Children's Home run by Norfolk County Council in Norfolk

Inspection report children‟s home: SC068076 1 SC068076 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 is registered to accommodate two children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 19 to 20 December 2017

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children‟s home: SC068076 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 The children have built positive relationships with the staff. The staff use this rapport to help the children develop and grow.  Parents and professionals speak positively about the progress that the children are making.  The children have increased their participation in education since they moved into the home. They are responding well to boundaries and establishing structured routines.  A long-term stable staff team works cohesively to care for the children.  The children are becoming increasingly independent. This work is progressed at a pace that the children are happy with.  Children said that they feel well cared for, safe and listened to.

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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 home has failed to notify Ofsted of significant events in line with regulation.  Aspects of the children‟s files and general records in the home are incomplete or misleading.  The manager‟s quality of care report fails to detail how feedback from the children, their families and professionals helps to develop the service.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 01/11/2016 Full Good 01/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 17/08/2015 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC068076 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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 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; or there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(b)(e)) 31/01/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff are familiar with the home‟s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. („Guide to children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.4) This is with particular reference to fully completing records and accurately recording when the children‟s views are sought.  Regulation 45 sets out requirements for the registered person to have a system in place which allows them to monitor the matters set out in the regulation at least once every six months; also see regulation 13(2)(h) (the leadership and management standard). The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact that the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. Reviews should be underpinned by the quality

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Recommendations

standards as described in regulations 5 to 14. („Guide to children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 64, paragraph 15.2) This is with particular reference to incorporating the views of children, their families and professionals into the home‟s internal monitoring and demonstrating how these views shape the development of the service. Inspection report children‟s home: SC068076 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children receive individualised care that meets their differing needs. The staff work with each child at a pace that the child is comfortable with. The children have built positive relationships with the staff. The staff use this rapport to help the children develop and grow. The children are responding well to the clear and consistent boundaries that the staff provide.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team has successfully built up the children‟s contact with family members. The support provided has enabled a child to go to live, successfully, with a family member with whom he only had limited contact prior to moving into the home. An independent reviewing officer spoke positively about the way in which the staff work with the children and their families. She said, „It [the work with families] prevents the children‟s resistance to living here as they overcome feelings of being disloyal to their family. It [the work with families] minimises the children and families having a “them and us” mentality.‟ A parent spoke positively, saying, „My son is very happy with his placement. So far, he has been settled and has not been in trouble with the police during his stay there. I am updated with any issues regardless of the time of day or night. My son can be very challenging, but the staff manage to help him. I can see a dramatic change in his

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

attitude during the past six months.‟ A staff member described how the children benefit from rewards for positive behaviour. The staff member said, „A punitive approach never works.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff advocate on the children‟s behalf. When necessary, the children can access external advocates. This provides the children with access to an additional independent source of advice and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children said that they do not always get along. A social worker echoed this and described how the children, despite not getting along sometimes, are actually doing well. She said, „The staff are proactive and do take steps to make sure that they [the children] are not together. [The staff] occupy them separately.‟ The children accept their differences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff seek the children‟s views through individual and group conversations. The children‟s requests range from wanting specific activities to purchasing new cooking utensils. At present, the children are reluctant to participate in joint meetings so the staff are collating records of the individual conversations. However, the records are misleading, as it appears that a joint meeting occurred. The manager provides a formal response to the children after each „meeting‟. These responses demonstrate how quickly the requests are actioned.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a good relationship with the local schools and colleges. The staff quickly secure education placements or home tuition for the children. One child attends school and the other currently has home tuition. Both of the children have increased their participation in education since they moved into the home. The children are purposefully Inspection report children‟s home: SC068076 5 engaged and establishing good routines and structure. The home has theme nights that enable the children and the staff to learn about the foods and traditions of other cultures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are educated about and encouraged to seek specialist support to reduce their levels of smoking and drug misuse when relevant. The staff assist the children to access any relevant medical attention and emotional support, such as therapy sessions. This is helping to develop the children‟s overall sense of well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A number of children maintain contact with the staff when the children move out. This demonstrates that the staff make a positive difference to the children. One child recently wrote to the staff team. This shows that the children make fundamental attachments to the staff.

