Children's home run by Norfolk County Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2652383 1 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 run home offers crisis and emergency placements. The provider’s aim, as set out in its statement of purpose, is to care for children with complex presentations associated with neurodevelopmental disorders and behaviours that are difficult to manage. The home offers short- to medium-term placements for children between the ages of five and 17.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2021.

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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

Date of last inspection: 19 January 2022

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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: 2652383 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2652383 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home. Interactions between children and staff are warm and nurturing, with lots of laughter. This enables children to build positive relationships with staff, which has helped them to make progress in different areas of their lives. Staff are good advocates for children and have ensured that children receive the help that they need. One child had expressed the need for support with their mental health. The manager advocated for the child by appropriately challenging other professionals in relation to the service being offered. This has resulted in additional help for the child, which they are engaging with well. Staff work with other professionals to help identify appropriate longer-term placements. The manager has undertaken significant work with a child’s social worker around the child’s placement profile paperwork to ensure that this gives a

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

better overview of the child’s needs. This has helped with searching for a new placement. Staff are helping the child prepare for their new placement. This includes helping the child to think of questions about the move and communicating with staff at the new placement to ensure that these are answered. Good support in this area helps ease children’s anxieties about moving and increases the chances of future placements being successful. Staff prioritise children’s education. They work alongside other professionals to ensure that children have suitable education provision. One child has been out of formal education for some time, but, since moving to the home, has begun to engage in virtual lessons. Staff encourage the child’s engagement and talk to them about the importance of education. Staff actively seek children’s views and use them to inform children’s care. Regular children’s meetings are held. The manager writes responses to children to let them

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

know how their requests have been considered. In addition, regular engagement sessions with children cover a wide range of topics. These include discussions about incidents that have happened, help for children to understand healthy relationships and work in relation to becoming more independent. Communal areas of the home are well maintained and child-friendly. However, one child’s bedroom is extremely untidy and has therefore not been properly cleaned for a significant time. There are significant challenges for staff in relation to supporting and encouraging the child to maintain their room; some work has been done with the child around this. However, when this has had very limited success staff have failed to intervene to ensure that the child’s room is maintained to a suitable standard.

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

Children have complex needs and can at times display behaviour that is challenging to manage. This includes frequent incidents of physical aggression towards staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2652383 4 Staff manage these incidents effectively and in line with children’s plans. For one child, there has been a significant reduction in such incidents. Staff show a good level of resilience in managing incidents and work with children to move forward after an incident. This demonstrates to children that staff are still there to care for them and helps them to build trusting relationships. Some incidents have necessitated the use of physical restraint. Staff only use restraint to keep children and others safe. After incidents, both children and staff receive debriefs, which ensures that consideration is given to how incidents are managed and whether any learning can be taken from them. Children have, on occasions, been reported as missing from the home. There are

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

clear protocols, developed alongside other relevant professionals, including the police, for staff to follow. Staff are proactive in looking for children when they are missing from home. They work closely with the police to share information. Good responses to these incidents help to ensure that children are found more quickly. However, records of these incidents are inconsistent in quality. They do not always contain clear information about what led to the child going missing or how and where they were found. This information, for some incidents, was available in other documents. However, poor recording of missing-from-home episodes affects the ability of managers to identify triggers and patterns. Some allegations have been made against staff. These have been responded to well. Information has been shared with managers quickly, who have then taken appropriate action to ensure that children are safe. Prompt referrals to the local

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

authority designated officer have been made and managers have worked alongside them and the police to ensure that allegations are appropriately investigated. Responding effectively to allegations demonstrates to children that their concerns are taken seriously and ensures that children are kept safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified to level 5. She is a highly visible presence at the home. This enables her to build positive relationships with children and staff. The manager has high expectations for the care that is provided to children and a good understanding of the progress that they make. Managers provide a good level of support to staff. Regular supervisions give a forum for staff and managers to discuss children’s care and to consider how this can be improved. Debriefs after challenging incidents help staff consider how effectively they have responded to the incident and ensure staff’s well-being. In addition, team meetings include detailed discussion about what is working well for children and what concerns there are. These meetings provide staff with good opportunities to think together about how best to support children. There is a clear focus on the development of staff. A wide range of training is

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

available and this is specific to the needs of children. Staff are positive about the training that they have accessed. They said that it helps them increase the Inspection report for children’s home: 2652383 5 knowledge that they need to undertake their roles. Staff can identify additional training that they feel they need and managers willingly approve this when possible. Managers have good monitoring systems. There is effective oversight of behavioural incidents, with managers seeking to identify any learning that can be taken from them. This learning is used to ensure that children’s plans are up to date. The manager is welcoming of external monitoring, understanding its importance in helping to make continuous improvements to children’s care. Feedback from external professionals is unanimously positive. Social workers said that there is excellent communication from staff. The manager works effectively as

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

part of the wider network around children, ensuring that any concerns for them are raised and addressed. Managers have formed good links with local police. This has helped to ensure that, when their support has been needed, responses have been supportive and appropriate. Good links with external professionals help to ensure that everyone involved in children’s care works well together to provide the best possible care for them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2652383 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 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 premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s bedrooms are kept suitably clean. 9 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 26 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that records relating to incidents of children going missing from the home include clear information about the circumstances of the incident. 9 January 2023

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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: 2652383 7

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Registered provider:

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

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Inspector

Joe Cox, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2652383 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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