Children's home run by Norfolk County Council in Norwich

Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 1 SC462583 Registered provider: Norfolk County Council Children’s Services

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home provides short-term breaks for children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and learning difficulties. Up to four children can stay at the home at any one time.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 21 to 22 November 2017

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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

Date of last inspection: 20 February 2017

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is outstanding because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children make tremendous progress from their starting points.  The manager and the staff team meet children’s needs well, through effective use of an evidence-based model of practice.  The children play an active role in the devising and reviewing of their plans.  Children enjoy a huge range of fun activities, both in the home and in the local community.  The children and staff enjoy fantastic relationships, and the house is full of laughter and chatter.  Children have a wealth of forums they can use to share their views and express their feelings.  Children say that they feel safe staying at this home.  The staff benefit from a range of support, through team meetings, supervision and annual appraisals.  The registered manager is highly qualified and a powerful advocate for children. Through her leadership, she ensures that the home focuses consistently on their care, welfare and progress.  Professionals and parents are complimentary about the high quality of care in

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Key findings from this inspection

the home, and the high level of communication.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/02/2017 Full Outstanding 13/12/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 23/02/2016 Full Good 07/12/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children make tremendous progress. This is not just evident since the last inspection, but also from the children’s individual starting points. This progress is noted by parents and external agencies. One professional said, ‘They [the staff team] care for children with very complex needs who make great progress with good outcomes.’ A parent commented, ‘I don’t know what me and my wife would do without them [the staff team] being there to support us.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The manager and the staff team meet the needs of the children through an approach based on an evidence-based model, encompassing family therapy and systemic practice. This approach emphasises the development of strategies to enable practitioners across different disciplines to work collaboratively, and in partnership with the children and their families. It is underpinned by the unconditional positive regard that the staff hold for the children. One member of staff said, ‘It’s [model used] a much clearer way of seeing what is working well, and the progress children make.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Detailed and individualised care plans clearly identify children’s needs, and the actions to take to help children to progress. Regular reviews of these plans ensure that they remain up to date and relevant. The children play an active role in devising and reviewing their plans. Highly effective and planned activities with children, either in groups or as individuals, help the children make progress towards the targets agreed for their care. Their experiences are brought to life with photographs, and with comments from the children. This helps the children to understand the benefit of these activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children enjoy a huge range of fun activities, both in the home and in the local community. This helps to spark their interest, keep them healthy and improve their social skills. Recent activities have included caravan and camping trips, fishing, baking, going to the gym and a day at the Duxford air museum, following which pictures of the children dressed in wartime uniforms adorned the walls and the children’s albums. The home itself also offers a wide range of activities, including pool, table football and air hockey, and a large garden. During the inspection, two of the children were observed playing on the Xbox with the local police community officer. Activities are well thought through to enhance children’s confidence and promote community links, positive relationships and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children and the staff enjoy fantastic relationships, and the house is full of laughter and chatter. Positive relationships that are built here provide a strong foundation from which children are able to forge relationships with peers and appropriate adults in the community. One child commented, ‘It’s nice and warm, and a welcoming place to come and stay. I have somebody to talk to and I like it just how it is.’ This promotes the self- esteem and confidence of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have a wealth of forums they can use to share their views and express their feelings. Children play an active role in their own reviews. The staff ensure that the Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 4 children are well prepared beforehand, and offer the opportunity for discussion following reviews and any other important meetings about their care. Regular house meetings provide the opportunity for children to have a say in how the home is run. A quarterly newsletter is sent out to all parents. This includes photos of recent activities, details of things that their children will be doing in the coming months, and a checklist/reminder of things to pack for their children’s stays; for example, ‘Winter is approaching, so make sure warm clothing is packed.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Progress and support in education are excellent for all of the children. For some, this is demonstrated by being in full-time education and having taken GCSE examinations. For others, progress is achieving other awards for their learning. Some children, while unlikely to attain such levels of academic achievement, nonetheless make huge progress in their educational journeys. Excellent joint working, and a consistent approach between the staff and education providers, provide a strong foundation for the continuous improvement of educational outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The homely, warm and welcoming home that the children come to stay in is immaculate, and is decorated and furnished to a very high standard. A lot of thought and consideration is given to the décor, to ensure that it is child friendly. Pictures of children laughing and having fun adorn the walls, and the home has recently adopted three ponies, ‘the gangsters, Ronnie, Reggie and Patch’, whose picture hangs with pride in the entrance hall.

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

Motivated and enthusiastic managers and staff ensure that children learn from incidents, which improves their safety and welfare. Debriefs with the staff and the children promote reflection, and help to improve future practice. Sanctions are rarely used. When sanctions are used, they are recorded in detail, and the effectiveness of each measure is thoroughly reviewed. This helps the children to learn about the consequences of their behaviour.

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

Following any incident, managers thoroughly debrief the staff, identifying why the incident may have happened, how staff may have dealt with it differently, and how they feel. Discussions with the children explore alternative options, developing a way forward to prevent future occurrences. Learning from incidents is disseminated to all of the staff through team meetings, handovers, and supervision sessions.

