Children's home run by Clover Childcare Services Limited in North Norfolk

Inspection report children’s home: SC361385 1 SC361385 Registered provider: Clover Childcare Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to five children. The home offers therapeutic care to children who have complex health and social care needs. Children who live at the home may have a history of insecure attachments and challenging behaviour and may have experienced the breakdown of numerous placements in foster care or children’s homes.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2019.

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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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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 16 December 2019

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC361385 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/12/2019 Full Good 13/03/2019 Full Outstanding 23/01/2018 Full Outstanding 21/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC361385 3

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outstanding

This is an outstanding home. The home is filled with love, affection, kindness and compassion. Staff have an enriched understanding of children’s past trauma. As a result, the staff and children achieve amazing things and reach milestones that were once thought unachievable. This home has a direct and powerful positive impact on every single child that lives there.

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outstanding

Children and their social workers recognise how the children have progressed throughout their time at the home. Children’s progress is evident behaviourally, socially and emotionally. Challenging behaviours reduce and children’s confidence and self-esteem increase. There have been notable developments for some children which have led to improvements in their speech and communication. Children are enabled to begin to trust others and establish relationships. Some children have been able to reconnect with family members who they have not seen for years. Children’s impulsive behaviours reduce, and they begin to feel safer as a result of living at the home.

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outstanding

All children attend education. Education staff report that, without the support of the home’s staff, one child, who had not attended school for almost a year, would not have attended school or progressed at the rate that he has. Staff understand the importance of educational engagement and attainment. Children make excellent academic progress from their starting points.

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outstanding

Children access fantastic opportunities to broaden their experiences, including going on holiday, growing fruit and vegetables, making friends, learning to ride a bike and learning to swim. Staff are not risk-averse and allow children to experience the world as children in usual family homes do. Children have joined clubs in the local area, such as karate, basketball and football. These accomplishments are quite remarkable given some of the children’s initial reluctance to experience new things or venture outside the safety of the home.

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outstanding

Children are encouraged to be entrepreneurial. One child has a plant stall from which he sells home-grown plants. Another child attends a local stable yard as a volunteer. These activities broaden children’s horizons and social networks and increase their self-worth.

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outstanding

Staff have a keen focus on diet, nutrition and exercise. This has led to children having healthier lifestyles and better health. One social worker said, ‘Since living at the home, the child’s progress to date is better than was ever hoped for. In what is, in reality, a very short while, he has physically grown.’

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outstanding

A consultant psychologist and consultant psychiatrist are commissioned at the home to provide additional support and guidance to the staff. Additionally, the consultant Inspection report children’s home: SC361385 4 psychologist undertakes various neurological and psychometric assessments with the children. The results from these assessments help to guide staff practice and ensure that children receive the therapeutic input that they need.

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outstanding

Due to the therapeutic ethos of the home, children receive highly tailored support. Staff have an eye for detail relating to potential emotional and behavioural triggers. As a result, staff plan ‘settle time’ meticulously, as this is understood to be a time that many of the children find difficult. One child no longer has nightmares because of the support that he receives when it is time to settle.

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outstanding

The staff have children’s needs at the front and centre of all that they do. The staff’s understanding of children’s needs is exceptional.

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outstanding

Child protection concerns are referred promptly, and staff work collaboratively with partnership agencies to ensure that children are kept safe.

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outstanding

Restraint is only used when necessary and when it is reasonable and proportionate to do so. Therapeutic debriefs are held with the children and staff after restraints to enable children and staff to reflect on the incidents. Staff go above and beyond to ensure that children understand why restraint is used. Staff delivered to children a workshop about restraint. This informed them of what techniques are used and why. This prepares children for the times when they feel that they may not have control and gives them an understanding that staff are trying to keep them safe. This is an outstanding practice. Children’s views, feelings and wishes are fully considered in the staff’s care practices.

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outstanding

Consequences in response to behaviours are reasonable and proportionate. These consequences have a learning and safety component which keeps children safe. Additionally, the approach increases children’s awareness of how to respond to similar situations more safely in the future.

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outstanding

The location of the home has been robustly risk assessed. In addition, the children have been involved in an activity that required them to look for themselves for potential hazards that are close to the home. This increases children’s understanding of how to keep themselves safe in their neighbourhood.

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outstanding

The home’s records are exceptionally detailed, therapeutically underpinned, trauma informed and place the children at front and centre of practice. Staff understand the children’s needs and risks and work in accordance with local authority care plans. Staff go above and beyond what is required in regulation to support children emotionally, behaviourally, socially and educationally. Records are up to date and highly personalised. Inspection report children’s home: SC361385 5 Sexually harmful behaviours are managed sensitively. Staff work collaboratively with partnership agencies to ensure that all children are kept safe.

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outstanding

Children rarely engage in risky behaviours. The staff manage risky behaviour exceptionally well and provide excellent support to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager leads firmly from the front. She is highly respected by staff. Associated professionals provide exceptional feedback about the manager. They recognise the direct impact that her management of the home has on the positive outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has made excellent choices in accepting children into the home. This has led to long-term placements and a good group dynamic. The management team understands the limits of the care model used at the home as children grow older. As a result, the provider is setting up another home that children can move to which will more suitably meet their needs when the time comes. This will provide children with the opportunity to develop increasing independence while being supported by a care model that they are familiar with.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The management team, including the directors and the responsible individual, is fully immersed in the children’s care. The team members know the children well and play an active role in their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Since the last inspection, three children have been fostered. This significantly improves the children’s life chances and gives them the opportunity to experience usual family life.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Internal monitoring is robust. There is excellent assessment of strengths and weaknesses of the home. The management team is reflective and continually reviews and considers how the already exceptional care could be improved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home, the policies, the practice and the interactions are fully underpinned by a therapeutic approach that all staff are trained in. This approach is widely understood and used in everyday practice and interaction with the children. The home’s consultant psychologist says that the staff’s therapeutic understanding and practice make a positive difference to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is maintained to a high standard. It feels like a family home, with toys and games readily accessible and used by the children. The home has sustained a lot of damage in recent months. However, the management team understands the importance of maintaining good standards and keeping a homely environment. Therefore, damages are swiftly repaired.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home has been affected by the restrictions and limitations due to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, these have been managed well. There has been no detrimental impact on the children, who continued to go to school. The children benefited due to Inspection report children’s home: SC361385 6 the grounds and the location of the home during national lockdowns. Staff were creative and innovative in their approach to keeping children entertained and provided with varied activities within the limits of government guidance. These included pretend pop-up travel agents, coffee bars and cinemas.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is in the process of being accredited as the first children’s home in the country to use practitioners who are all trained in dyadic developmental psychotherapy. Additionally, it is working with a research programme at a university regarding how successful children’s onward moves from care are. Research-informed practice is not an add-on at this home to usual care practices, it is interwoven through all aspects of care. The power of this practice to change lives is exceptional, as is the diligence of the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers have highly effective working relationships with partner agencies and schools. Leaders and managers ensure that children are provided with the best possible care, enriched experiences and hopeful futures.

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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: SC361385 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Clover Childcare Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Old Rectory, Old Rectory Road, Brumstead, Norwich NR12 9EU

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Inspector

Lianne Bradford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC361385 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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