Children's home run by Norfolk County Council in Norwich

Inspection report children‟s home: SC450045 1 SC450045 Registered provider: Norfolk County Council Children‟s Services

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

A local authority runs the home. It is registered to care for up to six children who can show challenging behaviour and need emotional support. The home is a crisis intervention, assessment and reunification service.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There is a registered manager who has been in post for nine months. She is a qualified social worker, and is working towards her level 5 qualification.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 26 February 2018

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/02/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC450045 2 17/05/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/06/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children‟s home: SC450045 3

p.1

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.3

Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child‟s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)) 31/08/2018

p.3

Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

p.3

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

p.3

Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(c)(iv)) 31/08/2018

p.3

Recommendations

 The ethos of the home should support each child to learn, emphasising the value of independent study and reading for enjoyment. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 29, paragraph 5.18)

p.3

Recommendations

In particular, ensure that all staff are aware of children‟s education targets and help the children to meet them. Inspection report children‟s home: SC450045 4

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children living at this home have good experiences and make good progress. They form good relationships with the staff, which help the staff to work effectively with them. A placing social worker commented that their child was doing really well in the home. This child has a good relationship with the staff and trusts them.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff seek the children‟s views. They listen to these views and act upon them. For example, the children are involved in decisions about the furnishing and decoration of the home. The children are also being included in the plans to refurbish the garden. There are regular children‟s meetings in which the children take an active part and where they can express their views. The children‟s requests for things at these meetings are reasonable; the staff respond to them and the registered manager writes a response to the meeting, so that children can understand the decisions that are made. The children feel empowered and included in the home.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children make progress in their education, compared with their starting points. The registered manager advocates strongly for the children to ensure that they get the educational services they need. There is a culture in the home that the children get up and go to school. One member of staff has responsibility for taking a lead on education. Other staff rely on them to know what the children‟s educational targets are, and in which areas they need the type of additional support that many children get from their parents. However, not all of the staff know what additional support is needed, so some opportunities to help the children get the very best that they can from education may be missed.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff help the children to develop independence skills so that they are more likely to cope well when they live more independently. This includes helping children to:

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

 open and understand bank accounts, use debit cards and use their money appropriately  use public transport, which for one child has involved helping him use public transport to visit his family  keep their bedrooms tidy  manage their emotions.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the children in their moves in and out of the home. Due to the nature of this home, the children often move in at short notice or in an emergency. Despite this, the staff try to help the children to settle in and manage the anxieties that a move of home can cause. The staff make careful plans for the children‟s moves on from the home. They include the children in these plans. The staff will take children to see their new homes and, if the children wish, will keep in contact with them after they move. For one child who is in the process of moving, this includes plans to take him to a special event of his choosing after he has left. This helps the children to understand that they do not have to lose relationships that have become important to them. The staff mark Inspection report children‟s home: SC450045 5 the children‟s moves from the home with a special occasion of their choosing, such as a

p.4

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

The quality of the relationships that the staff build with children helps them to protect the children. An example of this is when a child was recently persuaded to agree to take part in some illegal and risky behaviours relating to substance misuse. He spoke to the staff to tell them about this and they were able to support him in avoiding the situation and the risk.

p.5

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

The children reduce their risk-taking behaviours while they are at the home and so do become safer. For some children, this includes a reduction in episodes of being missing from care. When the children are missing, the staff work with other agencies and take appropriate action to try and find them. The children are offered return interviews after being missing to try and find out why they went and if there are any concerns. A social worker said that their child could be reluctant to speak to them, but felt comfortable speaking with the registered manager and the senior.

p.5

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

The staff help the children to develop positive behaviour through the relationships which they build with the children, and by providing consistent and clear expectations. This support has helped to promote a settled feel to the home, with clear routines for mealtimes, bedtimes and going to school. There is a low use of sanctions and physical intervention. However, records of physical intervention do not show that the staff and children are routinely spoken with to help them reflect on what happened. This can limit their ability to find ways of further reducing the frequency or duration of physical interventions.

p.5

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

The staff help the children to understand how to use the internet safely. The staff have had training to develop their knowledge of the risks of inappropriate internet use and the dangers of radicalisation.

p.5

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

The staff use a restorative approach to help the children understand the impact of their behaviour and develop more appropriate behaviours. The home is taking part in a project with a restorative worker from the youth offending team to help reduce the likelihood of the children becoming criminalised. The worker was very positive about the approach of the manager and staff. She said that the staff team is strong and that the manager is „brilliant‟ and that she „cannot sing her praises enough‟.

p.5

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

In general, the staff have a good understanding of the risks for the children. They use risk assessments for the children to help them identify ways of keeping them safer. However, these are not consistently clear in identifying some risks and ways of reducing them; this can limit to a degree the effectiveness of the protection which the staff are able to provide for the children, although staff‟s knowledge of the children helps to minimise this. Inspection report children‟s home: SC450045 6

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager provides good leadership and management of the home, and promotes good care of the children. The staff enjoy working at the home and attribute the improvement that they have made to the influence of the registered manager. The manager and staff want the children to do well and have their well-being at the centre of their work.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff work well together to provide consistency and stability for the children. Some of them have made conscious decisions to work at this home rather than others. They described improvements in staff morale and communication, and feel that they are making a positive difference to the children‟s lives.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are well experienced and qualified for their roles. They have training to help them meet the general and specific needs of the children. The manager and senior provide regular supervisions and annual appraisals for staff to help them to develop and reflect on their work.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good understanding of the home, and the areas that it needs to develop as well as the strengths. She monitors the care of the children through monthly monitoring as well as reading the records. She knows about individual children‟s progress, which is discussed at team meetings.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and the staff work well with other agencies involved in the care of the children. This helps to provide the consistent and good level of care needed to meet the children‟s needs. When necessary, the registered manager will challenge others and advocate for the children. A member of staff said that the registered manager was not frightened to challenge the staff or her own managers.

p.6

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.

p.6

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: SC450045 7

p.6

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Inspector

Clive Lucas: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC450045 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, 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 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8