Children's home run by Norfolk County Council in Norwich

Inspection report children’s home: SC034419 1 SC034419 Registered provider: Norfolk County Council Children’s Services Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides short breaks for up to four children who have a learning disability and/or physical disability and/or sensory impairment.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since October 2017.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC034419 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/01/2019 Full Outstanding 14/09/2017 Full Outstanding 08/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 12/12/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC034419 3

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outstanding

From the moment that you enter this home, the exceptional feeling of warmth and nurture is apparent. An excellent range of sensory toys are attached to the walls so that the children can immediately self-soothe when they become anxious. The manager and staff have researched how to help the children, who are often non- verbal, to recognise, express and manage their emotions. The staff have developed sensory toy boxes that enable the children to communicate how they are feeling, whether anxious or happy. The colour-coded boxes and toys help the children to express themselves. Consequently, the staff have developed an in-depth understanding of the children’s feelings. This has led to a reduction in the number of incidents because frustrations in communication have decreased.

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outstanding

The staff meticulously plan each child’s short stay. The staff encourage the children to personalise their rooms to reflect their personal tastes. This helps the children to feel settled. The home is decorated to a very high standard. The large garden is extremely well equipped and has excellent resources, such as wheelchair swings and sensory corners. The children enjoy fun activities, regardless of their needs.

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outstanding

Children consistently receive outstanding care and support. They enjoy excellent relationships with an experienced and established staff team. The staff show warmth, empathy and love to the children, who have complex needs.

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outstanding

Whenever possible, the staff arrange for the children to visit at the same time as their friends, to ensure that they have an enjoyable social experience. A parent said that having overnight stays with his friends makes her child feel the same as his brothers and sisters.

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outstanding

The competent and well-trained staff team has high aspirations for the children. As a result, the children make excellent progress. A parent said, ‘I didn’t think in a million years that my child could do the things that he’s doing. It’s amazing.’

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outstanding

The staff see beyond the children’s disabilities. They break down barriers to children’s learning. The staff give the children the time, space and encouragement to undertake small tasks that are big steps for the children. The staff go to great lengths to celebrate the seemingly smallest of children’s achievements. The staff’s tenacity means that some entrenched behaviours are broken down, very slowly, and children make exceptional progress. A social worker said, about an achievement for his child, ‘That is amazing; you do not know what this means for this child.’ The staff do not give up; they strive for breakthroughs in the children’s behaviour and achievements.

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outstanding

The children have made exceptional progress in developing their independence skills. Some of these skills have taken months to develop but the staff break down Inspection report children’s home: SC034419 4 tasks into very small steps so that the children can see their progress, in records and through verbal recognition.

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outstanding

Each child has a detailed and comprehensive placement plan that outlines all their care needs. Parents are involved in compiling and updating these plans with the staff. This helps to include the children’s parents and to ensure that effective strategies are shared.

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outstanding

The qualified and experienced staff develop highly effective healthcare plans that enable children who have complex and life-limiting conditions to enjoy their short breaks safely. Medication administration processes are strong, with staff applying great care and diligence to ensure that the correct protocols are followed.

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outstanding

The managers are involved in researching practice in conjunction with a specialist organisation in safeguarding disabled and vulnerable children. Work has been undertaken to develop the managers’ and staff’s understanding of children’s mental capacity and liberty protection. The staff and managers work hard to ensure that children can exercise choice and that any restrictions are minimal, proportionate and necessary.

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outstanding

The staff are highly skilled in behaviour management and are extremely competent at de-escalating behaviours. Detailed plans describe what behaviours the children may display, with clear strategies to guide the staff in a consistent and helpful response. This continuity helps the children to feel safe and secure.

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outstanding

Staff work cohesively with the children’s parents and external professionals to identify and reduce the potential risks to children. The staff have worked exceptionally well to reduce the children’s risk-taking behaviour. A child who is at risk of running off has been able to enjoy well-supervised and managed trips in the community safely.

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outstanding

The staff are extremely well equipped to respond to emergency situations, such as a child running away. An accessible grab bag contains a wealth of resources that would enable the staff to safely pursue a child if they went missing. A fire-response grab bag is equally well equipped. The contents include fluorescent jackets, thermal sheets, contact details, medical details for each child who is staying overnight, the minibus keys and a mobile phone. Both grab bags are checked and updated daily. The attention to detail in the planning for emergencies is excellent. The staff consider the children’s safety and well-being from every angle.

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outstanding

The staff demonstrate an excellent knowledge of how to protect and safeguard the children. Staff report and record concerns and escalate any concerns relating to the children’s welfare. Inspection report children’s home: SC034419 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home benefits from excellent leadership and management. The manager is supported by a very experienced deputy manager. Together, they form a strong and visible leadership team. Their shared vision ensures that the children receive an outstanding level of care and benefit from many exciting and meaningful experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is forward-thinking and looks for innovative ideas to improve and enhance this outstanding service. The joint working with other professionals, continual research into current practice and adaptation of the children’s care to meet their individual needs mean that the children benefit greatly. The staff continue to develop professionally, and their knowledge, experience and practice are continually expanding. The manager goes to great lengths to ensure that the staff have the training that they need to excel in their roles. The manager has worked on developing an understanding of how the staff’s well-being affects their ability to work well with the children. She has worked hard on team building and providing staff with emotional support as well as professional support. This has led to staff feeling valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff are highly motivated. They spoke about the children with genuine pride and love. The manager shares her experience and knowledge with other professionals. This sharing of good practice benefits others who work with children and gives the manager opportunities to develop the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Highly effective internal monitoring systems mean that the manager has a clear knowledge of the strengths of the service and the areas for development. The independent visitor’s reports are informative and support the manager to make improvements to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive regular high-quality supervisions. Staff meetings ensure that the staff are kept fully updated about the children. These meetings enable the staff to share and develop good practice. The staff feel supported, valued and listened to. As a result, they remain positively motivated and enthusiastic about their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Parents and external professionals spoke highly of the manager and the staff team. They reported very good levels of communication. Parents said that they feel involved in their child’s care. The manager has challenged external professionals on behalf of parents to ensure that the needs of the children are understood and met. Inspection report children’s home: SC034419 6

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC034419 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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Inspector

Trish Palmer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC034419 8 to 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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