Children's Home run by Acorn Norfolk Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report children’s home: 2642113 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 registered in April 2022 and 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 registered manager left the home in October 2022. The new manager has been in post since October 2022 and is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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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 inspectors only inspected the social care provision at this school.

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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: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2642113 2

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Recent inspection history

Not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2642113 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have moved to the home since September 2022. Social workers confirmed that planning for their moves was thorough and supported a smooth introduction to the home. Consequently, the children have settled well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality support and individualised care. Staff are experienced and dedicated. They forge positive relationships with the children. Interactions between staff and children are compassionate and reassuring. This nurturing approach is modelled consistently by the manager and the staff. This helps children to develop the sense of security and stability that they need to make progress and thrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s attendance at school is good. Effective communication between the staff and school staff ensures that there is partnership working and joint problem-solving when a child is experiencing difficulties. Children benefit from this well-coordinated approach to education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who had limited communication skills before they moved to the home, are now using sign language to express to staff how they are feeling. In addition, staff use symbols and picture systems to communicate with the children. Staff use social stories and visual timetables with the children to share information, reassure them and to reinforce messages. Communication aids are visible throughout the home. Children are supported and encouraged to make their wishes and feelings known at every opportunity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents and social workers are pleased with the care that staff provide for their children. One parent said that they could see how happy their child was to return to the home after their half-term holiday. Communication from the staff is said to be good. Parents value the daily emails that give them an update about their child’s day. Staff have established positive relationships with children’s families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support a range of activities that reflect children’s interests and hobbies. Children enjoy community trips to trampoline parks, indoor play areas and bowling alleys. These activities broaden children’s experiences and help them to develop their social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is welcoming and homely. Children are involved in choosing themes for their bedrooms; clearly dinosaurs and pirates are firm favourites. In almost every room there are toys and sensory play equipment. There are canvasses and pictures displayed on the walls. However, there are no photos of the children to help them understand that the house is their home. Inspection report children’s home: 2642113 4

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

The staff are well trained and understand effective safeguarding practice. They are clear about their roles and responsibilities to safeguard the children.

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

Positive behaviour and risk management plans provide clear guidance for staff to follow. These are regularly reviewed and updated when there are any changes to a child’s behaviour. This ensures that a consistent approach is adopted by staff.

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

Physical intervention is used appropriately to keep children safe. Restraints are recorded thoroughly and there is effective managerial oversight to ensure that the intervention was necessary and proportionate. Staff are creative in how they provide debriefs for the children. Social stories are used to help the children understand why they had to be restrained and how they felt afterwards.

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

Staff use imaginative communication methods with the children to help them understand how to stay safe at the home. Both children’s emergency evacuation plans stated that they found evacuations difficult. However, records did not show whether the children had been shown the home’s fire evacuation procedure, or whether staff had revisited with the children the social story for fire evacuation.

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

On one occasion, a child unlocked the front door and managed to exit the garden before a staff member was able to stop them. The staff caught up with the child and they returned quickly and safely. During the inspection, the inspectors noted that the gate was not routinely shut or locked. Therefore, this intended safety measure is not effective.

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good

Leaders and managers lacked understanding of a child’s legal status both before and when the child moved to the home. Consequently, responsibilities to support the child were unclear.

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good

There are inconsistencies between the manager’s and staff’s knowledge of one child’s previous experiences. As a result, some care plans and risk assessments do not include risks that should be considered when planning the level of support that the child needs. In addition, these plans fail to provide staff with the clarity to manage risks on a day-to-day basis.

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good

The location risk assessment does not include important crime statistics that could help to identify risks in line with children’s vulnerabilities. Some details included in the assessment are incorrect. This does not ensure that staff are continually informed about the area and that potential concerns are reduced.

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good

Staff feel well supported and valued by the manager. They are included in decision- making and their suggestions are responded to. Staff said that they enjoy working at the home. This helps to provide children with a positive atmosphere. Inspection report children’s home: 2642113 5 The manager is aware of staff’s strengths and the areas in which they need support to develop. Staff have regular supervision sessions, during which the manager addresses individual practice issues and generates clear plans to enable staff to develop their performance.

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good

Communication within the home is good. Team meetings are held regularly. The meetings are child-focused and provide a forum for incidents to be discussed and strategies agreed. This helps staff to feel confident in their approach and to be consistent in their responses. Inspection report children’s home: 2642113 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 involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s placement plans comprehensively identify the child’s needs. 25 January 2023

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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

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ix)) 25 January 2023 Inspection report children’s home: 2642113 7 In particular, ensure that all staff are aware of children’s previous experiences and that children’s plans reflect known risks associated with these experiences.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12 (2)(c) (the protection of children standard). (Regulation 46 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the location risk assessment content and local crime statistics are kept up to date. 25 January 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming and supportive. In particular, ensure that there are photos of the children on display around the home, to help the children understand that the house is their home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure that staff support children to be aware of and manage their own safety, both inside and outside the house. In particular, ensure that children are provided with visual aids to help develop their understanding of fire evacuations and that staff revisit these with children regularly. Also, staff should ensure that the garden gate is closed properly. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 43, paragraph 9.9)

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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: 2642113 8

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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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Inspectors

Rachel Watkinson, Social Care Inspector Tom McGhee, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2642113 9 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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