Children's Home, Residential special school run by SES Turnstone Limited 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 make progress in all areas of their development. Their educational needs are rigorously assessed and school attendance is high. They are achieving success in academic subjects, which has surprised them and boosted their self-esteem.  Young people participate in wide range of activities and pastimes which are carefully assessed and supervised. Young people learn to relax and enjoy themselves safely. In addition, they acquire skills that will help them make the transition into adulthood and view their future positively.  Risks are scrupulously assessed and balanced with management strategies. These are regularly reviewed and amended as necessary. If young people require extra support, this is arranged without delay.  Young people form warm and caring relationships with staff, who are patient and insightful. Young people value their opinions and listen to them. Staff promote positive behaviour and, while young people can be volatile,

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The children's home provision is good because:

the frequency and severity of negative incidents have decreased.  The management team is ambitious for the home. Staff and managers speak highly of one another, and this leads to a culture that is purposeful and confident.  Some shortfalls have been identified during this inspection. The local risk assessment needs to be updated to reflect the dangers of the nearby road and how Internet access in the home is being controlled. Managers need to develop an accurate supervision schedule recording when sessions have taken place and with whom. The management team does not have access to an up-to-date training matrix for the staff and therefore cannot make strategic decisions about what training is required for the staff team as a whole. These matters are not currently having an impact on the safety and well-being of young people.

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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 „Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards‟. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children‟s home at least once in each calendar year, taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard), with particular reference to reviewing arrangements for protection on local roads and Internet safety (Regulation 46(1)). 15 August

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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 that the responsible adults balance the wishes of the child against what they judge to be in the best interests of the child and reach a reasonable view about the best way forward in the interests of all, with particular reference to formally resolving any complaints („Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 22, paragraph 4.9).  Ensure that the registered person has systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision with particular reference to maintaining an accurate schedule that records when supervision has taken place and how this is organised in the staff team („Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 13.2).  Ensure that there is a record of any new training and qualifications completed by

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Recommendations

staff while working at the home, with particular reference to tracking what training needs to be renewed so that the professional development of the staff group as a whole is continuously monitored („Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 53, paragraph 10.8).

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Information about this children's home

The home is managed and run by a private company. It provides residential care for up to eight young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Education is provided on the same site.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.5

Recent inspection history

18 February 2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

6 November 2014 Interim Improved effectiveness

p.5

Good

Young people make progress because they are helped to develop secure relationships with staff and managers who enhance their self-esteem, and help them to deal with anxiety and disappointment. For instance, young people rarely make a formal complaint, preferring to approach staff for an immediate answer. They may not be happy with the result or the time it takes to reach an answer, but they are confident that they are being heard. As a result, young people gain confidence: The mother of one young person said: ‟If she has had a bad day, staff don‟t let it get her down. As a result, she has started to think about her behaviour and she is much more reflective.‟

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Good

All young people attend school. For many with a long history of exclusion or poor attendance, this is remarkable progress. However, both the educational and care teams are ambitious for young people and determined that they should reach their full potential. All young people are subject to a full diagnostic assessment, which feeds into team training for both care and educational staff. The head of education acknowledges the difficulty of ensuring that every young person should make progress: „This can be very challenging. Learning is not coincidental.‟ There is a clear focus on maths and English, in line with the national curriculum. The majority of young people have passed exams in maths and English, some are studying for GCSEs while other have successfully completed periods of work experience. Young people surprise themselves when they achieve. One young person told his teacher that he never expected to sit any exams, and this has contributed to a positive

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Good

Young people benefit from a plethora of activities including sports such as football, boxing and rugby, music production and cooking in the home. Each activity is seen as a learning opportunity which contributes to their overall progress. Young people relax and have fun, but also learn discipline and how to get along with one another. This helps to enhance their confidence.

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Good

Running in tandem with education, the home provide a bespoke service to help young people learn life skills that will support them as independent adults. This begins from the moment that young people arrive and covers a wide range of practical and social skills. This means that young people slowly become accustomed to the idea of adult life and start to feel more positive about the future.

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Good

Staff and managers understand the importance of supporting relationships between young people and their families, both in practical terms and providing moral support. The mother of one young person said: ‟They share information now about what they are doing to help him, even if it isn‟t working, so we share difficulties and what might work.‟ Young people are aware that staff and families are working together more closely, and this is a powerful message that helps to keep them safe.

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Good

Young people feel safe and are safe as the result of supportive relationships, detailed risk assessments and consistent review by managers of safeguarding arrangements in the home.

p.7

Good

Each young person works with staff from both the care and educational teams who know their needs and vulnerabilities well. Many young people have a history of complex behaviour which can be demonstrated in very challenging behaviour, particularly in the early stages. Staff and managers understand this and concentrate on making a positive start. The mother of one young person said: ‟She has made a lot of progress, mainly because she has started to make relationships with staff who will go above and beyond. They are consistent and if they say that they will do something, they do it, so she has learnt to trust them.‟

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Good

The management team plans well for any future admissions. All referrals are considered by an external consultant psychiatrist who advises the team, and the impact of any newcomer on the current group is taken into account. Many young people are making the transition from highly specialised provision, so plans are scrupulously well organised. Risks are matched with detailed strategies to ensure that they can be managed in advance of the new arrival. Managers from both education and care teams visit the young people in their current setting, who come to see the home where they meet staff and the current group for the first time. As a result of this deliberate approach, young people know what to expect and this helps them to feel safe. The mother of one young person said: „He tests boundaries but from a position that he feels secure. When he first came, he couldn‟t cope with the freedom.‟

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Good

Incidents of young people going missing have dropped dramatically in the past months and many young people have not experienced this at all. On the rare occasions that a young person has absconded, the response from staff and managers has been organised and confident. They use the information from the incident to update the individual risk assessment and intervene if they recognise negative influences operating in the group. For instance, while there are parental controls for the use of the Internet within the home, staff and managers are aware that technology is fast developing and that they need to manage potential risks consistently. The management team has recently commissioned an assessment of how to improve Internet safety in the home. As a result, young people are safeguarded.