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

The manager reviews the information about potential new admissions and considers this against the needs of the children already in placement in order to assess compatibility. She also reviews the matching process as the children‟s behaviour or needs change during their placements. On the occasions when the manager is requested to admit a child that she would not otherwise accept, she appropriately challenges the decision. A child only ever moves into the home if the mix of children can be managed safely.

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

The staff manage the children‟s behaviours well through consistent clear messages and boundaries. A child spoke positively about the staff being „firm and fair‟ especially compared to staff in his former home. Each of the children said that they feel safe and that if this changed they could speak to the staff.

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

The staff undergo training to ensure that they are working with current information and relevant knowledge. This helps them to recognise when children are at risk of harm, child sexual exploitation or grooming towards gang or drug involvement. The staff sensitively educate the children about these and other issues, such as internet safety and radicalisation. One of the children spoke confidently about how he protects himself from particular scenarios he encounters when out with his friends. He is also aware of the risks that he may face when under the influence of alcohol. The children are supported to take age-appropriate risk, which is enhancing their levels of independence.

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

The children gradually increase the amount of unsupervised time that they have out of the home. This gradual approach assists the children to develop an awareness of the area and builds on the trust that the staff have in them.

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

The children are not currently going missing from the home. The staff are aware of the processes to follow should this occur. There were occasions when a child, who has since moved out, was involved in incidents that the staff failed to notify Ofsted of, or made late notifications. These omissions and delays prevent Ofsted from being aware of the current risks and challenges that the children and the home are experiencing. Inspection report children‟s home: SC068076 6 The location risk assessment includes information about local and national police initiatives such as Operation Gravity and County Lines. It also includes information about local drug and alcohol misuse services that the children can access. The children‟s risk assessments are comprehensive and updated as their behaviour or needs change. This ensures that the staff are always working with up-to-date information.

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

There has been no use of physical intervention for over a year. The staff are successful in their use of diversion and distraction techniques. The home is continually monitoring the interactions between the children to ensure that any bullying behaviour is rapidly addressed. Incidents are recorded thoroughly and detail the follow-up discussions with the children. These debriefs are used to identify the triggers in an attempt to minimise any patterns.

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

There have been two complaints since the last inspection: one from a child and another from a neighbour. The response to the child‟s complaint was effective and swift. He commented that this made it clear that the staff listened to him and want him to feel safe. The neighbour‟s complaint was handled efficiently and the child involved wrote a letter of apology, which helped the child to learn about socially acceptable behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a new registered manager. She has worked at the home for a number of years prior to commencing the management role. The manager is a qualified social worker and is due to commence a relevant level 5 qualification. The home continues to benefit from having a longstanding staff who work cohesively. The team of relief staff employed by the local authority covers any gaps in the rota. The staffing provides the children with consistent care. The manager provides supervision and support that the staff said they find helpful. They described the manager as „forward thinking and child focused.‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a great understanding of the children‟s needs and their progress in relation to their care and placement plans. She has a number of initiatives planned to improve practice. These include noting the positive outcomes for the children. These plans are in their infancy and will be explored at future inspections. The children‟s files are in the process of being reviewed as they contain information from previous placements. This mistakenly gives the appearance that the home is working with out-of- date information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose has been updated but still has references to the previous manager and the current manager‟s former role. The manager completes a quality of care report that includes reflections, aspiration and areas to develop. The report fails to demonstrate how the views of the children, families and professionals are used to develop the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A social worker spoke positively about the work that is being done with a child‟s school to ensure that he gradually increases his timetable. Other professionals spoke very positively about the care that the children are receiving. They described the children as Inspection report children‟s home: SC068076 7 feeling safe, settled and cared for. They also said that the children are allowing themselves to start to think about their futures in a way that they have not done previously. Their comments included:  „The manager is responsive and keeps you updated. She works well with the child and his family. This is the most stable place he [the child] has been. He says it is the best placement. The child has expressed that he has good relationships with the staff, and feels cared about and understood. He appears to appreciate the good contact with family.‟  „The child has a history of significant behaviour but he has not gone missing. He

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

is doing really well from where he was a year ago. It is quite remarkable.‟  „This is the best placement as the child is so relaxed and happy. It is lovely to see he is settling somewhere. The staff nurture him and give attention. He is learning independence skills at a pace that he can manage and it works for him. I am impressed with the placement and impressed with the child.‟

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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: SC068076 8

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Sonia Hay, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC068076 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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