Children's home run by Break Charity

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC063814 1 SC063814

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Break

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a registered charity. It provides care for up to four children aged between seven and 17 who have experienced neglect, abuse and trauma along with family and placement breakdowns. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since December 2019.

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This monitoring visit

The home was judged as good following a full inspection on 21 August 2019. Since July 2020, there have been increasing safeguarding concerns notified to Ofsted. The purpose of this monitoring visit was to assess how the provider has managed these concerns. No immediate safety or safeguarding issues have been found. This monitoring visit has, however, identified several regulatory shortfalls.

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This monitoring visit

The staff have struggled to manage the children’s behaviours. This has been evident in the increase in the number of incidents. Local factors have negatively influenced behaviours and the children going missing from the home. This has led to a significant increase in one child at this home self-harming. Another child has displayed violent behaviours following some of these missing-from-home episodes.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has been diligent in reviewing these incidents and persistently escalated her concerns. However, senior managers allowed an escalation of risk- taking behaviours to continue and the children to be exposed to serious harmful incidents.

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This monitoring visit

Despite numerous multi-agency professionals’ meetings, the immediate safety planning to protect the children has not been effective. The manager has been unable to fully mitigate the risks and settle the home. This has resulted in an over reliance on the police to manage the children’s behaviours. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC063814 2 The manager has failed to update the children’s risk assessments and care plans to include recent incidents. The recent risky behaviours are not all identified. Therefore, the risk assessments do not capture current, important information. This could lead to a lack of implementation of agreed strategies. One child’s missing-from-home episodes involved regular attempts to self-harm. However, the staff provide close supervision of the children. They follow the missing-from-home protocol when children go missing. The feedback from social workers is that the staff provide them

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This monitoring visit

The staff and the manager have worked hard to build positive relationships with the children. They have ensured that the children are supported in key-work sessions to understand some of the risks around their behaviours. However, a significant issue for all the children has been the dangers of peer-on-peer exploitation and how this increases risk-taking behaviours. The staff have not explored these topics with the children. Therefore, the children are not able to recognise the signs of being exploited and how to keep themselves safe.

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This monitoring visit

Not all the staff have undertaken specialist training to meet the children’s individual needs. Some of the staff do not have the knowledge and skills to work with the children to understand what their individual behaviours may mean and how best to respond to them.

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This monitoring visit

The manager knows the children well. She is child centred and a strong advocate. Through her positive professional relationships, she has been able to access mental health support for one child. This specialist support is enabling the child and the staff to begin to look at how early life experiences link to the child’s current behaviours.

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This monitoring visit

More recently, there have been important positive changes to local risk factors that have resulted in a more settled period and an opportunity for stability. The children are responding more positively to the care that the staff are providing. This is enabling the staff to begin to develop more structured routines.

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This monitoring visit

A new operational manager has been appointed to the home. Together with the registered manager, they are reviewing the risk-management and support plans for the children. Both managers have reflected on the difficult challenges that they have faced and how these have affected their practice.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 21/08/2019 Full Good 18/09/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC063814 3 13/12/2017 Full Good 15/12/2016 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC063814 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 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—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that the risk assessment and care plans are up to date and that all risks and vulnerabilities are fully explored.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that all staff have training in self-harm and child exploitation.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that staff understand and implement each child’s risk assessment.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that staff understand their role in keeping children safe, particularly with regards to direct work around self- harm, peer-on-peer exploitation and incidents of children going missing from home. 31/12/2020 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC063814 5 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 promotes their welfare.

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that senior managers consider the registered manager’s assessment of risk and the likely impact on children who live at the home. 31/12/2020

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

the child is, or has been, persistently absent from the home without permission; or

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Requirement Due date

the child requests a review of the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(f)(i)(ii)(iii)) 31/12/2020

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this monitoring visit was to assess how the provider has managed safeguarding concerns. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC063814 6 This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Schofield House, 1 Spar Road, Norwich, Norwich NR6 6BX

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Inspector

Leemya McKeown, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC063814 7 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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