Children's home run by BREAK

Inspection report children‟s home: SC025720 1 SC025720 Registered provider: Break

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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 home, which is run by a charity, provides care for up to four children who have experienced trauma. The children may have difficulty forming relationships and may display difficult or challenging behaviour.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager of the home was registered with Ofsted in March 2017.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 26 to 27 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 requires improvement to be good

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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: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC025720 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/07/2017 Full Good 25/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 27/07/2016 Full Good 17/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC025720 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 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— that staff—

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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. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the location risk assessment considers risks in the local area such as railway level crossings and waterways. 01/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children‟s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home‟s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)) 01/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 07/12/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC025720 4 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, make immediate arrangements to ensure that all of the fire doors close fully. The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) 01/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children‟s home. (Regulation 35 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This is with regard to the follow-up and actions taken in response to bullying incidents. 01/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 07/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person, if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, and relatives, as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person‟s report to—

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Requirement Due date

HMCI. (Regulation 44 (2)(a)(7)(a)) 01/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report 01/02/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC025720 5 within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1)(3)(4)(a))

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Recommendations

 Provide children with access to a computer and the internet to support their education and learning, unless there are specific safeguarding reasons why this would be inappropriate. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 29, paragraph 5.19)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role that they play in the training and development of staff in the home. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 53, paragraph 10.11) In particular, ensure that the staff receive training that is specific to the needs of the children who live at the home.  The registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the

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Recommendations

quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 13.1) In particular, ensure that appropriate references are obtained, and that the mental and physical suitability of staff are assessed.

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improvement to be good

There are a number of shortfalls in the help and protection of children and the leadership and management of the home, which means that, overall, the home requires improvement to be good.

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improvement to be good

The overall experiences and progress of children are variable. Staff work hard to create positive, long-term relationships with the children, their families, and professionals involved in their care. One child experienced a well-planned and smooth transition into a semi-independent placement from the home. However, two children moved quickly from the home in an unplanned way after displaying difficult and unmanageable behaviours. Two other children who still live at the home had their education provision ended prematurely by their schools. This was despite the best efforts of staff, who worked hard with professionals to prevent these unplanned endings. Inspection report children‟s home: SC025720 6 One child, who moved into the home since the last inspection, is now attending school full-time after refusing to attend for some time. Staff are working hard to identify alternatives for the two children who recently had their education provision ended.

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improvement to be good

Although this action is positive, the children are not being offered meaningful alternatives in the interim. There is no computer at the home for the children to undertake online learning with staff. During the inspection, both children spent a lot of time in their bedrooms, despite the efforts of staff to engage them otherwise.

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improvement to be good

The children regularly see their families and other significant people. The home arranges and supports this when appropriate. One child‟s mother said, „I can‟t complain about the staff; they are great. I see [the child] every fortnight and the staff bring him to me and stay around but make sure that we have privacy.‟

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improvement to be good

The children access a range of activities with the staff. These include cinema trips, local walks and eating out. The children attend a range of community clubs such as sea cadets and visits to a scooter park. These activities enable them to enhance their social peer groups and develop their skills and interests.

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improvement to be good

Positive and honest relationships between the staff and children mean that children will say if there is something wrong or if they want to make a complaint. Staff gain the views of children through regular house meetings, informal conversations and more structured key-working sessions. This inclusive approach means that children feel involved in planning their care.

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improvement to be good

Children do not all have positive experiences when they move into or out of the home. One child had a well-planned move into the home. This child has settled well and is making progress. Another child had a less positive experience following a poor assessment of risks prior to moving in. This child had a negative influence on the other children and staff had to manage some very challenging behaviours. This child‟s placement was ended at short notice and she moved out of the home in an unplanned way. Staff did not adequately assess risks, which has had a detrimental effect on the children and led ultimately to placement breakdown.

