Children's Home run by Break Charity in Cambridgeshire

Assurance visit report: SC439153 1 SC439153

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Information about this children’s home

This charity-run home provides care for up to four children who may have experienced neglect, abuse or trauma along with family and placement breakdowns.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in October 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection date: 1 October 2019

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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.

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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. Assurance visit report: SC439153 2

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The care of children

There are two children living at the home. Since 1 April 2020, one child has moved out in an unplanned way. Despite the staff’s efforts to safeguard the child, it became unsafe for the child to continue living at the home.

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The care of children

The children like the staff and have built respectful relationships with them. These relationships have supported the children to develop their emotional resilience.

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The care of children

The staff have been flexible and creative in their response to the limited activities that were available during the COVID-19 national lockdown period. The staff spend quality time with the children, play games and watch films with them and encourage fun activities at the home. The children enjoy cycling and walking with the staff. One child is participating in a six-week outdoor activity course, which provides him with stimulation and structure at the weekend.

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The care of children

The staff take the children to see their families and welcome the children’s families to the home. The staff provide support to parents when their children visit their family homes. This supports these family relationships.

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The care of children

The staff work hard to enable the children to have free time and make friendships outside the home. The staff work with the children’s social workers to agree preventive risk management strategies for each child. Free time in the community helps the children to develop their social skills and learn to develop their sense of personal safety.

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The care of children

The staff have supported one child to stop smoking tobacco. Both children are in good health. They eat a balanced diet and enjoy a good range of outdoor physical activities.

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The care of children

The children benefit from a good routine and structure to their day. The staff provided education throughout the first national lockdown period and successfully kept the children busy with their schoolwork. Since then, both children have returned to school and their attendance is very good. One of the children is steadily increasing his timetable, and the other child has won an award for his schoolwork. The staff take great pride in the children’s achievements, and this contributes to the children’s increasing self-belief.

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The safety of children

The staff coordinate their responses well to the children’s risk-taking behaviours. If the children fail to return to the home at the agreed time, the staff contact the children’s friends, check the areas in which the children spend time and collect them. The staff discuss these incidents with the children, which helps the children to learn from their mistakes.

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The safety of children

The manager makes sure that the staff’s responses to behavioural incidents are fair. When the staff impose consequences or sanctions, the manager reviews these and, Assurance visit report: SC439153 3 when necessary, questions the staff’s rationale. Good managerial oversight has ensured that consequences are meaningful and that the records include the children’s views. The manager’s oversight helps the children to know that their views are valued.

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The safety of children

The staff have condensed the children’s risk assessments so that they only include current and pertinent information. These risk assessments guide the staff clearly in how best to respond to identified risks.

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The safety of children

There have been two allegations made about the staff. One allegation has been managed effectively, in line with the safeguarding procedure. The second allegation has not been referred to the designated officer. The home’s operations manager and the child’s social worker concluded the allegation without any external oversight. This removes the safeguard provided by the role of the designated officer in managing complaints against adults at the home.

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Leaders and managers

The long-term registered manager left the home in October 2020. The deputy manager has been appointed as the manager, reducing changes to the staff team. The changeover has been managed well, with support from the charity’s head of residential services and a mentor for the new manager. The new manager has approached her role with energy and enthusiasm.

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Leaders and managers

There is a new electronic recording system. The staff write incident reports and risk assessments clearly. The records show the intense work that staff undertake with each child. Some of the staff can use the electronic system well. However, some staff are less confident in navigating the system and this could make monitoring less effective.

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Leaders and managers

The organisation’s training programme is responsive to the children’s needs, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. In-house training is responsive to incidents at the home and supports the staff to learn from these incidents. The staff are supported to reflect on how they managed situations and encouraged to identify training that would help them. This level of honesty demonstrates that the staff trust one another and work well together.

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Leaders and managers

The staff have an annual appraisal and regular supervisions. Extra support is provided when required or when investigations have led to identified learning actions for staff. This ensures that the staff are guided and supported in their roles. Assurance visit report: SC439153 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 procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

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Requirement Due date

provide for the prompt referral of an allegation about current or ongoing abuse or neglect in relation to a child to the placing authority and, if different, the local authority in whose area the home is located. (Regulation 34 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the provider ensuring prompt referral of allegations to the designated officer. 1 January 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the staff can easily access electronic records. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.2)

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Deirdra Keating, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: SC439153 5 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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