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

Inspection report children’s home: SC452461 1 SC452461 Registered provider: SES Turnstone Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides a therapeutic blended model of care and education. The home provides long-term placements for up to eight children who have traumatic backgrounds and may have experienced neglect and/or emotional abuse. There is a school on-site that is also run by the organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in November 2015.

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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 good

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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: 30 January 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC452461 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/01/2019 Full Good 14/11/2018 Full Inadequate 17/05/2017 Full Outstanding 07/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC452461 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The overall experiences of children are extremely positive and they make good progress from their starting points. Children receive individualised support that enhances their quality of life and future opportunities. Strong relationships are established with staff, who are skilled and committed to their well-being. One parent said, ‘The home has been absolutely phenomenal. My child is like a totally different person now. The staff have gone above and beyond to enable her success.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children make significant progress with their independence skills. The home has an innovative independent living programme for each of the children. Individualised approaches are tailored to children’s developmental stages and continuously adapted so that children make progress that is significant for them. The implementation of well-planned and creative tracking processes results in children increasing their self-esteem and determination. This supports their transition into adult living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from individualised and varied education timetables and make notable progress in their education. One child, who prior to coming to the home was previously not engaging, now has high attendance in education. The staff work effectively together to provide bespoke academic and vocational learning programmes that are implemented through 24-hour learning plans. Children have achieved first aid and food safety courses. Other children have benefited from a wide range of employment and volunteering opportunities. Consequently, children’s attainment and breadth of experiences are enhanced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to have valued roles in their community. They are involved in a variety of fundraising events. They participate in charity runs and bike rides. One child now runs his own football training session for younger children. Another child has won a national award for their engagement in projects and volunteering opportunities. This involvement in community projects results in children having a heightened sense of responsibility and pride in their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy a diverse range of activities. Holidays abroad and access to local leisure attractions help to widen children’s experiences. The staff find local clubs for the children that relate to their unique interests and hobbies. Consequently, children benefit from an extensive range of social opportunities that they have not had previously.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved in since the last inspection. The management team gives careful thought to which children stay at the home together. Effective impact assessments are undertaken, and well-planned transitions take place. The staff spend time with the children prior to their admission and, in one instance, travelled a considerable distance to achieve this. This helps children to benefit from a warm welcome at the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC452461 4 Children benefit from therapeutic support from a consultant psychiatrist and psychologist. This support enables them to make progress emotionally, socially and behaviourally. Effective communication between the professionals involved in therapy and the staff enables the children to have ongoing support between sessions. This means that the children can reflect on and work through their feelings constructively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and well-appointed. The children have personalised bedrooms in line with their preferences and interests, and they are encouraged to care for their own pets. However, a socket is loose in the living room and damp issues affect two of the children’s bathroom areas, detracting from what is otherwise a nurturing and welcoming environment.

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

Risks have reduced for the children. Children who were previously involved in risk- taking behaviours in the community are now safer. Clear, individualised risk assessments and protocols are actively followed by staff. One child, who prior to moving into the home had two-to-one staffing, has progressed to having planned free time in the community with a peer.

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

The staff successfully implement clear behaviour support plans. There is an emphasis on children benefiting from the range of enrichment programmes that the home has to offer as a primary proactive strategy. In one instance, the effective behaviour support that a child received resulted in avoidance of being sectioned under the mental health act. This was a particularly positive outcome for the child.

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

When necessary, the staff use restrictive physical interventions. The incidents are recorded and subject to managerial oversight. The management team checks that staff’s responses reflect the child’s identified needs and behaviour management plan. This encourages the staff to provide safe individualised care.

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

Difficult incidents between children have been managed well. Effective restorative meetings have been implemented, which has enabled children to reflect on and resolve their differences to reach common goals. This helps the children to develop understanding of other people’s emotions and improve their relationships with each other.

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

Not all safeguarding processes have been suitably managed. One internal investigation into a concern was not suitably robust and the outcome was not clear. Furthermore, there was a delay in staff reporting a recent allegation against a staff member and the resulting investigation failed to identify this shortfall. This does not provide assurances that children are consistently and appropriately safeguarded.

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

The location risk assessment identifies clearly the risks associated with the location of the home. However, information on important crime statistics that could help reduce risks and provide an up-to-date overview is not regularly obtained. This does Inspection report children’s home: SC452461 5 not ensure that staff are continually informed about the area and that potential concerns are mitigated effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified. He is supported by a diverse management team that collectively embeds the home’s ‘no limits’ culture into good- quality outcomes and support to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff value their child-focused and personal development discussions in supervision meetings and annual appraisals. Regular and highly attended staff meetings ensure that effective communication is enabled. Staff said that they feel well supported. This range of guidance provides the staff with direction and time for suitable reflection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff benefit from a comprehensive training programme. They are well skilled to meet the children’s individual complex needs. Practices are continuously informed through the seamless implementation of social and emotional development models that the management team has created, resulting in individualised and innovative support to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff and management team have sustained good relationships with parents and professionals, who provided positive feedback about the quality of care and effectiveness of communication.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managerial monitoring of records is generally good. External monitoring visits by an independent person provide a sufficient level of scrutiny to develop practices. The home’s internal development plan and quality of care review are equally rigorous; however, these are not submitted to Ofsted within the required timescales after completion. This undermines Ofsted’s capacity to monitor the home effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team seeks permission from children and their placing authorities for the use of door alarms in the children’s bedrooms. However, currently, there is no mechanism for the review of their use. The lack of clear and documented reviews of the alarms means that the manager cannot ensure that their use is continuously proportionate and justified. Inspection report children’s home: SC452461 6

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(vi)) 30/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45(4)(a)) 29/05/2020

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, ensure that damage to a plug socket is repaired and damp issues in two bathrooms are addressed.  Any home using CCTV or other monitoring equipment should have a written policy describing how this will support the safeguarding and well-being of those living and working in the home in accordance with regulation 24. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16) In particular, ensure that a system is in place to enable the review of the use of door alarms in children’s bedrooms.  Under regulation 46, the registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The

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Recommendations

review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’ page 64, paragraph 15.1) Inspection report children’s home: SC452461 7

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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: SC452461 8

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: SES Turnstone Limited

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Inspectors

Mark Anderton, Social Care Inspector Natalie Burton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC452461 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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