Children's home run by Norfolk County Council in Norwich

Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 1 SC462583 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 provides short-term breaks for children who are in a family crisis situation. Up to four children can stay at the home at any one time.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2013.

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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 outstanding

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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: 26 September 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/09/2018 Full Outstanding 21/11/2017 Full Outstanding 20/02/2017 Full Outstanding 13/12/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 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

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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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 13/03/2020 Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 4 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)(iv))

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The overall experiences of children are positive. The staff provide individualised support that the children and their parents value highly. Children make progress. This enables a high proportion of children who access the short breaks at this home to remain living with their families rather than go into care. One parent said, ‘The service helps us tremendously as a family. They [the children] are so busy, becoming more independent and making friends. They love it.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy a diverse and wide range of meaningful activities. The staff are committed to furthering children’s social experiences. Planned holidays, swimming, visits to the cinema and a range of local trips help to widen the children’s experience of the world around them and give them opportunities that they have not had previously.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager gives careful thought to which children stay at the home together. Effective group dynamic assessments are undertaken, and well-planned transitions take place. Consequently, the children benefit from warm introductions and form positive friendships with each other.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are confident that the staff listen to and understand their opinions and views and can see how they influence the home and their activities. Effective house meetings and daily consultations are responsive to the individual needs of each child. As a result, children make themselves understood and make informed choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the children with their education and health needs. The staff help the children with their homework and have instigated important health appointments for some children. This support has resulted in positive outcomes for the children and enabled them to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work hard to provide a welcoming, spacious and stimulating environment. The children have contributed significantly to the design of the communal areas. A thoughtful and creative approach to the layout of the home has resulted in individual spaces such as a well-appointed games room and child-focused garden area. This helps to create a vibrant and nurturing home that reflects the children’s interests and imagination. Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 5

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

The children said that they feel safe. Clear individualised and effectively implemented risk assessments ensure that the children are safer. No children have gone missing since the last inspection, and there is a low level of risk-taking behaviour.

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

The staff help the children to understand about risks in the wider community. The children participate in sessions on road safety, internet safety, respecting personal space and stranger danger. These forums help the children to recognise potential risks and enhance their reflection skills and knowledge to stay safer.

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

The staff are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities and they have good knowledge of whistle-blowing procedures. The children know how to raise concerns. When allegations against staff have been made, they have been suitably managed. This provides assurances that there are appropriate systems in place to safeguard the children.

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

Behaviour management plans are concise and current. There is an emphasis on proactive strategies and implementing clear and consistent boundaries. These approaches are effective in reducing behaviours that are challenging and help the children to maintain positive relationships with others.

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

When necessary, physical interventions have been used and are proportionate. However, there are delays in the further monitoring of the intervention records. Debriefs and reviews have not been consistently timely. These delays compromise the analysis and learning opportunities available to identify risks and reduce further incidents sufficiently. This potentially places children and staff at risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

An experienced and highly qualified manager leads the home well. The manager and staff are extremely child-focused and committed to the children’s well-being. A culture of high aspiration is instilled, resulting in a service that enhances outcomes and future opportunities for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff and manager have a very good understanding of each child who uses the service, and they use this knowledge to provide individualised support. The manager ensures that the short-break stays are flexible to the children’s emotional needs and their individual starting points. For some children who may not be ready to be away from home at night, graduated support is given to help them to develop their confidence over time. For other children, outreach support is undertaken to forge important initial relationships. This nurturing and inclusive approach ensures that each child is given opportunity to benefit and make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Regular team meetings are well attended and reflective. The staff have responsibility to research theory and evidence-based approaches and present their findings to the rest of the team. Effective discussions take place on how to implement these findings into their Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 6 practice. As a result, the staff feel empowered and motivated to increase their knowledge and use this to provide good-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff take advantage of a comprehensive training programme. Highly effective and robust training ensures that the staff are well equipped to provide good-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has high standards and high expectations of the staff. Regular supervisions and appraisals are child-focused and of very good quality. Staff practice is scrutinised, and meaningful development targets are identified. Consequently, there are ample opportunities for staff’s continuous development and reflection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager makes good use of external monitoring, which provides an excellent level of analysis to enhance practice. Internal monitoring reviews are rigorous, and the home’s development plan identifies clear opportunities to further enhance support. This level of monitoring drives ongoing improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff and management teams have sustained strong and positive relationships with parents and professionals, who provided consistently good feedback about the strength of communication and care. Parents and professionals see the children’s progress and recognise the impact and the difference that the service has made to the children’s lives.

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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: SC462583 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Norfolk County Council

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Mark Anderton, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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