Children's Home run by Break Charity in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC439153 1 SC439153 Registered provider: Break

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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 registered charity owns and runs this home, which is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 17 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff skilfully develop caring and positive relationships with the children.  Children are engaging with their education. They have made good relationships Inspection report children’s home: SC439153 2 with teachers and are working towards recognised qualifications.  Contact with the children’s families is promoted well.  Children’s views are listened to, particularly in regard to activities and trips out.  There are good quality key-work sessions.  Children do not go missing from this home.  Safeguarding practice is effective. Social workers commented positively on the way that the staff managed a recent incident.  The manager encourages the staff to seek every opportunity to help the children to make progress and achieve.  Effective monitoring and reviewing of care plans ensures that the quality of care remains high.  The manager provides constructive challenge to placing authorities if the quality

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Key findings from this inspection

of support from the children’s social workers does not meet the children’s needs.

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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 records of one restraint were not accurate.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 24/08/2016 Full Good 14/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/12/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC439153 3

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Recommendations

 Records of restraint should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly when any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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Recommendations

This is in particular reference to ensuring that the records are accurate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress at this home. Feedback from placing authorities is extremely positive. Placing social workers have confidence that staff are meeting the children’s needs, and that children are achieving positive outcomes. The social workers receive good quality reports and information from the manager, which contribute to accurate updating of local authority care plans. Social workers comment on the positive relationships that they observe when they visit the children. One social worker said, ‘The staff are genuinely very caring towards the children. They go well beyond what other homes provide, and take real care to meet the children’s needs.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress at their schools. One child had not attended school for some considerable time, and they had been excluded from their previous education placements. The staff have worked with the child’s school to enable and encourage the child to engage and make positive relationships with the teachers. Children are developing their knowledge and working towards recognised qualifications. One child said, ‘I am looking at starting a diploma in health and beauty studies at college.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support ongoing contact with the children’s families. Consequently, some sibling contact has been extended. Staff observe some sessions to ensure that children are safe and the meetings are positive. The staff have updated care plans in line with risk assessments. Staff share this information at handover meetings, to ensure that all of the staff understand the current needs of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff review children’s healthcare plans, and help the children to make appointments with their doctor, optician and dentist. Staff have supported children to access counselling services. This has helped the children to understand their feelings and talk more openly about their concerns. Other children have been supported to attend dentist appointments for treatment. This has helped children to manage their dental hygiene and improve their self-esteem. Inspection report children’s home: SC439153 4 The children enjoy activities such as Cubs and Brownies, and going to Laser Quest and to the cinema are particular favourites. These outings are discussed at one-to-one and group meetings. The children take part in choosing healthy, home-cooked foods. Older children are supported to gain cooking and budgeting skills as part of their pathway planning. They gain confidence, knowledge and skills before leaving the home to move

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are receiving effective individualised care from staff who regularly review the children’s care plans. Key-work sessions help the children to develop positive relationships with staff. Observations during the inspection of the interaction between the children and adults reflected a calm and caring approach with a good deal of appropriate humour. Children talk fondly about the staff. One child said, ‘I get on well with my key worker.’ Another child said, ‘I am happy in this home. I can talk to the adults about anything that is worrying me.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is well decorated and homely warm and provides a welcoming atmosphere.

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

The manager and staff have managed a recent safeguarding matter effectively. Feedback from the social work team reflects the efficient recording and management of the incident. A member of the social work team commented positively about the thoughtful, clear and child-focused action taken by the manager and staff. This kept the children safe and promoted their ongoing care needs.

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

Children say that they are happy and feel safe. Each child can name an adult with whom they have a good relationship.

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

Children do not go missing from this home. Staff are alert to the risks in the community, particularly the risk of sexual exploitation. There is a protocol for staff to follow should a child go missing. In discussion, staff explained in detail the steps that they need to take and the appropriate action to find children who are missing from the home. Direct work has taken place with the children regarding the risks of being absent from the home and the risk of child sexual exploitation.

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

The staff discuss with the children the potential risks that exist online, in particular making sensible choices about social media use and online friendships. There have been no incidents of self-harming. Staff have undertaken training in managing self-harmful behaviours. They have also undertaken online training to increase their knowledge of the risks of radicalisation.

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

Incidents of bullying are rare. Discussions during community meetings help the children to understand their relationships with each other and to accept each other’s differences.

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

The manager reviews incidents and activities to ensure that care plans reflect current risks and strengths/risk reduction factors. Activities and free time are tailored to ensure Inspection report children’s home: SC439153 5 that children are safe.

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

The staff have used physical intervention on two occasions to manage children who were likely to harm themselves or others. A review of the records highlighted that one incident did not fully record the location of the event. The manager had not noted this deficit in his review of the event. The incident logbook records fully the event and location. This minimises the impact of the shortfall in the recording in the restraint book. The records for the other occasion when staff held a child are suitable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a level 4 diploma in residential childcare, and has worked at this home for over six years. He has the knowledge and experience required to manage the home. Senior care workers who are managed by the registered manager supervise the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision focuses on safe-care practices, building positive relationships and supporting the development of staff. The provider has a good training pathway that ensures that staff have the skills and knowledge to meet the children’s needs. All of the eligible staff hold the level 3 diploma in residential childcare, which meets the regulatory requirement set at the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager monitors the outcomes for children effectively through monthly reviews of care plans, incidents and the daily reports that the staff write for each child. He uses the feedback from the independent visitor to identify any shortfalls and takes action to remedy them quickly. The internal and external scrutiny help the manager to ensure that the services provided are in line with the statement of purpose. This monitoring helps the manager to focus on the progress that each child is making and to amend care plans accordingly so that staff are guided well to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The stable and consistent group of staff have worked together for a number of years. This stability helps to maintain the consistently high quality of care provided to the children. Agency staff are rarely used because the manager and staff work together to fill any gaps in the rota. The manager understands the need for the staff to work together positively and focus on the consistency of care. He has provided a team training day to highlight these aspects. This training day identified the strengths of the team, such as knowing each other’s skills, and the different ways of listening to what the children are saying, in particular how children with complex needs may be presenting and acting out their emotions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Placing social workers, with whom the staff have good relationships, comment on the proactive approach taken by the manager. The manager has communicated well to ensure that the placing authority social workers are fulfilling their responsibilities in meeting the children’s care needs. There has been appropriate challenge made when this has not been the case. The manager works hard to ensure that children are receiving the best care possible. He encourages the staff to look at every opportunity for the children to achieve and succeed while living at this home. Inspection report children’s home: SC439153 6

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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 difference 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 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 who 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: SC439153 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Break, Spar Road, Norwich NR6 6BX

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Inspector

Michael Mulvaney, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC439153 8 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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