for a number of years and those who have only just moved in. Feedback from professionals was extremely positive. A social worker said: ‘I think they do a fantastic job with her. They get the balance just right in terms of abilities and aspirations.’ A education professional said: ‘They are very proactive and supportive at finding the right placement.’ A head teacher said: ‘Rosedale is very supportive. When things are not working they have found a way to tell us that has left us still feeling valued.’

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Outstanding

There is evidence that staff and managers challenge practice that they do not consider to be good enough. For example, the staff have challenged senior medical professionals in their response to a young person. This resulted in the young person receiving a service that they would not otherwise have received. The manager and deputy have challenged the local authority in relation to the timely provision of review meetings. While this challenge has not been effective and the placing authority are not providing minutes from reviews staff take notes at review meetings. This ensures that the staff are aware of any action needed.

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Outstanding

The home has worked with the local community to fund raise. They have recently won the wider organisations ‘100 day challenge’. This means that the home has gained a significant amount of money to spend on activities for the young people. It is this fund raising activity that has enabled overseas holidays and other activities that young people may otherwise not have experienced.

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Outstanding

The staff speak with pride of the service provided. One member of staff said: ‘I feel this is a very beautiful and unique place it is the best place I have ever worked.’ Another said: ‘It makes me happy that they call this home. The young people feel safe and secure here.’

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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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