Children's Home run by Acorn Norfolk Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 1 Registered provider: Acorn Norfolk Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to two children with learning disabilities. It is operated by a national provider.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered at the same time as the home in April 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is in the grounds of a special school and other children’s homes that are all operated by the same national provider. The school is independently registered.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector only inspected the social care provision.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children were living at the home at the time of this inspection. They have both lived at the home before it was registered individually. The home was previously part of a larger registration operated by this provider. This inspection was brought forward following concerns raised at another home on the same site, which the manager also manages.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress. They like living at the home and are looked after by staff who have a good understanding of their complex needs. Staff build positive relationships with children, which has contributed to children becoming more settled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care for children is well planned. Placement plans are detailed and child friendly. They clearly set out how staff work with children to ensure that they are looked after in all aspects of their lives. There is clear information about children’s communication and health needs. Plans include appropriate targets for children based on their individual needs. This helps the staff to monitor the progress that children make.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children attend the on-site school. They have excellent school attendance and are making good progress there. One child can display a reluctance to attend school. However, staff have a clear understanding about how to help the child with this and successfully encourage attendance. Staff work closely with school staff to ensure that any issues at the home that may affect children in school are appropriately shared. Staff prioritising children’s education helps the children to achieve better education outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to learn and develop different skills. One parent said that their child has made excellent progress with their verbal communication. The parent highlighted the work that staff have done to help the child in this area. Children have made progress with their personal care needs, needing less support in some areas for this. Children are encouraged to take control of their pocket money and staff help them to develop their cooking skills in ways tailored to their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a range of activities. There are some challenges for one child in relation to accessing the community safely, but staff have a good understanding of these challenges. There are clear plans to help the child to do this, and this helps ensure that the child can have different experiences. Staff help the other child to access a local resource where they can take part in different activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained and child friendly. The large garden includes a sensory cabin which children enjoy spending time in. The wider site includes play equipment and sporting facilities which children access. Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 4

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

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding. They understand different risks to children and are clear on how to report any safeguarding concerns that they may have.

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

Both children display self-injurious behaviour at times of distress. Risk assessments and specific plans in relation to this behaviour are clear. They contain detailed information about how staff should respond to keep children safe. When children are displaying this behaviour, staff intervene in line with the plans to keep the children safe and help them to calm. Over time, incidents for children have reduced as staff have developed different ways of helping them to manage their emotions. However, following on from some incidents, staff have not always sought medical advice for children in line with their plans. This means that any potential injuries to children may not always have been properly assessed.

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

Staff provide children with clear and consistent boundaries. Reward systems are used to encourage positive behaviour, and children respond well to these. Staff use key-work sessions and house meetings to help children understand different risks. These have included sessions about stranger danger and domestic hazards. This helps children to develop a greater awareness of risks.

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

There have been some challenges in the relationships between the children. Staff work with both children to encourage a positive relationship and help them to understand appropriate behaviours. There are clear strategies to help children manage their peer relationships and develop their social skills.

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

Staff have used a number of restraints during incidents. These are used appropriately to keep children safe. Staff use the least restrictive intervention necessary and are suitably trained. However, after incidents, staff are not always spoken to about the use of the measures. This means that managers do not fully consider how effective the measures are and any learning that could be taken from incidents of restraint.

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good

Managers at this home also oversee another home on the same site. The other home has been going through an unsettled period and this has affected the effectiveness of management at this home. Some shortfalls identified at this inspection have been exacerbated by this, although some shortfalls were evident before this period.

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good

Staff work between the two homes that the managers oversee. The staff rota does not specify which staff are working at which home at any given time. Staff said that there has been an effect on the consistency of staffing due to needing to support at the other home. Not having a clear record of who is working means that it is harder Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 5 for managers to have effective oversight of how consistent staffing is and ensure that plans are in place to minimise any disruption for children.

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good

Staff supervisions have not taken place regularly. Some staff have gone significant periods without supervision. This has particularly been the case during the recent unsettled period. A failure to provide staff with regular supervision means that opportunities to consider how staff are working with children and any areas in which support for them could be improved are being missed.

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good

Managerial monitoring of the home has not been effective. Managerial reviews of incidents of self-injurious behaviour and of incidents of restraint have not regularly taken place until a significant time after incidents have occurred. This reduces the effectiveness of the reviews in considering, promptly, how staff are managing incidents and what learning can be taken, including when staff have not worked in line with plans.

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good

Staff receive a good range of training. This includes training in areas specific to the children’s needs. However, two staff have not achieved a relevant level 3 diploma within the necessary timescales.

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good

Managers have built positive working relationships with children’s families and other professionals. Parents said that communication is good and that managers are responsive to any concerns. One parent said that there had been some issues in relation to communication in the past but that managers took effective action which led to improvements. Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met.

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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 each child has access to such medical advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that after incidents of self-injurious behaviour staff seek medical advice in line with the child’s plan. 5 September 2022

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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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the manager has clear oversight of any behavioural incidents and physical interventions and that there are effective systems to monitor the frequency of supervision and accuracy of rotas. 5 September 2022

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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 31 October 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 7 qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

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

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 5 September 2022

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, 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. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)) 5 September 2022

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home. 5 September 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 8 The registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there is an accurate record of persons working at the home and a true record of the actual rosters worked.

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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 for children’s home: 2642116 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Acorn Norfolk Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Atria, Spa Road, Bolton BL1 4AG

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Inspector

Joe Cox, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 10 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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