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Good

Staff are insightful and appreciate that young people‟s behaviour can reflect confusion and trauma. They start by encouraging positive behaviour. For instance, all young people have to attend school, but for many this raises anxieties about failure so staff concentrate on exercises that teach them to listen and take instructions. The parent of one young person said: „They are very skilled with him: they “wrap education around him”, using his interests to teach him writing and maths and he is so much more confident now.‟ Consequently, they learn by encouragement and this enhances their self-esteem. One young person stated at his statutory review that he feels that it is the best place he has ever been.

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Good

At the same time, while staff and managers are stoic and patient when confronted with volatile behaviour, there are clear limits. All serious incidents of negative behaviour are routinely recorded and addressed with the young people. There is an emphasis on restorative work, where young people have to make reparation to rebuild relationships. They are also taught that there will be consequences to their behaviour, including appropriate financial penalties if they have damaged property.

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Good

Progress is sometimes slow, but is tangible. The social worker for one young person said: „There used to be a lot of incidents, but recently these seem to have been decreasing and are not so fierce. She seems more able to reflect on her behaviour and is remorseful.‟

p.8

Good

The physical environment is safe, but recent incidents have exposed some potential weaknesses in security arrangements. Staff and managers took immediate action to reinforce protocols so that young people do not access the office and have strengthened security arrangements. The local risk assessment is not robust. It does not refer in detail to how the home is approaching Internet safety or the dangers of the nearby roads, especially at night. The management team accepts that there needs to be clear strategies in place to manage these issues and keep young people safe.

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Good

The management team is aware that this is difficult and complicated work for staff who are under consistent pressure and, on occasion, may need extra support and guidance. The team is in contact with the local designated officer regularly to discuss any safeguarding concerns. Some allegations have been addressed, but still require formal resolution and closure, with the result that both young people and staff are not clear about the decision. The team acknowledges this and is addressing this urgently. Feedback from social workers and parents is that staff and managers are open to criticism and want to improve. The mother of one young person said: „They are very honest if they have messed up. Communication has improved and we feel part of the team.‟ This means that no issue is left to chance and this drives improvement in practice. Judgement grade

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Good

There were no requirements or recommendations following the last inspection. The registered manager was appointed in September 2015 and has been confirmed in the post, following a successful probation period. He was accepted onto the national vocational qualifications (NVQ) level 5 course in March 2016. He has over 10 years‟ experience in residential work, including over a year in a managerial role.

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Good

The staff team is now almost complete, with a number of new staff recently recruited. All new staff are either appropriately qualified already, enrolled on NVQ level 3 training or waiting to complete their induction training. The management team has balanced staff rotas so that each shift includes a mixture of experienced and newly recruited staff. This has led to a noticeable improvement in confidence and sense of security in the staff group.

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Good

Many young people have very complex needs, so staff and managers need to have an assured response to contain young people‟s anxiety and assess dangers accurately. Staff can rely on shift handovers and weekly staff meetings to share information and strategies. They work as a team and have confidence in one another. Some staff speak of the intensive nature of the work, from managing negative incidents to the high number of meetings. However, they also comment positively on the „no limits‟ ethos of the home, enjoy discussions with the consultant therapists in staff meetings and feel that young people are safe. One member of staff spoke of the management team as open to change, and said: „That is incredibly supportive. They are always open to finding ways to deal with old problems.‟ This feedback reflects a dynamic and energetic staff team that takes its responsibilities very seriously and expects its views to be considered. Young

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Good

people benefit from being looked after by staff who feel valued themselves.

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Good

Staff confirm that they receive regular recorded supervision. However, the current supervision schedule is not up to date and does not reflect how supervision is organised at the home. This means that any errors or gaps are not immediately identified.

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Good

In addition, staff records clearly indicate that individual staff receive training, but the registered manager does not have access to an overall matrix which indicates when training needs to be updated. Consequently, the management team does not have an overall strategic view of training needs. This can affect the overall professional development of the staff team.

p.9

Good

The team actively monitors the service in the home, both in terms of individual young people and overall progress. For instance, every month young people and their allocated workers will review their progress across education, life skills, activities and behaviour. These reports are scrutinised by the management team members, who comment on the outcomes. They know the young people very well, have regular daily contact with them and attend all important meetings. The management team benefits from regular contributions from a child psychiatric consultant and family therapist who provide bespoke support on individual cases. This ensures that young people maintain progress in their care plans.

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Good

The management team also scrutinises monthly records of negative incidents to ensure a consistency of response in how these are managed and to unpick any new issues. For instance, a recent occurrence of negative behaviour in some young people turned out to be the response to a new arrival in the group. The team was able to place this development in context, to predict and plan for possible consequences. As the result of this careful review of information, nothing is left to chance and young people‟s needs are met.

p.10

Good

Staff and managers work hard to maintain and improve relationships with parents, social workers and other professionals, with the result that there is an integrated approach to young people‟s care. For instance, the mother of one young person said: „Staff are very supportive, but it has taken time to build up that relationship. Now it is fine and they keep us up to date, along with the social worker. I am very happy with the placement and I can see in her face that she is happy to be there.‟

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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‟. 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 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 „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 0300 123 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, work- based 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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