Children's Home run by Break Charity in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: SC439153 1 SC439153

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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 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

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 18 May 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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This monitoring visit

Following concerns raised with Ofsted, a monitoring visit was undertaken on 18 May 2021. At that visit, serious concerns were identified regarding the leadership and management of the home. Following the monitoring visit, Ofsted served a compliance notice.

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This monitoring visit

This visit was undertaken to review the provider’s actions in meeting the steps set out in the compliance notice. The responsible individual has devised a detailed action plan. The plan includes incident analysis, appointment of a new manager and a review of the children’s group dynamics. Several of these actions have been met. However, although there are several improvements, the steps in the compliance notice are not fully met. Therefore, the provider is likely to be subject further enforcement action.

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This monitoring visit

At the time of this visit, three children were living at the home. Since the last monitoring visit, one child has moved on and there have been no children admitted to the home. Therefore, is it not possible to assess the appropriate matching of children. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: SC439153 2 The child who moved on left the home in June 2021, after concerns were identified at the monitoring visit in May 2021. This child was not safely matched with the other children. The children influenced one another and risky behaviours increased. Since the child has moved on, the number of serious incidents has reduced. However, there continue to be concerns about the dynamics between the children. One child is frightened of another child. The staff are aware of this and provide high levels of supervision to the child in line with his individual needs. However, the children have not been attending school until very recently and therefore they are mainly at the

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This monitoring visit

home during the day. This means that there is a lack of structure and children have little time away from one another. This has intensified the problems, and one child does not feel safe at the home.

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This monitoring visit

There continue to be shortfalls in record-keeping. The children’s risk assessments, the bullying log and room search logs lack detail and clarity and some are unclearly written. Although there are incidents between children that include targeted bullying, these are not recorded as such and this makes the bullying difficult to monitor. Risk assessments do not clearly categorise the children’s risks. They do not include recent events when children have gone missing from the home or specify the children who have volatile relationships with one another. The classification of risk is muddled. Risk assessments contain a lot information, and this makes it hard to see what the current concerns are.

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This monitoring visit

The staff have recently had report writing training. However, the team is new and there is a new electronic recording system. The new team and the new system have resulted in incidents not being captured or reported on properly, making it difficult for the manager to oversee the incidents and records. The new manager has devised an interim paper filing system while the staff gain confidence in using the electronic recording system.

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This monitoring visit

With better oversight of the rota, the deployment of staff has improved and balances inexperienced and unqualified staff with experienced staff. The manager uses a group of agency staff that works well with the children. Each shift is led by a member of staff who has enough experience and can make the appropriate decisions. The regular use of the same agency staff has helped to provide stability.

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This monitoring visit

A new manager has been appointed and is applying to register with Ofsted. The manager is aware of the shortfalls and is working with the responsible individual to address these. The manager has provided the staff team with some direction. As a result, staff morale has improved, and no further staff have left. This helps to provide continuity for the children.

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This monitoring visit

The three requirements and one recommendation raised at the full inspection were not part of the scope of this inspection and have not been checked. They are restated. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: SC439153 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/04/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/10/2019 Full Good 26/06/2019 Full Inadequate 20/02/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, improve the detail and quality of the children’s risk assessments, and implement an effective system to assess the potential admission of children into the home to understand the combined risks of children living together.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 28 July 2021

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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 28 July 2021 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: SC439153 5 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; and

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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)(a)(h))

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Requirement Due date

ensure that there is a clear management assessment of the matching and impact on group dynamics and of the combined risks that the group presents;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the combined group of children enables individual needs to be met;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s management team implements effective monitoring and review systems, and provides staff with the necessary support, direction and oversight to enable appropriate action to be taken when managing the children’s group dynamics;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that all risk assessments are kept up to date;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s management team and staff maintain accurate and up-to-date records.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development; and

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 28 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person— 28 August 2021 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: SC439153 6 if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (2)(a) (5))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

*This requirement is subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this inspection

This purpose of this visit was to monitor the action that the manager has taken in response to the compliance notice.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: SC439153 7

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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 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: SC439153 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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