Children's home run by Suffolk County Council in Ipswich

Inspection report children's home: SC038761 1 SC038761 Registered provider: Suffolk County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides care for up to six children aged between 11 and 17. Children who live at the home will usually have some form of social, emotional or behavioural difficulty and may have suffered from severe trauma. The home can also accommodate children who have additional needs when these have been properly assessed, such as autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Tourette’s syndrome, self-harming behaviours, substance misuse issues and mental health needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 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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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 good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 3 December 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC038761 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/12/2019 Full Good 30/07/2018 Full Good 02/08/2017 Full Good 29/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC038761 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from long-term placements. No children have moved into or out of the home for over a year. Staffing of the home has been consistent. As a result, staff have established and maintained positive relationships with children. Interactions between staff and children are warm. The children seek out staff to spend quality time with them and share news about their day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide a good variety of activities for children. They know the children well and ensure that activities are tailored to children’s preferences. Some children go to clubs that are local to the home, such as cadets, football and rugby. These opportunities help children to develop their social networks and increase their confidence and self-worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consult with children and inform them about matters that are central to their lives. Staff ensure that children contribute their views on changes at the home such as the layout and the decor. Children are encouraged to participate in community activities such as beach cleans. This helps children to feel that they can make a difference to the environment and play their part in making positive change.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to work towards achieving the objectives set for them by their placing authority. The home’s records are reflective of local authority records. This ensures that the children receive the support and resources that they need to keep them safe and promote their well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children are engaged in education. When a child struggles educationally, the staff work tirelessly to ensure that, when necessary, alternative education is sourced that is tailored to the child’s needs and ability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points. Since living at the home, some children have progressed educationally, gained greater independence skills such as securing a job and are better able to manage their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children’s bedroom doors have door sensors that are activated during the night. These monitoring systems have not been individually risk assessed, neither has permission been sought from the children’s social workers. Without the required permission and assessment, it is unclear how this monitoring is justified and proportionate.

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

Staff and managers address safeguarding concerns appropriately and refer them promptly to the relevant professionals. Staff support all children who are involved in safeguarding concerns considerately and sensitively. Staff receive guidance and support from a clinical psychologist and colleagues from a mental health team. This Inspection report children's home: SC038761 4 support guides staff practice. It increases staff’s understanding of trauma and enables them to provide informed support to children.

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

Children have a sense of belonging and safety at the home. Restraint is minimal and children have not been missing from the home since December 2019. Restraint, when used, is reasonable and proportionate. Restraint records are monitored effectively by the manager. Children and staff are provided with debriefs following their involvement in an incident of restraint. This gives children a safe space to discuss their feelings and thoughts and enables staff to reflect on their management of incidents.

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

Staff are creative in how they encourage children to reduce self-harming behaviours. The use of a soothing box and sensory items has successfully promoted distraction techniques. This has reduced the frequency with which some children self-harm.

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

A staff member carried out an exceptional piece of work in response to a child’s mimicking behaviours after the child watched a film that featured extremist views. The member of staff rewatched the film with the child, breaking it down into segments to review and discuss the content of the film. This increased the child’s awareness and understanding of the dangers of extremism and reduced the child’s empathy with extremism.

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

Staff use a good range of sanctions that are proportionate to the behaviour that they are intended to address. Sanctions are restorative and encourage learning to avoid similar behaviours being repeated. A child was asked to repair a saucepan that he had damaged. The sanction record stated, ‘Being given the opportunity to put right what he has damaged shows him that he can restore and repair relationships in his life.’ Staff understand that consequences in relation to negative behaviour serve a wider purpose and help to prepare children for life events. Staff’s commitment to help and support children, particularly when they are in crisis, is a distinct strength of the staff team.

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

The staff have delivered sexual health education to all the children. The staff recognise that, due to children’s disrupted education, they may have missed out on sexual health education. Providing this education promotes the children’s awareness of sexual health and what constitutes a healthy relationship.

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

Staff reported an incident of attempted internet exploitation to the child’s social worker and acted to keep the child safe. However, the organisation’s policy is not clear about the process and the incident was not reported to the police. This did not enable follow-up enquiries by the police.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good overview of all the children’s needs, risks and how they have progressed over time. The manager is a good advocate for children and ensures that children’s needs are central to her working practices. The manager makes appropriate challenge to other professionals if she feels that they are not Inspection report children's home: SC038761 5 working in line with the children’s best interests.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Complaints are dealt with satisfactorily. The manager responds to complaints promptly, seeks resolution and ensures that relevant professionals are updated throughout the complaint process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work exceptionally well with children’s education providers. This is led and modelled by the manager. The manager works collaboratively with a wide network of professionals. Feedback from these professionals is highly complimentary about how the manager leads the staff and supports children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has met the one requirement made at the last inspection. Staff are no longer working excessive hours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal monitoring systems are good. These systems give the manager good oversight of staff practice and ensure that children’s records remain up to date and are reflective of their needs. Consequently, children get the help and support that they need when they need it.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External monitoring does not consistently gain the views of the children, to make an informed assessment of the quality of care that they receive. Furthermore, external monitoring reports lack evaluation of practice and procedure.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Three staff members have not achieved an appropriate qualification for their role within the time frame specified in regulation. Inspection report children's home: SC038761 6

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there is a clear policy on, and that all staff know how to respond to and report, incidents of internet exploitation. 10 August 2021

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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;

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance;

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Requirement Due date

so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; 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. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 10 August 2021

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained— 10 September Inspection report children's home: SC038761 7 the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part- time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 44 (2)(a)) 10 August 2021

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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: SC038761 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Suffolk County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Endeavour House, Russell Road, Ipswich IP1 2BX

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Inspector

Lianne Bradford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC038761 9 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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