Children's home run by Norfolk County Council in Norwich

Inspection report children's home: SC034797 1 SC034797 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 medium- to long-term residential care for up to four children who have experienced trauma and may have experienced neglect and/or emotional abuse.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 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 setting on 3 September 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are widespread failures that mean children are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC034797 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/01/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 04/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/08/2018 Full Inadequate 13/12/2017 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC034797 3

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inadequate

Some children have made progress from their starting points. However, shortfalls in keeping children safe and protecting them from harm have had a significant impact on the outcomes and experiences of some children and been detrimental to their well-being.

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inadequate

Insufficient consideration in matching the needs of a new child against a child who was already living at the home has had a negative impact on one child’s safety and well-being. This child’s experiences at the home have been seriously undermined to the point that he has been moved out for his own safety.

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inadequate

The staff do not have the skills, knowledge or experience to manage one child’s extremely complex behaviours. This has resulted in the child having no boundaries and no sense of being a child. It has meant that staff are unable to prevent his exposure to risky situations or to protect him, other children and staff from the risk of physical harm.

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inadequate

There is no clarity in staff’s understanding or children’s plans in respect of how staff should help one child to clean his bedroom. This lack of support was raised as a requirement at the assurance visit but has not been addressed. Staff said that they do not go into the child’s room much as he does not allow them to. Given the risks for this child, related to fire-setting, staff do not have sufficient sight of his bedroom to ensure that it is clean and free of hazards and fire-lighting equipment.

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inadequate

Children are not living in a homely environment. Carpets have burn marks on them where fires have been set, and one door frame and door need replacing following damage caused when the police needed to intervene in an incident. This damage does not make the environment homely. A requirement was raised at the assurance visit in respect of the environment. Although damage has been repaired since the assurance visit, other damage is evident at the home.

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inadequate

Some children have made progress. This is recognised by external professionals. One child successfully moved out of the home and another child has improved their relationships with their family and staff. Staff have supported a child to engage in activities in the community and encourage the child to engage in hobbies and interests that he enjoys.

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

Staff have failed to prevent a child being bullied or to protect him from physical harm from another child. Staff failed to intervene to safeguard the child. This child has been attacked physically and verbally and this has resulted in him having to be moved into respite care for his own safety. Consequently, the progress that he was Inspection report children's home: SC034797 4 making stopped and, through no fault of his own, his placement was disrupted. This child’s experiences at the home may well affect his development, well-being and ability to continue to explore his identity.

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

Staff have failed to prevent a child from setting fires in the home on two occasions. Risk assessments do not detail appropriate risk-reduction strategies to manage this. During the inspection, the inspector found that the child had put glue in his bedroom door lock. This was only removed by staff when the inspector raised it. Given the known risk of fire-setting, lack of regular checks of the door lock is a significant oversight and demonstrates that staff are not suitably vigilant. Incidents of glue being put in the door lock are not referenced in the child’s risk assessment. There is a lack of direction and guidance to staff on managing fire-setting behaviours.

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

There have been several incidents of damage caused to the home. Verbal and physical aggression and self-harm are not adequately referenced in the risk assessments. One child smokes; arrangements for this are not sufficiently recorded in risk assessments. Staff lack clear direction and guidance on how to manage risks effectively to protect children.

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

Staff’s inability to provide a child with boundaries and guidance is leading to an escalation in the child’s behaviours. The child is not engaging with the staff. Staff do not sanction unacceptable behaviour for fear of negative responses from the child. Therefore, he is not parented or guided to help him manage his feelings and behaviour. This does not promote his well-being and fails to keep him safe.

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

A child has been missing from care 17 times since his admission to the home. A waking-night staff member has been employed. However, this is not a deterrent and the child continues to leave the home at night. Due to the young age of the child, risks are elevated when he goes missing. On two occasions, staff failed to notify Ofsted of serious incidents of the child going missing from home overnight. This does not enable Ofsted to have an accurate and current view of the home or to check how serious incidents are managed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers admitted a child to the home in May 2021. The manager and staff acknowledge that they cannot meet his needs or manage his behaviour. The impact of this has been that the child is not kept safe, and another child’s care has been disrupted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The management team monitors incident records. However, the monitoring is not effective as it does not identify practice issues regarding staff’s management of children. Therefore, opportunities are missed to guide staff practice and improve their behaviour management skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Some staff have their mobile phones with them while working at the home. There is no clear guidance about the acceptable use of mobile phones when working with children. Inspection report children's home: SC034797 5 The management team has recently been working shifts and covering sleep-in duties to cover gaps in the rota. This has meant that some managerial tasks have not been completed to their usual standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff said they have good opportunities for training. One staff member has been trained as a climbing instructor. This develops staff and gives children increased opportunities for recreational pursuits.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The management team works collaboratively with professionals. A police officer said that since the manager has been at the home, reliance on the police to address children’s behaviours has reduced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff feel supported by the manager. Staff supervision and staff meetings have a clear emphasis on the children. The management team and staff are aware of what the children need, despite not being able to deliver what is required. Inspection report children's home: SC034797 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that damage to the home is repaired promptly and carry out refurbishment to the home to make the environment more homely.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the assurance visit and is restated. 29 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 29 October 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC034797 7 understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s plans detail what action staff need to take to support a child to keep their bedroom clean and tidy.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the assurance visit and is restated.

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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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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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)(iv)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

provide staff with training and in-depth guidance on managing behaviours of fire-setting, bullying and children 11 October 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC034797 8 going missing from home, to increase their confidence in setting and maintaining boundaries for children;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that risk assessments reflect all known risks, give clear risk-reduction strategies and that staff understand and follow the strategies;

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Requirement Due date

review all incidents of children going missing and incidents of harmful behaviours with the staff involved. Use learning from these reviews to identify training needs and to inform future strategies to reduce the likelihood of recurrence.

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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

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 29 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)) 29 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 11 October 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC034797 9 there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e))

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Requirement Due date

* This requirement is subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff consistently follow the home’s policies and procedures for the benefit of the children in the home’s care. In particular, ensure that all staff are aware of and follow the home’s policy on the use of mobile phones when they are working with children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20)

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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: SC034797 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Norfolk County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Martineau Lane, Norwich, Norfolk NR1 2DH

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Inspector

Lianne Bradford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC034797 11 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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