Children's Home run by Break Charity in Norfolk

Inspection report for children’s home: SC025718 1 SC025718 Registered provider: Break Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to four children who have experienced neglect, abuse or trauma along with family and placement breakdowns. The home is owned by a registered charity.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered in February 2009.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC025718 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/05/2021 Full Good 12/03/2020 Full Outstanding 31/10/2018 Full Good 21/11/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC025718 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children were living at the home at the time of this inspection. Children are positive about the home and said that they have good relationships with staff. One child’s social worker said that their child ‘loved it’ at the home. The social worker said that this is hugely positive for the child, in comparison to previous placements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care is well planned. Placement plans are detailed and contain clear information about how staff meet children’s needs. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of these needs and are committed to providing good levels of care for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children have moved from environments in which they have had very limited freedom. Staff work with children to help them understand risks in the community but also to have more free time. This has helped children develop positive peer relationships. One child has developed a positive friendship with a peer and is now able to have overnight stays with them. This is something that they had not been able to experience previously. Staff risk assessed this, working alongside the peer’s carers and the child’s social worker. Good support for children to encourage peer relationships helps them to have experiences appropriate to their age.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made mixed progress in their education. One child has recently finished school, completing their GCSE exams. They are now enrolled on a college course which staff helped them to identify. Another child has not been in education for a significant period. They have access to tuition at home. Although staff encourage them to take part in this, their engagement has been minimal. Longer- term provisions are being considered for the child. However, other professionals fed back that staff have not always been proactive in exploring these. When one college was suggested and the child declined to consider it, staff did not pursue it any further with them. A failure to persevere in such circumstances has the potential to negatively affect the child’s educational outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use key-work sessions in response to incidents and identified risks to children. This provides the opportunity to talk to children about behaviours and help them understand different risks. However, sessions are reactive and staff have not regularly used these sessions to talk to children about their views on their care. This means that opportunities to gain and respond to children’s views about the home are being missed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Several communal areas at the home need decoration. There are numerous marks on carpets and flooring as well as on walls. Although plans are in place to carry out significant work, the shortfalls affect how welcoming the home is for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025718 4

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

Some children are subject to high levels of risk, particularly in the community. Detailed risk assessments provide clear strategies for staff to help reduce these risks and keep children safe.

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

One child has frequently been reported missing from the home and is at high risk of criminal exploitation. Staff are proactive in responding to these episodes, working in line with the child’s plans. Regular multi-agency meetings take place to consider risks and managers contribute effectively to these. Staff have developed good links with the local police. A police officer said that there is excellent communication between staff and police and that any risks are flagged up by staff. However, independent return home interviews have not always taken place and managers have not worked effectively with the child’s placing authority to pursue these.

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

Staff responded well to allegations made by two children. Staff reported to managers without delay. Immediate actions were taken to ensure the safety of the children. Managers contributed to the subsequent investigations and ensured that all the children were well supported. Safety planning undertaken was clear, detailed and realistic in terms of reducing the risks to children. Good responses to safeguarding concerns help to ensure that children are kept safe.

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

The use of restraint is rare, with only one incident since the last inspection. This demonstrates that staff are skilled at managing any behavioural incidents in ways that help children calm.

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

The one incident of restraint that took place resulted in the child making an allegation against the staff involved. This was referred to the local authority designated officer and there was subsequently an appropriate investigation. However, managers failed to ensure that several of the identified actions were completed. Therefore, not all learning that was taken from the incident has been put into practice.

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

Staff help children to understand appropriate behaviour. Staff use rewards and consequences to help children know what is expected of them. Staff managed an incident with a child well. They discussed the potential consequences of such behaviour and encouraged and helped them to apologise to the person concerned. The child was given a proportionate consequence but this was reduced when they completed restorative work. This demonstrated to the child that positive choices result in better outcomes for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is highly experienced and suitably qualified. There has been significant disruption in the home in recent months with the manager being off work for a period of time and a number of experienced staff leaving their roles. However, managers have worked to reduce the effect of this on children and staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025718 5 Managers have good oversight of the home. They ensure that any incidents are reviewed promptly and that these reviews identify any new risks to ensure that children’s plans are updated accordingly. Improvements have been made to the home’s internal quality of care review, with an increase in feedback from children and professionals being used as part of this. Good monitoring of the home helps to ensure that managers have a good understanding of children’s progress and any concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers provide staff with regular supervisions. These provide a forum for staff to consider children’s needs and how effectively these are being met. Managers ensure a strong emphasis is placed on staff’s well-being, which helps staff to feel well supported with the challenges they face in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular team meetings are used as an opportunity to discuss how staff are working together to care for children, as well as to share ideas about how practice can be improved. The organisation’s therapeutic team has recently started to attend meetings. This has helped to provide a different perspective when thinking about children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with a wide range of training, including areas of specific risks that children are subject to. This helps to ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills that they need to provide safe care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from external professionals was mixed. While progress for children in some areas was highlighted, several professionals said that communication from the staff is not always good. Some professionals said that requests for work to be undertaken with children had, on occasion, been delayed. Inconsistent responses when working with other professionals can have an impact on the quality of these relationships and how effective they are in ensuring that children are always well supported. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025718 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (d)) 3 October 2022

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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

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the decoration of the home is maintained to a suitable standard to provide a welcoming environment for children. 7 November 2022

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 3 October 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC025718 7 help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that when children do not have an education provision in place, staff encourage children to consider all suitable options that are available to them.

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(g)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that actions agreed from the review of any complaints and allegations are completed. 3 October 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person should challenge local authorities if they do not provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview after incidents of being missing from the home. The registered person should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30) Inspection report for children’s home: SC025718 8

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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: SC025718 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Schofield House, 1 Spar Road, Norwich, Norfolk NR6 6BX

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Inspector

Joe Cox, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC025718 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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