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 provide care for up to two children irrespective of gender. It provides residential care for children when family, foster care or other community-based placements are not possible or desirable at that time. The current manager was registered with Ofsted on 6 October 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

Date of last inspection: 19 December 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC068076 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/12/2017 Full Good 08/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 01/11/2016 Full Good 01/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 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

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child. The following measures may not be used to discipline any child— imposing a financial penalty, other than a requirement for the payment of a reasonable sum (which may be by instalments) by way of reparation. (Regulation 19 (1)(2)(f)) 31/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). (Regulation 46 (1)) In particular, make clear the actions that should be taken in response to the identified risk of the unlit area and roads. 31/10/2018

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Recommendations

 The statement of purpose is of particular importance to this Standard (regulation 6(2)(a) and (b)(i)). Homes are required to develop and keep under review a ‘statement of Purpose’ (regulation 16 and schedule 1). The home’s statement of purpose should be child-focused, indicating how the home provides individualised care to meet the Quality Standards for the children in their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5) In particular, this relates to ensuring that the description of services that are offered is clear.  The review of the quality of care should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next 6 months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. The whole review process and the resulting report should be

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Recommendations

Inspection report children’s home: SC068076 4 used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4) In particular, evaluate findings in order to identify any actions that are required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children build good relationships with the staff at the home. This forms a sound basis for the staff to support the children to make progress in various areas of their lives. Placing social workers confirmed that their children have positive relationships with the staff. The staff have good knowledge of the children and their needs and vulnerabilities. This helps the staff to provide effective care that is individual to each child. For example, the staff know when individual children are likely to be receptive to discussions and when they are not. This helps the staff to have positive discussions with the children and avoid escalating situations. The staff are tenacious in encouraging the children to engage in health appointments so that their medical needs can be met. Some children are resistant to this, but it does not stop the staff from trying. The staff encourage the children to develop a healthy lifestyle

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

through exercise, activities and diet. The children take part in a range of activities while they are at the home. These include paddle boarding, canoeing, go-karting and paintballing, as well as a trip to a theme park. These activities not only help the children to be active and improve their health, but they also give them opportunities to enjoy themselves with the staff and other children. The staff provide emotional support to the children. They have a good understanding of the impact that events may have on children and are there to help the children manage these. The children are able to express their views through formal children’s meetings and through discussions with the staff. The manager and staff listen to the children’s views and respond to them when they can. If this is not possible, the staff help the children to understand why this is. This helps the children to be part of decisions about their

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

everyday lives and wider care plans. It boosts their self-esteem and also helps them to have realistic expectations. The manager and staff understand the impact that moves of home have on children. They work with other professionals to try and minimise the negative impact of such moves and make them as positive as they can for the children.

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

Children become safer while they live at the home. One child has reduced the frequency of going missing and of criminal activity. His social worker said that, although he does still go missing, this has reduced. The nature of his current behaviour is less worrying Inspection report children’s home: SC068076 5 than it had previously been. There is a low level of police involvement. The guidance for staff on deciding whether or not to call the police is, ‘would I call the police if this were my own child’. This approach helps to avoid criminalising children unnecessarily. The staff respond appropriately to incidents of children going missing. The police said that they do not have any concerns about the home and that, while they do still have children going missing, the staff do all that is expected of them. On one recent occasion, the two children had left the home during the night, but the way that the staff handled

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

the situation resulted in both children returning. This approach helps to reduce the risk to the children. The staff put clear boundaries in place for the children. The children are aware of the expectations of them and the consequences of not meeting them. This is helping the children to change some of their behaviours. The sanctions that the staff use are mostly restorative, but on one occasion a financial sanction was used inappropriately. This is contrary to the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015. The registered manager has undertaken an assessment of the location of the home and reviews it regularly. The review identifies a risk of unlit roads around the home, but it is not clear what actions the staff should take to protect the children. This has the potential to leave children at risk. The staff help the children to take age-appropriate risks with oversight so that they can learn about keeping themselves safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is appropriately experienced and qualified. She is providing good leadership and oversight of the home. The staff team is experienced and qualified, which helps to ensure that children receive good care. The registered manager has a good knowledge of the individual children and has high aspirations for them. She challenges other professionals when she needs to so that the children get a good service. A member of staff described the registered manager as ‘on the ball’. The registered manager and the staff have effective working relationships with other professionals. Children’s social workers said that the registered manager and staff are proactive and communicate with them well. This helps to ensure that the plans for the children are implemented effectively. The home is achieving its aims and objectives as set out in the statement of purpose. However, the details of some of the services provided, as set out in the statement of

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

purpose, are not clear and could be misleading to placing social workers and others. The registered manager has a sound understanding of the home and its strengths and areas for development. She has undertaken a review of the quality of care, including the views of children, their families and professionals, which was a requirement of the last inspection. However, the review does not include sufficient evaluation to identify actions Inspection report children’s home: SC068076 6 that are needed to improve or maintain the quality of care. As a result, opportunities to provide better care for the children may be missed.

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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 7

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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

Clive Lucas: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC068076 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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