Children's Home run by Aspris Care Central Limited in Norfolk

The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

children and young people since the most recent full inspection. This home was judged as requires improvement at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has improved effectiveness . There has been significant progress since the last inspection. A child commented on the improvements, saying, ‘The manager has made the house more homely. It is a lot more chilled, before it was chaos. Now it is calm and it flows.’ The management team has responded thoroughly to the requirements made at the last inspection. The manager has ensured that staff have an awareness of the education levels that children are working at. Teachers have attended staff meetings to discuss these and the school regularly provides reports detailing children’s attendance and achievement. The manager has liaised with health services to try to meet children’s health needs. This includes linking with mental

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

health services and other local health agencies. The management team now consistently updates risk assessments following incidents. However, not all staff promptly sign the review document to show that they have read these updates. The management team is committed to ensuring that it sustains these improvements. It has introduced systems to monitor case records monthly. Monitoring visits by an independent person provide a rigorous challenge to the service. These have made a significant contribution to improvements. The manager seeks feedback from external agencies to inform reviews for children looked after. The children are making progress in the home. There have been very few physical interventions. When these do occur, they are proportionate and managers monitor the incidents. One child said that they do not get as annoyed as they used to do. This child said, 'They know me well here. We are in safe hands.' Attendance in

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

education has also improved. One child had an attendance rate of 99.5% in September and another child had 100%, which is considerable progress for them. There has only been one instance when a child went missing from care. The staff managed the incident well. Staff maintained contact with the missing child and acted in a sensitive and child-focused manner, including undertaking welfare visits to the child once they had been found. The police were positive about the work that took place with the home to manage this. No children have moved on since the last inspection and only one child has moved into the home. This was an emergency move. The manager completed an impact risk assessment in order to assess the appropriateness of the placement. The move went well and the child has settled in with very few incidents. Despite a history of going missing, the child has not been absent once since moving in. The manager makes appropriate notifications to Ofsted. She has a realistic

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

understanding of the progress in the home. She is open to challenge and responds positively in order to make improvements. There has been one anonymous complaint since the last inspection, which the manager followed up satisfactorily. Feedback from external professionals is positive and communication is good. A social worker said, ‘The manager keeps me informed about anything that affects my child.’ Professionals say that staff have good knowledge of the children. A missing person specialist from the police force said, ‘They knew a lot and presented themselves well at the meeting. The level of knowledge was an eye opener for me.’ The records of significant incidents have improved. These now offer a clear overview. However, specific staffing records need to improve. The names of staff who cover gaps in the rota are not always recorded on the roster. This could hamper any future analysis of records, making it difficult to identify which staff

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to accommodate three children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is part of a large private children's care organisation. The home offers short-, long-term and emergency placements. The on- site school is registered with the Department for Education.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 25/05/2016 Full Requires improvement 23/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 13/10/2015 Full Good 13/02/2015 Interim Improved 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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. With particular regard to a copy of the staff duty roster of persons working at the home, and a record of the actual rosters worked. (Regulation 37 (2) (a)) 23/11/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Ensure that all staff sign to show that they have read and understood updated risk assessments promptly. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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

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

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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