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 Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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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.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post for one year. She is a qualified social worker and is working towards a relevant level 5 qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has improved effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager has worked towards meeting the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

There have not been any incidents of physical intervention with the children since the last inspection. This is very positive and shows how settled the home has been. It does mean that it has not been possible to look at how well records of interventions have been evaluated and monitored. Six consequences have been recorded for the children. This is a low number and again shows how settled the home has been. The registered Inspection report children’s home: SC450045 2 manager has monitored and evaluated these records appropriately. This enables her to oversee the consequences and make sure that they are effective in helping the children to manage their behaviour. The settled nature of the home makes it a much more pleasant place for the children to live.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager advocates strongly for the children to make sure that they get appropriate education placements. The staff support the children to take part in their education, such as helping them with their homework and including it within the children’s routines. The staff also work with the children’s parents to support the children in their education choices. This helps to encourage the children to get the best from their education.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

There has been a general improvement in children’s risk assessments, but there are still some issues. One assessment had not been updated when a child’s behaviours changed and another did not cover an identified risk. The impact of these issues has been minimised by the good awareness that the managers and staff have of the individual children and what they need to do to help protect them.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The children are making progress at different levels. One child continues to go missing regularly. His social worker is clear that this is despite the staff doing all of the right things to try to protect him from this behaviour. This child had been restrained regularly in his previous placement and he has not been restrained at all at this home, which is a significant improvement for him.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Other children are making progress in areas such as their social and physical development. One child has started to play for a local football club and is making new friends there. Another child has been chosen to represent the county at rugby. The staff have gone out of their way to support the children in following their interests and are proud of the achievements that the children have made.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff help the children to cope with the pressures and uncertainties when they move into or out of the home. One child moved to a more independent placement recently. The staff made sure that he had all of the essentials to look after himself, such as cooking equipment and bedding. The staff said that this was like making sure a child of their own had what they needed to go to university. This shows a good level of care for the children. The child’s social worker said that the staff had supported the move and managed it well; it was a planned move and was what the child wanted.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Another child has very recently moved into the home. The circumstances around the move from his previous placement were particularly stressful and his move to this home was initially only for a day or two. The registered manager understood the importance of this child having certainty and stability and has been able to offer him a place at the home for a longer term in preparation for a move to a more independent placement in the new year. Other professionals working with this child spoke positively about the support that the registered manager has provided and how well the child’s needs are being met. A professional said that they could not have expected more of the home and were very lucky to have got this placement. The child said that he likes the home and is Inspection report children’s home: SC450045 3 happy with his plans.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Social workers for other children were very positive about the work that the registered manager and staff do. One social worker said that they were very impressed with staff’s commitment to their child in ensuring that everything gets sorted out for him. The social worker said that the staff are very passionate and want to get things right for the child. Another professional said that their child was doing amazingly well and was really settled. The staff are managing his emotions well and are good at explaining things to him. They are also good at communicating with the social worker and the child’s family.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/07/2018 Full Good 26/02/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 17/05/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recommendations

 Regulations 35-39 detail the records that must be kept in children’s homes. All children’s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely whilst they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3) In particular, this relates to making sure that children’s risk assessments are up to date and comprehensive.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC450045 4 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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Norfolk County Council

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Clive Lucas: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC450045 5 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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