Children's Home run by The Ryes College Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report children’s home: 2537782 1 Registered provider: The Ryes College Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to six children who have experienced significant trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in May 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this home on 10 September 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on our website.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2537782 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy living at the home. They are supported by staff who have a good understanding of their needs. The children and the staff have positive relationships, and this helps the children to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have increased their school attendance. The headteacher of one school said that communication with the staff is good. One child is on a reduced timetable. This is kept under regular review by the staff and the school. Good communication with education professionals reduces potential barriers to the children’s learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support new children very well. One teacher said that the manager had been ‘incredibly accommodating’ before the child moved to the home at short notice. The child was able to visit the home and was welcomed warmly by the staff. The teacher said that the child returned to school ‘beaming’ and had been positive about the home since moving in. Positive introductions help the children to feel welcomed and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help to prepare the children for moving on from the home. One social worker said that the managers and staff helped a child to move closer to the child’s family and prepared the child well for the move. When children move on, they are given memory books. Staff keep these up to date while children are at the home. Memory books provide a timeline of the children’s experiences. The books are personalised with photos and messages from the staff. Good support for children when they leave the home helps them manage change and look back on their experiences positively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some areas of the house have undergone significant damage in recent months. Work is ongoing to rectify this. However, some communal areas are bare, and some children’s bedrooms have flaking paintwork. This fails to provide the children with a welcoming and homely environment throughout.

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

The staff manage difficult behavioural incidents well. There has been an unsettled period during which there were a significant number of incidents. The staff and managers have learned from these incidents to improve the support that they offer to children. A social worker said that they could not stress enough how well behaviour was managed.

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

The staff support children to manage their feelings well. This support has reduced children’s behavioural incidents. One social worker said that the child is more insightful about their behaviour and able to calm quickly. The children also recognise the value of the staff’s support. This leads to the children feeling safe and secure. Inspection report children’s home: 2537782 3 Some incidents have involved the staff using restraints, although such measures have decreased. The use of restraint is proportionate. The children are given the opportunity to feed back after incidents to increase their understanding of them and support the staff to learn from them. Managers have a good oversight of such incidents. This means that when there is a need for restraint, it is done in a way that helps to keep the children safe.

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

Recruitment checks on new staff are undertaken. However, when staff have worked with children or vulnerable adults in previous roles, the manager has not taken steps to verify why the staff left these roles. This does not explore potential reasons for ending employment that might affect the suitability of the staff.

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

There have been no allegations against the staff or child protection referrals since the last inspection. The staff have a good knowledge of safeguarding procedures and know how to raise concerns.

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

One child said that they felt safe at the home and that they could speak to the staff about things that they were worried about.

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good

The previous registered manager has recently left the home. The new manager has been in post for three weeks. The manager is starting to gain an understanding of the home’s strengths and the areas for development.

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good

The staff are positive about the new manager and this has improved their morale. Staff are optimistic about the future of the home and are feeling supported by the new manager. Despite this, staff have not received regular supervision. One new member of staff received two supervisions within their first five months. Another member of staff did not have a supervision for over 12 weeks. The staff have not received annual appraisals. The lack of supervision and appraisal means that opportunities to support the staff’s development and consider how to best support the children have been missed.

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good

Managerial monitoring is inconsistent. The manager has not always identified when records need updating and review. One child’s placement plan has not been updated for a significant period and their risk assessment contains historical information. Another child’s risk assessment is contradictory and contains information about another child. The issue with these records has not had a significant impact on the care provided to the children. However, poor monitoring of children’s plans potentially leads to the staff not having accurate information that they need to care for the children.

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good

The home has built good links with external professionals. The staff update social workers following incidents and regarding the children’s progress. When there are concerns around children’s behaviours, the staff work well with other professionals to find solutions and consider the best support. One social worker said that the Inspection report children’s home: 2537782 4 communication throughout their child’s time at the home was excellent. Strong communication contributed to the child being able to stay at the home, despite challenges. Good links with other professionals help to ensure that the staff work well with the wider system to meet children’s needs. Inspection report children’s home: 2537782 5

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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

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;

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, use monitoring and review systems to ensure that children’s care plans and risk assessments are accurate and up to date. 12 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— 25 June 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2537782 6 full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that if a person has previously worked with children or vulnerable adults, verification is undertaken so far as is reasonably practicable of the reason why the employment or position ended.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) 12 July 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of children. In particular, ensure that communal areas and children’s bedrooms are maintained to a good standard. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2537782 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Ryes College Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 Skyview Business Centre, 9 Church Field Road, Sudbury CO10 2YA

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Inspector

Joe Cox, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2537782 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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