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

An extensive range of risk assessments ensure that children remain safe while enjoying life as teenagers. For example, one child who lives locally and has many friends in the area chooses to stay in when staying at the home, rather than hanging out on the streets with friends. This helps the child take responsibility for his own safety.

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

No children have been missing from this home. All of the children have a detailed protocol and risk assessment to minimise any likelihood of this happening. The staff are regularly quizzed in supervision about a range of topics, including how to respond if a child goes missing. This ensures that the staff remain abreast of what action to take in a Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 5 number of situations. The local police community officer said, ‘The manager and staff have the protocol in place and know exactly what to do. They are quick on the ball. It’s a lovely home, with a lovely team, and the children are very well looked after.’

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

Children say that they feel safe, and that bullying is not an issue. Bullying, relationships, and safety issues feature in house meetings, discussions and activities. One child said, when asked how staff keep him safe, ‘They [the staff] lock the street door at night and go around checking the windows, and check out visitors who come.’ This ensures that children feel safe and cared for, and that they have varied avenues to raise any concerns if need be.

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

Recruitment processes are thorough, ensuring that all of the relevant information about candidates is gathered. Members of the staff team have all worked together for many years, and know each other and the children very well. This helps to protect the children and keep them safe.

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

Regular building, health and safety, and fire checks ensure that the building is safe. Children and staff participate in fire drills. This ensures that everyone knows how to evacuate safely.

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

Staff record significant incidents, such as physical interventions and measures of control, extremely well, with attention paid to antecedents, as well as the incidents themselves. The manager addresses these incidents with the children and staff members. The outcome is that the children are much better equipped to manage their behaviour, and to be safer in the community, as a result of the help they receive at the home.

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

Staff demonstrate acute awareness and good practice in managing risks, such as inappropriate behaviour. Swift action has prevented situations from developing into safeguarding issues. Staff know how to deal with disclosures and other serious incidents promptly. They follow procedures and liaise well with other agencies. This demonstrates to children that the home prioritises their safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is highly qualified, and is extremely passionate about the care, welfare, and progress that children make. She excels in the revision and continuous development of practice, and the recording mechanisms that provide a solid framework to support these practice improvements. These improvements are frequently shared across the organisation, disseminating good practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager understands the strengths in the home, and the areas to develop. An excellent improvement plan identifies numerous targets for the development of the home. Monthly reviews, supported by evidence, identify the enormous progress that the staff, children, and leaders make.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Monitoring is highly effective. Regular visits by the independent person help to provide a detailed account of the progress children make, and any areas to address. Shortfalls are Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 6 dealt with swiftly. An excellent evaluative review by the manager identifies progress, and assesses the impact of the home on children’s development, month by month and from the commencement of their journey with the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The statement of purpose provides a very good overview of the service, its ethos, and its practice. The children’s guide is prepared for each child, providing them with a clear understanding of how the home operates, and mapping out their journey from start to finish.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff benefit from a range of support, through team meetings, supervision and annual appraisals. Children contribute, sharing their views on staff, which helps staff to develop their skills and interactions. The range of training is excellent. All of the staff are qualified to a minimum national vocational qualification level 3 for working with children and young people. Training is provided through workshops, both internal and external, and by online training courses. Courses include safeguarding, radicalisation, and child sexual exploitation. Staff have access to an abundance of theories and research, which inform practice. The senior childcare practitioner is trained to deliver courses to the staff on the model practiced in the home. This ensures that the staff understand this process from the moment they commence work, ensuring that the children they care for are supported appropriately from the start.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Excellent work in partnership with a range of other professionals ensures that holistic care is provided to help the children continue to achieve excellent outcomes. Experienced childcare practitioners attend team meetings in which they take ownership of, and give presentations on, a piece of research which can then be implemented into staff practice. It is an exemplary piece of ongoing work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Impact risk assessments have been carefully considered, and have been implemented into care and shift plans. Information contained in the risk assessments demonstrates that all concerns have been addressed in making decisions about admissions, and that all input has been fully explored, including information gathered from parents and all professionals involved in the care of the child. These assessments are comprehensive documents, and show that all of the staff are aware of any potential risks or concerns prior to, and during, the children’s stays.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff report that they are well supported by the manager and their colleagues. The team has worked together for many years, and its members communicate and practice holistically together as one. Staff comments included, ‘I love working here. This is a fantastic team who make me feel very welcome, which gives me a sense of belonging. We are really proud of what we have achieved. I love my job and I love working here.’ Professionals and parents are equally complimentary about the high quality of care in the home, and the high level of communication. This demonstrates that everyone in the home works together for the benefit of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has addressed the one recommendation made at the home’s last inspection, to good effect. Consent to any monitoring or surveillance from the placing authority, in writing at the time of placement, has been added to children’s files and Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 7 signed by all parties.

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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 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: SC462583 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Norfolk County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Chief Executives, County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich NR1 2DH

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Inspector

Cathy Russell, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 9 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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