Children's Home, Residential special school run by SES Turnstone Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report children's home: SC452461 1 SC452461 Registered provider: SES Turnstone Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company manages and runs this home, which provides residential care for up to eight children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. Education is provided on the same site.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is outstanding because: Inspection report children's home: SC452461 2  Children are making exceptional progress because staff make positive, nurturing relationships with them.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children who have experienced early-life trauma begin to overcome the impact of these experiences. They learn to rebuild relationships, and develop their self- confidence and self-esteem.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The staff have extensive skills. These skills are further enhanced by the creative input from therapy professionals who work closely with the staff to enable them to build excellent relationships with the children.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Placing social workers emphasise the improvements that have been made in children’s psychological health because the children live at this home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children’s learning is greatly improved because of the skilful joined-up work undertaken between the home and the in-house learning centre. Consequently, children are able to engage in learning and they attend regularly.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The children’s education plans are highly personalised and innovative to ensure that any barriers to children’s educational progress are overcome.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Safeguarding measures are well established in the staff’s day-to-day work with the children.

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Key findings from this inspection

 A skilled and knowledgeable manager employs proficient monitoring systems in the home. These systems focus on ensuring that children’s needs are met to the highest standard.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The staff team is ambitious for the children to gain education and self-care skills to prepare them for life outside of the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 The manager makes careful decisions that ensure that the staff can meet the children’s range of needs. However, these decisions are not recorded as impact risk assessments.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/06/2016 Full Good 18/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC452461 3 13/07/2015 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC452461 4

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children when they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4) In particular, evidence that managers have fully considered the impact that any new placement will have on the existing group of children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are making exceptional progress because they live in this home. Staff develop effective, positive relationships with children using a therapeutic model of interaction. Trained staff consistently use this approach when interacting with the children. As a result, children have trusted and warm relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

All of the children have been assessed as having complex emotional and learning needs. Some children have arrived at the home having received in-patient hospital treatment. Staff have nurtured relationships with the children to enable them to continue to recover from their ill-health. Some children have, with appropriate medical supervision, reduced their need for medication. This is because the children have highly effective care plans which are developed from risk analysis and provide well-defined approaches for the staff to use. Multi-agency practitioners, including child psychiatrists and therapists, have devised these approaches. Consequently, staff understand the children and work proactively to ensure that the children’s needs are met. Placing social workers emphasise the improvements in the children’s psychological health. One social worker described the progress made for a child: ‘It is amazing. The staff have turned the child around. This

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

child feels safe and is much more confident. She is believing in herself and is proud of her achievements.’ The manager informs placing social workers directly if there are significant issues or concerns, and to update children’s care plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home and the on-site education centre work together to provide the children with highly individualised education programmes. This approach includes a 24-hour curriculum. Staff use all activities and interaction as part of the children’s education plan. For example, a trip out will include staff helping the children to plan, budget and arrange the activity with support. This enhances the learning opportunities for the children. Children who had previously not been in education have been engaged through the joint work with the on-site learning centre. Some children now have 100% attendance, whereas prior to arriving at this home some children were not attending education at all. With the support of the staff, the children attend education happily and are rarely absent. Consequently, the children have gained recognisable qualifications. This will Inspection report children's home: SC452461 5 improve their prospects for further education or in gaining employment. The staff have

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

encouraged work experience as part of the children’s skill development. This has been particularly helpful for one child who has developed greater self-esteem and a friendship group outside the home through their work placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff invest in listening to the views of children. Exceptionally individualised care plans inform the direct work that key workers undertake with the children. This means that children consistently receive high-quality care. Children are involved in decision-making at the home. For example, an area of the home is due for redecorating. Two children have produced a PowerPoint presentation which they put together at the school to show staff and other children their plans for a soft play/sensory room. These plans included costings for equipment and ideas for colour schemes. Children are engaged in regular community meetings, which staff use to help to build the children’s understanding of each other. These meetings have helped to maintain a calm atmosphere in the home. Children are encouraged, through their one-to-one sessions, to participate in activities. Some children have been engaged in sport through football or rugby. Other children

