Children's home run by Norfolk County Council in Norwich

Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 1 SC462583 Registered provider: Norfolk County Council Children’s Services Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home provides short breaks for children who are in a family crisis. Up to four children can stay at the home at any one time.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in April 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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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 outstanding

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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: 4 February 2020

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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: SC462583 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/02/2020 Full Good 26/09/2018 Full Outstanding 21/11/2017 Full Outstanding 20/02/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who access short breaks at the home have positive experiences and make good progress. Short breaks for children have played an important role in helping children to remain living with their families. Children enjoy coming to the home and spoke positively of it. Feedback from children’s social workers and parents was overwhelmingly positive about the enjoyment that children get from their stays at the home and the impact that the home has on helping children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have very positive relationships with staff. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of children’s needs and work in a flexible manner, based on what individual children respond well to. Staff have changed plans at short notice to provide tailored care for children. When a child recently did not come for their stay, staff quicky arranged to go to his family home and take him out on an activity. The child was reluctant to attend the service and this flexible approach resulted in a positive experience for him. The child’s social worker said that this helped the child to trust staff and that the child’s family has increased faith in the service that is provided.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The matching process for children is carefully considered and all staff input into it. When children have particularly high levels of need, they may visit for short breaks on their own initially while staff build relationships and a greater understanding of their needs. One child, due to their specific needs and behaviours, could only attend on their own when they initially came to the home, and only when male staff were working. However, the child has progressed to the point that they are now attending with multiple other children and do not need specific staff working with them. Such progress is a result of the work that staff do to understand children’s needs and find ways to work which meet them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children well with their education. A social worker said that not only had staff been able to develop effective ways of working with a child with complex needs, but they had also shared strategies with the child’s school. This supported greater stability for the child in their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a wide range of activities both at the home and in the community. A summer holiday is being planned for some children. This will be the first holiday that some of the children have been on. Trips to zoos, the cinema and beaches, among many other places, have provided children with opportunities that they would not otherwise have had. Allowing children to experience a broad range of activities means that children’s day-to-day experiences are enhanced by the time that they spend on breaks at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s environment is generally child friendly and is well equipped with games and books. However, some areas of the home have flaking paintwork and some Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 4 carpets are worn. A plan is in place for extensive renovations, but these have not yet begun.

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outstanding

Children’s risk assessments are clear and thorough. Staff have a good understanding of risk and work with children to help these to reduce. The way in which staff work with children, based on their individual needs, creates an environment in which children feel safe when staying at the home.

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outstanding

Children have often displayed behaviours at home and school that can be difficult to manage, but these are rarely seen at the home and decrease as children and staff build relationships. Staff are thoughtful in their approach to behaviour management, using effective diversion techniques and setting clear and appropriate boundaries that children respect. One social worker said of a child, ‘He [the child] used to get really angry, but we just don’t see it at the home.’ When incidents have occurred, staff have managed them well and a clear and thorough process of learning has taken place afterwards. This helps staff develop their practice based on what children respond well to.

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outstanding

The manager’s and staff’s flexibility of approach helps keep children safe. One child was referred during a crisis in their family and they were unable to return to their home. The manager and staff responded quickly and were able to safely match the child with others and offer an initial break on the same day. The child has since been able to return to the family home but has continued to access short breaks. The child’s social worker said that the support offered had provided immediate safety for them at a time when they were unsafe. The social worker said, ‘I really believe that he would have come into care without the support that the child has and the home continues to offer’. Flexible practice helps children remain safe and results in good outcomes for them.

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outstanding

Staff help children to reduce the risk of harm posed to them. When online safety was identified as a concern for one child, staff undertook e-safety work with them and other children. Resources used for this were put together into an online safety booklet which was then sent to the parents of all children at the home. This demonstrates a desire to keep children safe, not only when they are staying at the home, but at all other times too. It has provided a valuable resource for parents to help children remain safe online.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The acting manager has been in post since April 2021, but has not applied to Ofsted for registration as she is going on maternity leave imminently. A permanent manager has been appointed and a comprehensive handover is planned. Staff spoke of the acting manager being available and approachable and of the positive effect that she has had on the home. She has quickly identified the home’s strengths and areas for development and has high expectations for the care that is provided to children. Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 5 Leaders and managers have clear and thorough processes in place for new referrals to the home. They involve the staff team in these, which ensures that staff’s knowledge of existing children is considered, and that they can input into plans on how the needs of children coming into the home will be met. When leaders and managers do not feel that children are suitable for short breaks at the home, they

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

give clear rationale on this and have been clear that they are unable to offer a place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff spoke of being well supported in their roles. They receive regular supervision. This is an area that the acting manager identified quickly as one in which improvements could be made, and supervisions have become more focused on children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has completed annual appraisals for staff. These are detailed and contain clear targets that support the development of staff’s practice so that they are providing the highest levels of care for the children who visit the home. Good support for staff helps them to feel valued in their roles and helps them develop their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have developed excellent working relationships with children’s parents and external professionals. When any concerns arise, staff work closely with others to overcome these. Social workers all spoke of good communication with the home. One social worker said, ‘There is nothing that I would change about the service. The staff always do whatever they can to support children. They are just brilliant.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, for children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will be homely, domestic environments. In particular, ensure that decoration of the home is maintained to an acceptable 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: SC462583 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Norfolk County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich NR1 2DH

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Inspector

Joe Cox, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC462583 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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