Children's Home, Residential special school run by Acorn Norfolk Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report children‟s home: SC435322 1 SC435322 Registered provider: Acorn Norfolk Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for up to 40 children on 38- and 52-week residential placement options. There is an on-site school that is registered with the Department of Education. There are currently 15 children living at the home. The home specialises in providing care for children who have autistic spectrum disorders, complex needs, moderate to severe learning difficulties, communication difficulties and associated challenging behaviour. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2018. She has the experience and qualifications required for the role.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 21 to 22 November 2018

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

The children‟s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At the last inspection, two compliance notices were issued. On 27 September 2018, a monitoring visit was undertaken to evaluate the progress. The monitoring visit found that both compliance notices were met. Inspection report children‟s home: SC435322 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/08/2018 Full Inadequate 07/03/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 07/06/2017 Full Good 13/07/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children‟s home: SC435322 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children‟s home‟s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children.

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Requirement Due date

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

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ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(2)(c)(i)(ii)) 31/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child‟s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home‟s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(iii)(v)(vi) and (vii)) 03/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are 03/12/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC435322 4 protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(v))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular regard to ensuring that the group impact risk assessments are properly carried out prior to the admission of new children. The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

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

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ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(d)) 03/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h)) 03/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained— 25/03/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC435322 5 the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part-time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b)(5)(a)(b) and (6)(a)(b)) The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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a description of the measure and its duration;

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details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and 03/12/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC435322 6 a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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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”)—

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has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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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)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry).

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter; and

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must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)(5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 03/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children‟s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a copy of the 18/01/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC435322 7 independent person‟s report to—

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular regard to ensuring that the report is submitted promptly to Ofsted.

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improvement to be good

Inadequate management and oversight of this service have limited the quality of children‟s care. Despite this, most children are settled in long-term placements and have made steady progress.

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improvement to be good

Four of the children who have recently moved to the home are unsettled, and two of their placements are under review. The impact risk assessment documents lack focus and detail. These are not signed or evaluated by the manager and fail to assess whether the service has the appropriate staffing and staff skill set to meet the children‟s needs. Staff shortages and a lack of experienced core staff have limited all children‟s activity choices and generally reduced the benefits of living at the home.

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improvement to be good

There are several areas of the accommodation that require decoration and refurbishment. Some of these areas are part of the refurbishment plan and other areas have been damaged following incidents of challenging behaviour. Combined, these areas fail to provide children with a homely, clean and welcoming environment in which to live.

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improvement to be good

The feedback from professionals and parents is mixed. All those contacted during the inspection highlighted frequent staff changes and inconsistent care. One professional said, „When I visit there are different staff members. I will ask them something about the child and they will say they don‟t know as they have just started working there. It seems to happen a lot. I have known the service a long, long time and there seem to be so many changes of staff and managers.‟

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improvement to be good

Despite the shortfalls, children who are established and settled continue to make progress and benefit from the combination of care and education provided. Children attend school. Good routines are established, which lead to children feeling secure and being able to participate in their learning. The children have a good rapport with core staff. They benefit from daily access to domesticated animals, enjoy trips out and spend increased time with their families.

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improvement to be good

Staff arrange family visits. They have a proactive approach to overcoming travel distance. Families who have lost confidence in managing their children‟s individual needs and routines safely are helped by staff. Some children can now stay in their family homes and attend family celebrations. The staff stay close by helping them to rebuild Inspection report children‟s home: SC435322 8 family relationships.

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improvement to be good

For those children who depend on routine, change is difficult. The provision of adult services next door reduces the stress of moving on. This provides a follow-on service for vulnerable children reaching adulthood. Adult service staff come and work with children and build transition plans to reduce children‟s fear and anxiety.

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improvement to be good

There continue to be a number of allegations about the practice of staff. The staff understand how to raise concerns about colleagues. Some of these allegations have been investigated and upheld. Following these investigations, practice issues have been addressed through training and performance management meetings. Recently, a member of staff raised concerns about another member of staff‟s practice, and a child confirmed that he had been hurt by the member of staff. Despite the registered manager being made aware of this, there were no immediate safeguards put in place, no referral to the designated officer and no notification made to Ofsted. This shortfall was picked up during an internal quality assurance process and immediate actions were then taken. This was over two weeks after the allegation. As a result, a safeguarding allegation about a member of staff was investigated by the manager without the

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improvement to be good

safeguards intended to protect children. The management of this failed to provide transparency or external scrutiny. This contradicts the home‟s policy for managing allegations and leaves children in vulnerable situations.

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improvement to be good

The staff frequently use physical interventions and ground recovery holds. Eight of the last 22 holds used were ground recovery holds. There is an elevated risk with the use of these holds. The records are unclear why the holds were necessary. Additionally, they fail to provide required information about safeguards that should be carried out during and after the holds. Debriefs are not carried out with all the staff and children involved. This does not safeguard the children.

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improvement to be good

The children‟s behaviour management plans are not monitored following incidents. Therefore, the plans do not provide staff with an up-to-date overview of the children‟s behaviour. Furthermore, the lack of management review reduces the potential for staff to learn from incidents or to reflect on better ways to practice.

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improvement to be good

Children‟s risk assessments are updated regularly. These include recent incidents. The risk assessments guide staff in how to manage children‟s behaviour and maintain their safety when they are experiencing difficulties.

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improvement to be good

Children occasionally leave the site without the staff. A child who jumped over the garden fence and ran quickly across the fields on several occasions has been safely returned by the staff each time. Due to his vulnerabilities, the police are called quickly. The staff identified triggers to this happening and have made changes to lessen the likelihood that this will happen again. These incidents have since reduced. Inspection report children‟s home: SC435322 9

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leadership and management are inadequate. The home is not effectively or efficiently managed. Until recently, the leadership team has not been aware of significant weaknesses that compromise the safety and well-being of the children. Serious shortfalls in managerial monitoring result in processes designed to keep children safe not being followed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The management oversight of physical interventions is flawed and fails to consistently protect children. Information in the records that should provoke managerial curiosity and follow up do not do so. Associated behaviour plans are not updated following these incidents. The manager has failed to identify this or to monitor such incidents properly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

In one recent incident, the management team did not notify Ofsted of a serious event. This oversight was identified by a quality assurance manager in the wider organisation at a later date and only then was Ofsted notified. This delay significantly affects Ofsted‟s ability to monitor safeguarding concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The independent person‟s monitoring reports are consistently submitted late to Ofsted. The most recent report was received two months after the visit took place. This seriously impairs Ofsted‟s ability to review, risk assess and respond to issues raised in the reports.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The management team does not ensure that there are sufficient staff to meet children‟s needs. The service is often understaffed. Out of 42 shifts sampled, 19 did not have enough staff to meet the agreed staffing levels. This equates to 45% of shifts sampled. While there was no link established between the staffing levels and serious incidents, the staffing shortages impact on the staff and limit children‟s choices.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff receive training in relevant areas. Most staff have safeguarding disabled children training. There are several staff who have not achieved their level 3 qualification despite having worked in the home for over two years.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff report mixed messages regarding managerial support. They are very positive regarding support from deputy managers. They expressed frustrations with frequent senior managerial changes, while expressing cautious optimism about very recent changes. New quality assurance oversight and a new head of care have the potential to enable improvement. Inspection report children‟s home: SC435322 10

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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: SC435322 11

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Acorn Norfolk Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Merchants Place, River Street, Bolton BL2 1BX

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Inspectors

Deirdra Keating: social care inspector Ashley Hinson: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC435322 12 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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

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