Children's Home run by Norfolk County Council in Norfolk

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC068076 1 SC068076

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Registered provider: Norfolk County Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides care for up to two children. It provides residential care for children when family, foster care or other community-based placements are not possible or desirable at the time.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspectors evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC068076 2

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Findings from the inspection

We identified the following serious and widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection:

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Findings from the inspection

 A failure of leaders and managers to ensure appropriate matching of children.  A failure of leaders and managers to provide effective oversight of significant incidents.  A failure of leaders and managers to provide effective oversight of risk assessments.  Shortfalls in relation to the home environment.  A failure to notify the organisation’s senior managers and Ofsted of significant incidents.

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The care of children

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. The assurance inspection was brought forward due to several safeguarding concerns raised with Ofsted.

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The care of children

At the time of this inspection, there were two children living at the home. Decisions made by the organisation’s senior leaders have led to the manager accepting a child without fully considering the impact that this would have on the child already living at the home. The matching of the two children has not been suitable, and has been detrimental to both children.

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The care of children

Several significant incidents since the beginning of October 2022 have resulted in staff calling for police assistance at the home. This is a considerable regression for one child, who had been relatively settled since the end of May 2022. The child, who had previously not gone missing from the home for a considerable period, has started to go missing and been in unsafe situations.

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The care of children

Communal areas of the home continue to be locked at night. The rationale for this is inconsistent across the staff team. Children’s records do not clearly demonstrate the decision-making process and whether the restriction is required to safeguard the children’s welfare.

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The care of children

The home is undergoing building work and redecoration. The bathroom has been retiled and rooms have been painted. The office has been moved to allow for a separate dining room. There are ongoing repairs to damage.

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The care of children

Staff have made improvements to the way in which they support children with their independence skills. Self-care, meal preparation and laundry were among the many activities included in the independence plan for a child who has moved on since the Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC068076 3 last inspection. As a result, the child was well prepared for their move to semi- independent living.

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The safety of children

Children are not safeguarded effectively. Serious incidents have occurred at the home. On occasions, staff have been injured during highly volatile situations. There has been damage caused to the home. Staff respond and attempt to de-escalate these situations. However, during several incidents, the staff have called for police assistance. This has led to a reliance on the police to manage difficult situations and increases the likelihood of children being criminalised.

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The safety of children

Children’s risk assessments do not reflect the level of risk for children accurately. Children’s records do not adequately show which children are at high risk of exploitation or going missing. Therefore, staff are not informed of the level of risk or the preventative measures required to mitigate these risks.

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The safety of children

Children are not routinely helped to understand online safety. Staff do not respond effectively to alerts received from online safety platforms. For one child, this has meant that two concerns identified by the online safety services were not addressed.

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The safety of children

Staff are not able to prevent the children from encouraging each other to engage in unsafe situations. Preventative measures implemented by the staff are generally ineffective. Consequently, children have been exposed to unsafe situations. In some cases, children have started to engage in new, unsafe behaviours.

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The safety of children

Internal communication is weak. Staff are not routinely informed of incidents that occur at the home. This does not ensure that staff are continually informed about the children so that potential concerns are reduced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The registered manager was not available during the inspection. The responsible individual was also unavailable, so a suitable representative was in attendance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The manager’s monitoring of incidents requires improvement. After an incident involving the children being missing from the home, two young males came to the home and threatened staff. The manager’s review of the incident failed to provide strategies to reduce and manage these risks. The responsible individual had not been informed that staff had found an unknown male in a child’s bedroom. Lack of managerial oversight has meant that serious incidents have not been effectively managed or concerns escalated to the relevant managers to ensure that children are kept safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Managers have failed to notify the organisation’s senior managers and Ofsted of serious incidents. In one instance, staff failed to prevent the children entering the office with force and taking an amount of money. The responsible individual was not aware of the incident. There were no records of the incident for the inspector to Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC068076 4 view. It was therefore unclear what preventative measures were implemented to ensure that this did not happen again.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff records show that they are receiving supervision. The staff spoken with said that they feel supported by the senior child practitioners. However, staff said that there are not always enough staff on duty to provide effective care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Out of the eight requirements that were made at the last inspection, five have been met. Restraints have not been used. The fire risk assessment and the quality-of-care review have been completed. Three requirements will be restated. The inspector did not review the recommendations raised at the last inspection, and these are both restated. They relate to independent person visits and children’s access to all areas of the home. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC068076 5

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/04/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/08/2021 Full Good 03/07/2019 Full Good 04/09/2018 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC068076 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

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 home is appropriately decorated and that repairs are carried out promptly.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 14 November

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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 staff— 14 November Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC068076 7 meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(v))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection 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

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)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that impact assessments and the matching of children consider the impact on children already living at the home. 14 November

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(a)(f)(h)) 14 November Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC068076 8 *This requirement is subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, just as in a family home, children can access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home must only be made when this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  The registered person should ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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Recommendations

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC068076 9

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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

Rachel Watkinson, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC068076 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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