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

have started to attend local youth clubs and drama groups. These activities ensure that the children have positive relationships with peers outside the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home has a bespoke package to support the independent-living programmes for each of the children. This support encourages children to learn self-help skills including managing their own personal hygiene, cleaning, and laundry skills. Staff use these plans to measure children’s competence in specific areas and to assess how much more assistance a child may need before progressing on to the next stage. This provides children with excellent support and guidance to develop confidence ahead of any planned move into the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Well-considered plans are in place to support children’s contact with their families and friends. This includes advice from the multi-agency partners and placing authorities. As a result, contact sessions are safe and well planned to enable children to gain the most positive outcomes. This contact helps to ensure that children maintain positive interactions with those family members who keep them in touch with their backgrounds.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Children say that they feel safe in this home. Children who have a significant history of self-harming have reduced this behaviour because of the nurturing relationships that they have with staff. Risk analysis takes place following any significant issue, to enable careful and well-considered review of the care plans. Staff in the home are keenly alert to the risks of child sexual exploitation that children who live in this home face in the community.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Specific work has been undertaken with the children, both at school and in the home, in relation to internet safety, bullying and safeguarding. This work has been developed further through the appropriate caring relationships that the children have with the staff. Staff know the signs that children may display should they be subject to grooming, and Inspection report children's home: SC452461 6 are aware of the need to act promptly when concerns arise.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

The have been no instances of children going missing from the home since September 2016. Staff have developed an excellent working relationship with the local police to provide a robust inter-agency working to keep the children safe. When a child goes missing from the home staff will follow them to encourage them to return. There are detailed protocols in the children’s care plans for the staff to follow to ensure a prompt return. These plans are shared with the police to alert them to issues which are relevant in returning the children home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

There has been excellent liaison with the designated officer for safeguarding in the authority. This has supported the provider to manage issues regarding staff conduct. Allegations have been investigated, and co-operation with the designated officer has resulted in positive action to safeguard children.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Trained staff intervene to prevent children from hurting themselves or others. Senior managers, therapists, and multi-agency partners review the records of these incidents. This review helps to identify antecedent issues and enables the staff to reflect on the incidents and to identify actions to take forward. Although there have been a number of restraints since the interim inspection, the manager’s robust monitoring and sharing of information with local authorities provides the necessary safeguards.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Placing social workers say that living in this home has changed the children’s lives. They say that the staff use exceptionally effective plans to ensure that the children are cared for safely. Senior managers review these plans, and staff share the plans in regular meetings and handovers to ensure consistency of care. The careful and skilful approach used by staff has enabled children to talk more openly about their backgrounds. This has led to children feeling safe enough to raise historical concerns, which staff have shared with appropriate agencies to enable appropriate action to be taken to protect the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is suitably experienced, having managed this and other homes regulated by Ofsted. He holds a level 4 diploma in childcare. The manager skilfully and competently uses proficient monitoring systems to help him to focus on ensuring that children’s needs are met to the highest standard. The manager understands that the therapeutic approach which is used in the home is helping the children, who have had significantly difficult early years, to begin to overcome the impact of their experiences, to rebuild relationships and confidence, and to re-engage in education.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and the staff have high aspirations for the children, particularly in regard to education and life-skill development. All of the children are engaged in the 24-hour curriculum and in life skills projects, to help them reach their full potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager provides high quality supervision for the staff. These discussions help to embed the therapeutic approach that the home uses to work directly with the children. Inspection report children's home: SC452461 7 The manager continues to develop the staff team’s confidence knowledge base. Building this further is the priority for this coming year.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

All of the multi-agency partners work closely with the staff to develop the children’s care plans, to ensure that the plans meet the children’s holistic needs. Regular meetings take place to share information with these professionals. Clear analysis of risk factors ensures that children’s needs are met. It is clear that the staff know and understand the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The provider uses a comprehensive training programme which takes staff through their induction and provides all of the staff with opportunities to develop more specific skills through specialised training. This includes training to understand and embed the therapeutic model within staff practice. The training pathway ensures that all eligible staff have completed the required diploma-level training. Consequently, the children benefit from a highly skilled and trained staff team that is able to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The multi-agency team works together to produce exceptionally high-quality care plans that benefit from multi-professional intervention and contribution. The plans include up- to-date reflections from the therapist who reviews the children’s relationships and actions. The therapist’s input brings additional expertise to the staff group. The therapist works with the staff to look at how the therapeutic model can be extended further to support the direct work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager works with quality assurance colleagues and with the independent visitor to identify aspects of the work that can be improved. Any shortfalls identified are immediately highlighted and rectified. This scrutiny and continuous monitoring of the staff working with the children assures the manager that the home is operating in line with the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Prior to any new placement, the manager and staff gather background information from local authorities and, where possible, from family members and former carers, to inform their decision to offer a placement. Staff consider potential new admissions alongside their working knowledge of the children who are currently placed. It is clear from discussions with all of the staff that these careful judgements are made to ensure that the staff can meet the range of needs in the home. However, this decision-making is not included in impact risk assessments. This does not demonstrate the rationale for admissions decisions.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care Inspection report children's home: SC452461 8 provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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’. Inspection report children's home: SC452461 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: SES Turnstone Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Old Vicarage, School Lane, Heckingham, Norwich NR14 6QP

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Inspector

Michael Mulvaney, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC452461 10 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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