Children's home run by Norfolk County Council in Norwich

Inspection report children's home: SC034419 1 SC034419 Registered provider: Norfolk 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 short breaks for up to four children who have a learning disability and/or physical disability and/or sensory impairment.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered in December 2017.

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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: 27 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC034419 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/02/2020 Full Outstanding 08/01/2019 Full Outstanding 14/09/2017 Full Outstanding 08/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC034419 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy visiting the home. They receive good levels of care from staff who understand their needs well. Staff build strong, nurturing relationships with children. These relationships help children manage their emotions and feel welcome at the home. Short breaks are valued both by children and their parents. One parent said about the staff, ‘They’re amazing’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff undertake careful planning for children when they start coming to the home. Staff work closely with children’s parents and external professionals to ensure that they develop a good understanding of children’s individual needs. One parent spoke of the high levels of anxiety that they felt in advance of their child’s first stay, but said that the support and communication from staff had helped alleviate this. The parent said, ‘My child settled into the home better than I could have expected.’ Good planning for children helps to ensure that staff can provide a high level of care from their first stay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children access a good range of activities at the home. Staff have created individual toy boxes for all children, based on each child’s likes and needs. This was to provide extra safety during the pandemic, but has also given children a sense of ownership of their own toys when they visit. Despite community-based activities being limited because of restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, children have still been able to engage in a variety of fun activities when they visit.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has benefited from a recent refurbishment. En-suite bathrooms have been added to the children’s bedrooms and decoration has taken place to a high standard. There is a large garden with a wide variety of equipment. This includes a sensory area, go-karts and a wheelchair swing. It is a space that children love to spend time in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are creative in seeking children’s views. They do this through day-to-day activities and regular meetings. The children have a variety of different communication methods, with many of them being non-verbal. Staff ensure that they capture views in ways that work for individual children, and these are then acted on appropriately to make improvements to the home.

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

Staff are highly committed to ensuring that all children at the home are safe. Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities and have a good level of knowledge on safeguarding disabled children. Staff work closely with children’s parents and external professionals to help them understand risks to each child and how to manage these effectively. Inspection report children's home: SC034419 4 Thorough risk assessments are in place for all children. These contain clear strategies for staff to help them minimise risks to children. Staff are skilled in behaviour management and intervene appropriately to de-escalate behaviour. They do so in line with agreed plans, which gives children a consistent response. This helps children feel safe and secure when at the home.

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

Managers take appropriate action to address any safeguarding concerns. When a concern was raised about staff not passing on information about a potential safeguarding issue, this was addressed through appropriate reflective work with the staff involved. Managers also took the opportunity to undertake work with the whole team on the importance of whistleblowing. This involved the team researching and reflecting on incidents that have occurred at other residential homes and the potential consequences of not practising in an open manner. A clear commitment to safeguarding from staff and managers helps keep children safe.

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

Staff generally manage incidents without the need for physical intervention. However, one child has been involved in several incidents during which they were prevented from controlling their electric wheelchair because of aggressive behaviour towards other children. These interventions were appropriate and were subsequently discussed with the child’s parents and relevant professionals, who agreed it was an appropriate intervention and should be used to keep others safe when needed. However, staff did not record the incidents as physical interventions. Not appropriately recording such interventions means patterns of how staff manage incidents may not be picked up and debriefs on the intervention were not completed with the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and committed to delivering high levels of care for children. The manager and staff put effective plans in place to ensure that children could still visit for short breaks during the pandemic. This included reducing the number of children visiting at any one time and working closely with parents to ensure that children were kept safe when visiting.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported and benefit from regular supervisions. These include detailed conversations on children’s needs and how these can be met effectively, as well as supporting staff’s well-being. Detailed staff appraisals also support staff’s development needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are trained to a high level. Some staff training is delivered by staff at the home, and this has enabled staff to continue accessing face-to-face training throughout the pandemic. It also enables training to be tailored to the specific needs of the children who staff are working with and supports effective learning from practice situations. Good levels of training mean that staff can meet the children’s complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager supports staff to increase their knowledge. During periods when some staff were working from home due to a reduced service being offered, the manager Inspection report children's home: SC034419 5 set them written tasks which focused on areas specific to working with disabled children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work effectively with parents and external professionals. Parents commented on excellent communication from staff. Staff regularly attend education reviews for children, and this provides an opportunity for everyone involved in the children’s care to learn from each other and share good practice. Inspection report children's home: SC034419 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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record 23 August 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC034419 7 confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that any restrictions of children’s wheelchairs are recorded appropriately.

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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: SC034419 8

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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, Norfolk, NR1 2DH

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Inspector

Joe Cox, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC034419 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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