Children's Home run by BREAK 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 judges that it has sustained effectiveness . The manager has met one of the two recommendations raised at the last inspection in November 2016. The other recommendation is not met. There is little progress towards sourcing the specified training, although it is recognised that this will take time. A number of further shortfalls have been identified during this inspection. These include the cleanliness and maintenance of the first floor of the home, the notification of incidents to Ofsted, risk assessments in regard to the day-to-day running of the home and the range of consequences used following behavioural incidents. The ground floor of the home is cleaned to a good standard and nicely decorated. However, the first-floor bathroom and two of the bedrooms are in an unacceptable state. One of the bedrooms is dirty, and some of the furniture is broken. Examples

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

include a missing wardrobe door, three missing drawer fronts and a broken lampshade. One child is sleeping on the floor due to their bed missing some of the slats. There is dirty crockery with food remnants in two of the bedrooms. A communal bathroom has a broken toilet seat, piles of toilet paper on the floor and discarded underwear. A carrier bag on the landing contains half a loaf of bread and mouldy pasta. Although there have been some efforts to repair and mend the furniture, the incident in which the wardrobe door was broken was recorded four days prior to the inspection. Despite this, the door was lying across the floor under piles of clothes at the time of the inspection. The disregard and lack of care for the first floor of the home does not provide a homely or clean environment for children. There has been an increase in the number of consequences given to children following behavioural incidents. Some of these consequences are ill considered and

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

do not link to the incident. Some of the records have very little description of the behaviour and they are not fully detailed. The consequences have been imposed without the manager’s agreement and are not in line with the ethos of the home. The manager monitors the consequences and overrules them when they are not appropriate. However, some of the staff lack the skills to use creative and relevant consequences, and some continue to give financial penalties. This does not always help children to learn from their mistakes. On one occasion, the staff were unable to manage a situation. This resulted in the police being called to the home. This was an isolated incident; however, it was not notified to Ofsted. This does not provide a transparent picture of events in the home. The staff manage child protection concerns without delay in line with the home’s guidance. The two concerns raised since the last inspection have been resolved,

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

and the staff members’ actions have ensured that the children are safeguarded. There has been one short-duration incident of missing from home. Staff were quick to respond, and the child was returned to the home safely. Trained staff have used physical intervention twice since the last inspection. The holds were proportionate and justified. The records of the incidents are detailed and provide a clear account of each intervention. Children share their views and have a voice in this home. The staff have supported the children to make complaints when they wish to do so. Records and referrals of the complaints have resulted in investigations that have been resolved satisfactorily. The children are aware of their rights. They know whom to contact, and all of the children contributed actively to the inspection. They confidently share their views and talk about their experiences easily and openly. This represents

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

children who feel secure and supported by the consistent staff team. Children are all supported to attend school. This works well for most of the children, who also engage with extra-curricular activities. One child has secured an unconditional offer for further education on a course of her choice. Another is reintegrating into mainstream school after a successful period at an alternative education provision. One child, who had been out of school for some time prior to living in the home, has attended his education provision every day. This has raised his confidence and self-esteem. The children are generally in a good routine of getting up and going to school. They benefit from friendships, activities and the clear routine and structure provided by the home. The majority of the children engage with community activities on a regular basis. They all enjoy time with staff and they benefit from trips out, meals out, coffee or

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

time with key staff. There is significant improvement in children’s engagement and willingness to try out new activities. This helps them to build peer relationships and to develop their social skills. The staff facilitate sleepovers and enable children to invite friends to the home. Although this fosters children’s friendships and is of great benefit, there is no assessment of the arrangement and of the risk in regard to all of the children living in the home. Admissions to the home are appropriately planned and spaced. The group risk assessment shows that the staff have assessed the needs of a new child against all of the other children. These assessments are robust and detailed, which minimises the impact of a new admission on the existing children placed. The staff all provide regular key-working time and one-to-one time with children. These sessions link well to events in the home. The discussions help children to

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

reflect by looking at triggers, relationships between peers, areas of concern and children’s future plans. The social workers are positive about the progress that the children make. One child is new to the home, which made the outcomes difficult to measure. However, the child is settling in well, and staff support for the child is good. Internal monitoring of the home is good. The manager has identified some shortfalls. The records and meeting minutes in the home demonstrate the manager’s awareness of the issues and the actions that he has identified to address these areas.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meet(s) 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

6. The quality and purpose of care standard In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, the registered provider must: (2)(c)(i) ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. 30/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

12. The protection of children standard In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure: (2)(b) that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. This is with particular regard to implementing the home’s and children’s risk assessments. 31/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(b)) 31/03/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 Ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children to recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  Lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4) This is in regard to providing regular training for staff in a more therapeutic approach to shape the ethos of the home.

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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 that 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 whom 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 children looked after 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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