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improvement to be good

The communal areas of the home were seriously damaged following an incident when the building was flooded and windows were broken. Staff were physically assaulted and racially abused by a child. Despite the severity of this incident, Ofsted was not notified. This lack of notification significantly affects Ofsted‟s ability to monitor safeguarding concerns. Following this incident, the home has been newly decorated. Communal areas are clean and comfortable and the home is furnished to a good standard.

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improvement to be good

During the inspection it was found that essential fire safety was lacking. One fire door failed to close properly, reducing the fire safety measures. This presents a risk to children in the event of a fire. Inspection report children‟s home: SC025720 7 The home is set in a busy town with access to a host of resources and facilities. The location risk assessment considers the main road on which the home is located, a local derelict building and a takeaway shop that has been the base for anti-social behaviour. However, the mitigation of risk is not detailed enough. Other local risks such as a level crossing, local rivers and waterways and public houses are not considered. Therefore, the assessment of local risks to children is ineffective.

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improvement to be good

Bullying is a serious issue at the home. The staff, external professionals, children and their families know that there is bullying at the home, but it is not acknowledged as such by the home‟s manager. Incidents of bullying are recorded in documents such as incident reports. However, there are no follow-up actions to resolve the bullying. Although staff record these incidents, children remain exposed to bullying as there is no evidence to show how it will be addressed or reduced.

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improvement to be good

The home is not fully staffed and there are several full-time vacancies. Recruitment checks fail to investigate gaps in employment history and assess applicants‟ mental and physical fitness to work at the home. This means that there is a risk of unsuitable staff being employed to work with children.

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improvement to be good

When children leave the home without permission or go missing, the staff are proactive and search the local area for them. Episodes of missing have been rare since the last inspection.

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improvement to be good

The staff generally de-escalate difficult and challenging behaviours to good effect and physical interventions are used only as a last resort, with only five since the last inspection. The staff use positive reinforcement well and in preference to sanctions, which are used rarely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager of the home was registered with Ofsted on 16 March 2017. He is undertaking a relevant level 5 qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is short-staffed and relies on relief staff and staff from other homes. Core staff cover gaps in the rota. This reduces the consistency of approach and continuity of care for children. Staff who are working through their probation period and a lack of staff who are able to drive the home‟s vehicle means that a reliance is placed on core staff. This includes reliance on managers, resulting in essential administrative tasks being delayed or not completed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are not receiving practice-led supervisions or annual appraisals in line with organisational policy. One member of staff has not had a formal supervision for six months and, despite working at the home for several years, has never received an annual appraisal. Staff said that morale at the home is low and they feel deskilled. One member of staff said, „We have had several staff leave to work elsewhere. This has put pressure on us, and some staff have been feeling stressed.‟ This is concerning as the home has suffered from high levels of staff sickness. Staff do not have enough formal Inspection report children‟s home: SC025720 8 opportunities to have documented discussions about their practice and to identify any needs or issues that they require support with.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are shortfalls in the training provided to staff. One of the children displays self- injurious behaviour that staff do not receive training in how to manage. Failure to provide staff with the knowledge, training and skills that they need leaves deficits in the care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The monthly external monitoring visits are conducted by an independent person. The visit reports are consistently submitted to Ofsted late. The reports do not reflect the opinions of the children‟s parents and families. These shortfalls impair Ofsted‟s ability to review and respond to issues raised in the reports.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The most recent internal review and assessment of the quality of care that the home provides was submitted late to Ofsted. The report does not contain children‟s feedback on their views of the quality of care that they receive. The report is vague and there is no action plan. Such deficits make it difficult for Ofsted to monitor and assess the quality of care that the home provides for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Multi-agency working is a strength of the home, and professionals and family members gave good feedback. A headteacher said, „The staff want the best for [the child] and they follow through actions that are agreed at meetings. They have good insight into the needs of the child and understand him. The staff work well with the multi-agency group to achieve the best possible outcomes for him. This can be difficult as he can be very challenging.‟

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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: SC025720 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Schofield House, Spar Road, Norwich NR6 6BX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Catherine Kenney

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Inspector

Ricky D‟Arcy: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC025720 10 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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