Children's Home run by Norfolk County Council in Norfolk

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has Improved effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the previous inspection the same young person has been living at the home as a sole placement. He moved out on 24 January 2016. At the time of this inspection there were no young people living in the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager has addressed the requirements and recommendation made at the previous inspection. The young person who recently moved was provided with an education tutor. He did not consistently engage but this provision was an improvement on the previous lack of education.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager has pursued significant and required paperwork; he has contacted those responsible and made efforts to obtain it. As a result, more information has been available to staff about the young person’s plans. The manager has amended the statement of purpose to clearly set out the process for young people to move into the home in an emergency. This helps to ensure that any such placements are managed appropriately and in the young person’s best interests. The manager is now ensuring that handwritten entries in records are legible. Consequently, they can be more effectively monitored and any young people who may wish to read their records, now or in the future, will be able to do so more easily.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young person moved from the home in a planned and positive way. He has not had a planned move before. This has been the longest placement he has had. This has enabled him to have a sense of stability and develop supportive relationships with staff. Professionals external to the home made very positive comments about how well staff had helped him to make progress. They said that the patience, tolerance and understanding of staff had helped the young person to make significant progress. Because of this, he has been able to communicate better with staff in his new placement. External professionals also said that staff have shown an absolute commitment to the young person, who has been able to develop a sense of self while living at the home. The young person himself wrote to staff and listed some of the things he had liked about living at the home. These included the support from staff, which helped to calm him when he was annoyed

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

and some of the activities he did, like playing football with staff. Staff are maintaining some contact with the young person in his new placement. During his time living at this home, staff have helped him to make progress and to start to control his behaviour. The planned move and positive ending will help him to settle into his new placement and give him a message about good endings and his worth.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There is a system for the registered manager and other senior staff to monitor the progress of young people and the functioning of the home. For the most part this is effective. There are a couple of areas where it has not been as effective as it could have been in maintaining and improving the quality of care for the young person living in the home. The registered manager completes reviews of the quality of care, but does not include the opinions of staff, which could add significantly to the process. The reports themselves do not contain any actions, which the registered manager considers necessary to maintain or improve the quality of care provided for young people. The reports do, however, provide a very detailed picture of the operation of the home. Some of the monitoring has not been sufficiently thorough and has not identified missing or poorly completed paperwork. The system is not as good as it could be in ensuring that any shortfalls

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager and staff work very closely and effectively with other professionals, such as placing social workers, youth offending staff and child and adolescent mental health services. These agencies describe very good communication with the home. One said ‘it was amazing to work with the staff’. These strong relationships help to ensure that young people’s needs are identified and met consistently.

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Information about this children's home

This children’s home provides time-limited placements and is owned and run by the local authority. It is registered for two young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

25/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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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

13. The leadership and management standard: In order to meet the leadership and management standard, with particular reference to ensuring that monitoring is thorough and accurate, the registered provider must ensure that they: (2)(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 31/03/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the quality of care provided for children and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. The system must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of staff. (Regulation 45 (2)(a)(c)(5)) 30/04/2016

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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

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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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