Children's home run by Norfolk County Council in Norwich

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 children receive short breaks that provide them with the opportunity to experience activities that they would not otherwise access.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 The children make progress in relation to their independence skills and their social skills. The service makes a significant contribution to this progress.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 The process for introducing children to the service is clear and well established. Introductions are effective.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Parents value the service, in relation to both the experience that it provides for their children and the opportunity that it provides for them. They report very good relationships with the staff and managers. Professionals are also positive about the service.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 The management team shares safeguarding concerns promptly. This enables agencies to work together to keep children safe.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 The staff have a clear understanding of the increased vulnerability of disabled children. They attend safeguarding training that focuses on the experiences of disabled children.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 There are some areas for improvement. These have not had an impact on children’s safety. The service needs to ensure that it meets its own standards in relation to training. The supervision of some staff is not sufficiently frequent. Recruitment procedures need to ensure that a full employment history is gathered. Quality of care reports need to include additional feedback.

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the requirements of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employers), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25(2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular reference to ensuring that the fire risk assessment accurately assesses the risks in the home and that personal emergency evacuation plans are accurate and informed by children's participation in fire drills. 07/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. With particular regard to ensuring full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2, in particular, a full employment history, together with a satisfactory explanation of any gaps in employment, in writing. (Regulation 32(1)(3)(d)) 21/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continual professional development and receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular regard to ensuring that training arrangements follow the home’s own policies in relation to frequency and that the staff receive sufficiently regular supervision. 31/12/2016

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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 children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45(2)(a)(c)(5)) 31/10/2016

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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 when using symbols to communicate, the symbols are chosen carefully to promote accessibility best. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all staff consistently follow the home’s policies and procedures in relation to lone working. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20)

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Information about this children's home

This children's home is run by a local authority. The home provides short breaks for a maximum of nine children or young people. The children and young people who are accommodated have a learning, physical or sensory disability, multiple disabilities or complex health needs.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 30/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/11/2015 Full Good 16/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/12/2014 Full Outstanding

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Good

The children make progress because of the support that the service provides. Parents and professionals report that children increase their independence and improve their socialisation. This is a strength, given the relatively short periods of time that children spend in the home. The service has good relationship with specialist health providers such as the local mental health service.

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Good

The children build good relationships with the staff in the home. Parents and professionals recognise this. These relationships support children, who may otherwise be very anxious, to enjoy their short breaks. Interactions are strong and positive. The staff and children are generally relaxed in one another’s company.

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Good

The building is well kept and the children’s rooms are tidy. The building achieves a child-friendly, welcoming effect. There is a range of photographs of children engaged in activities, many of them recent, adorning the wall. The children have access to a range of leisure opportunities. For example, the staff recently took children on a camping trip. This was the first time that these children had experienced such an opportunity. The staff and managers took a positive approach to managing risk to enable this activity to take place. Because of the actions of staff, children experience things that they would otherwise not be able to.

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Good

There is a clear, well-established process in place for admitting children into the home. The staff and managers follow a staged approach. This results in the successful introduction of children to the service. It reduces the likelihood of children feeling distress and the anxiety that parents have about accessing the service.

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Good

The children all attend school. The staff and managers liaise with schools as part of the induction process. They attend school reviews whenever possible. This contributes to a joined-up approach to meeting the children’s needs.

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Good

The staff are able to communicate effectively with the children. They are able to draw children gently into conversations, thereby encouraging additional social interactions. Regular meetings take place each week with the children. This enables a range of children to be involved. Less frequent consultations with a children’s user group also occur. The staff write the meeting notes up using symbols. The staff and managers also use symbols to adapt other information in the home. However, while carefully chosen symbols help to make information easier to understand, there are too many symbols used in the documents produced in the home to achieve this. The home has been creative in its use of other technology to communicate with children. For example, it has produced an introductory DVD. This further assists children in transitioning into the service.

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Good

The management team ensures that it shares safeguarding concerns with safeguarding professionals promptly. The staff keep clear and comprehensive records of concerns, and these actions contribute to children being kept safe. The staff are aware of avenues to raise concerns and are able to identify whom they could contact. The staff know who the senior managers are, and the responsible individual is a visible presence in the home. The staff report that they would be comfortable discussing concerns with him.

p.8

Good

No children have gone missing from the home since the last inspection. There are children thought to be experiencing child sexual exploitation. However, the management team is not complacent and have ensured that staff have had the opportunity to attend training in managing child sexual exploitation, including training with a focus on disabled children. The staff have also attended training relating to safeguarding disabled children. The staff are able to demonstrate an understanding of the increased vulnerability of disabled children. This contributes to lessening the risks that the children face in the care of the home.

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Good

The staff use sanctions and consequences to manage behaviour. Records are clear and managers routinely monitor these. On occasions, the home needs to use physical interventions to manage behaviour. The interventions are short and effective. The manager monitors these and seeks additional information, as necessary. The needs of the children mean that formal consultation is not always practical after an incident, and instead the management team ensures that further monitoring of the child’s well-being takes place.

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Good

Recruitment processes need to improve. Two staff have started working in the home prior to the manager gaining full employment histories. Although these are being sought and the staff are not currently working alone with children, the information should be available prior to employment.

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Good

Children have individual evacuation plans. However, these do not note whether the child has participated in a fire drill. In addition, one contained information that is incorrect. The fire risk assessment is incorrect regarding training arrangements. A number of staff are out of date regarding the self-imposed timescales for refresher training. While the staff understand evacuation procedures and regular drills and tests take place, combined, these issues have the potential to compromise children’s safety. There are times that the staff undertake lone working. This includes on home visits. A lone-working risk assessment is in place, but staff have insufficient knowledge of some key areas designed to keep them safe.

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Good

A permanent, suitably experienced and qualified registered manager effectively and efficiently manages the home. She has been in post for seven years. A deputy manager with a thorough knowledge of the service supports her. Together, they know the children well, understand the progress that they are making and provide a good management team. They have addressed the issues identified at the interim inspection.

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Good

The care is well organised. Handovers take place before shifts begin. Handovers between early and late shifts are thorough and provide staff with the opportunity to familiarise themselves with children’s case files prior to planning the shift.

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Good

Professionals speak positively about the service that the home provides. Communication is generally described as good and staff are recognised for their flexibility and willingness to seek and take advice and guidance. Feedback from families is very good. Families value the service, both in terms of the quality of the experience of their child and in terms of the break that they receive. Parents report regular, effective communication and a partnership approach to care. New families report feeling welcomed and reassured.

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Good

The management team routinely monitors case records. Regular visits by an independent person take place. The reports are thorough and offer an appropriate level of challenge to the service. These have the potential to support the staff and manager to make further improvements. However, the review of the quality of care completed by the management team does not include consultation with the relevant stakeholders. This limits the depth of the review.

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Good

The staff receive supervision. However, a small number of staff have not received this at an acceptable frequency. The pattern of supervision is not regular for staff, despite the home’s policy stating that it will be. In addition, the service identifies time frames for refresher training in a range of areas, but frequently does not meet these, despite the best efforts of the management team. For example, six staff’s first aid training is out of date. This does not fully support staff to meet the needs of the children in their care. The majority of staff are qualified to level 3 or above. The management team is formalising processes to demonstrate equivalency for staff with nursing and social work qualifications.

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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 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 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

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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