Children's home run by Norfolk County Council in Norwich

Assurance visit report: SC450045 1 SC450045

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority runs this home, which is registered to care for up to six children who at times display 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, who is currently on maternity leave, has been in post since 9 December 2019. An interim manager is currently covering the post. She is in the process of submitting an application to become registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), Ofsted suspended all routine inspections in March 2020. As part of a phased return to routine inspection, we are undertaking assurance visits to children’s social care services that are inspected under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF).

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Information about this visit

At these visits, inspectors evaluate the extent to which:

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Information about this visit

 children are well cared for  children are safe  leaders and managers are exercising strong leadership.

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Information about this visit

This visit was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, following the published guidance for assurance visits.

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Information about this visit

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s social care system has delivered child-centred practice and care within the context of the restrictions placed on society during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assurance visit report: SC450045 2

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Findings from the visit

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance visit.

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The care of children

Children have good relationships with the staff. This helps the staff to meet children’s needs. In particular, the strength of these relationships helps the staff to provide emotional support to the children.

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The care of children

The staff make sure that the children’s health needs are met. Children have routine and specialist medical appointments. These include the investigation of any possible health concerns.

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The care of children

Neither of the children who currently live at the home are in formal education, as they are both due to move to new homes with education on site in the very near future. External professionals have decided that it would not be in their interests to attend a school for a few weeks before having to move again. However, due to COVID-19, the staff do use resources such as virtual tuition and everyday activities to support the children’s education.

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The care of children

Staff encourage and support the children to keep in touch with their families and friends. For one child, this included meetings with his family in the park when COVID-19 restrictions made other options less favourable.

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The care of children

Children can exercise choice over issues such as their diet, hairstyle and free time. When appropriate, the staff liaise with children’s placing authorities so that the children’s views are considered as part of their plans. The staff use mealtimes as an effective way to have informal discussions with children and get their views.

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The care of children

Staff encourage the children to develop interests in the community. One child is having basketball lessons, which he enjoys. The staff also participate in family-like activities with the children. Both children enjoy cooking with the staff. One child likes cooking a family recipe. This will help to maintain their sense of family identity.

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The care of children

The staff are very good at helping children to make positive moves on from the home. For one child, allocated staff are spending four days away every time he has a visit to his new home, so that he can travel the long distance and spend time there.

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The safety of children

Staff take appropriate action when children go missing from the home. They have clear plans to help them do this. The staff help children to understand the risks of going missing. One child has reduced his episodes of going missing. Assurance visit report: SC450045 3 There is specialist help for children to enable them to reduce risk taking. One child, who is believed to be at risk of criminal exploitation, is getting help through the youth offending team and from a specialist exploitation worker.

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The safety of children

The manager and staff generally have a good relationship with the local police. This did come under some pressure during a particularly challenging time for the home, but both sides reported that it is back on track now. The way in which the staff responded to the challenges of this time and persevered a child at the home meant that the child was able to have a planned move to a more long-term home.

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The safety of children

Managers understand safeguarding issues. They make safeguarding referrals when they need to and have an effective working relationship with the designated officer.

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The safety of children

It was a requirement from the last inspection that managers ensure that agency staff are subject to appropriate checks by their agencies. Some progress has been made on this. However, the information has not always been reviewed effectively and gaps have not been identified. As a result, managers cannot be sure that the agency staff are suitable to work with children.

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The safety of children

There are alarms on children’s bedroom doors that alert staff if the door is opened. These are used for all children. Consequently, children who do not need to have such alarms to ensure their safety are having their privacy avoidably limited.

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Leaders and managers

Senior managers have been proactive in making sure that there are appropriate staffing and management arrangements in the home. This has included making alternative arrangements when COVID-19 had an impact on staffing.

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Leaders and managers

The registered manager is on maternity leave. An interim manager is in post to cover during this period. This is working well.

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Leaders and managers

The manager and staff have effective working relationships with other agencies. An external specialist worker said that their working relationship with the home is what multi-agency work should look like.

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Leaders and managers

Managers have routines to monitor records, but some areas of monitoring and improvement are not always effective enough. In addition to the failure to identify gaps in agency staff checks, the manager’s monitoring report does not show that actions are put in place to address identified shortfalls. The complaints records failed to show that a child’s request that their complaint be taken to stage two of the complaints process had been responded to. On the day of the assurance visit, the manager checked and found that the complaints team had addressed this. However, the gap in complaints records had not been identified and managers did not know whether the child’s request had been acted on. Not having a strong monitoring and improvement process means that opportunities to improve practice and address shortfalls are sometimes missed. Assurance visit report: SC450045 4

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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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, monitor agency staff checks and complaints records effectively and use the quality of care review to identify clear actions for improvement. 23/10/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children; and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, assess and review the need for bedroom door alarms to be activated. 23/10/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. 23/10/2020 Assurance visit report: SC450045 5 The registered person may only—

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that satisfactory checks are made on agency staff.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Norfolk County Council Children’s Services

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Clive Lucas, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: SC450045 6 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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