Children's Home run by Norfolk County Council in Norfolk

Inspection report for children’s home: SC068955 1 SC068955 Registered provider: Norfolk County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides care for up to two children aged between eight and 17 years who experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager of the home registered with Ofsted in June 2021.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC068955 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/10/2021 Full Good 16/10/2019 Full Good 05/12/2018 Full Good 31/08/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC068955 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children were living at the home at the time of this inspection. They enjoy living at the home. Children’s trusting and nurturing relationships with staff help them to make good progress in different areas of their lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers carefully plan in advance of children moving into the home. This considers the needs of the child moving in and those of the child already living at the home. One child had lived at the home on their own for a significant time. Anxieties for the child relating to the changes were managed well by staff. The manager included staff in planning for the new child and discussions around how their needs would be met. This helped the staff team to feel confident in managing the changes and being able to meet both children’s needs. Good planning has helped the children to form a positive relationship with each other.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in ensuring that children’s health needs are met. One child has a significant health condition that requires staff to provide regular treatment. The manager arranged for a specialist to speak with the team and for staff to access the necessary training. Staff sought to understand the impact that the condition has on the child. This means that, in addition to meeting the basic care needs relating to it, staff can empathise with the challenges that the condition brings for the child. The child has made good progress since moving in and has been discharged from physiotherapy, which they previously needed to support them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to understand healthy lifestyles and make positive choices in relation to their health. Staff have worked closely with the looked after children’s nurse to access support services in this area. This helped one child to access a personal trainer and begin to attend regular swimming and gym sessions. This is a significant achievement for the child, who has previously struggled to engage in community-based activities.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s educational progress has been mixed. One child, who had not attended a formal education provision in several years, has recently begun a college course. Staff worked closely with the child to provide the help they needed. When the child struggled with their attendance, staff worked closely with the college to try and resolve the issues. Another child’s school attendance has recently decreased. Staff have worked closely with the school and others to address these issues. However, the child’s plans are not reflective of the challenges there have been. The plans do not contain clear information about how staff work with the child to explore this decline in attendance or how to support them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive well-planned care. Their plans are detailed and set out how staff ensure that their needs are met. However, on occasions, some language used in plans is not child friendly. While staff are extremely positive about children and build Inspection report for children’s home: SC068955 4 positive relationships with them, this could affect how children feel that staff view them when they read their plans.

p.3

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

Staff have a good understanding of risks to children and how to work with them to reduce these. Staff demonstrate a good knowledge of safeguarding procedures and are clear about what actions to take if they are concerned about a child’s welfare.

p.4

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

There have been several incidents of self-harm for one child. Staff respond to these well. They take prompt actions to ensure that the child is kept safe. Staff and managers demonstrate curiosity about what led to incidents and reflect on how they have been managed to ensure that they can learn from them when possible. The child is helped to think about alternative ways of managing feelings of distress. The child has started to access support that staff have helped to identify for them. Managers work very closely with the wider network of professionals around the child to help manage risks. The child has a significant level of support in place for their mental health. When new people are introduced to the child, careful planning takes place based on staff’s knowledge of the child and how introductions can best be made. This has helped to achieve an increase in engagement from the child with these professionals.

p.4

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

Incidents of aggressive behaviour have significantly decreased, with no such incidents in a long time. Staff worked with the child in a restorative way and developed nurturing relationships with them. These relationships have helped to build the child’s trust in staff. In general, behavioural incidents are extremely rare. This demonstrates that children feel settled.

p.4

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

Managers respond well to any increases in risks to children. When necessary, specific safety plans, which are agreed with other professionals, are put in place to give additional guidance to staff. The manager has formed close relationships with the local police and shares information with them as needed. This ensures that appropriate responses are received from the police when needed. There have been some concerns in relation to potential risks from a person outside of the home. Information was shared with the police, which led to an increase in their support to ensure that children are kept safe.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified to level 5. She is a visible presence at the home. The manager leads by example and models the high-quality care that she expects from the staff. One staff member said of the manager, ‘She goes out of her way every day to ensure the best possible levels of care.’

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers provide a highly supportive environment for staff. Supervision sessions take place regularly and staff use them to think about how they are working to meet children’s needs. Staff can contribute ideas, which creates an environment where there is continuous discussion on how practice can be improved. Inspection report for children’s home: SC068955 5 Team meetings take place regularly. They are well attended and provide a forum to discuss challenges and think as a team about how these can be overcome. In addition, staff bring research and theories to team meetings so that these can be discussed and used to think about children and their needs. This has included discussions in relation to adolescent brain development and theories on how trauma that children have experienced may be viewed by them. This helps staff to increase their understanding of how children’s experiences affect them.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is a clear emphasis from managers on staff’s ongoing professional development. The organisation’s mandatory training includes areas specific to children’s needs and is routinely reviewed. The manager has been proactive in sourcing additional training when she has felt that mandatory training has not been adequate. Some staff have completed a course on children’s mental health. This was an in-depth course over several months. Staff say that it has helped them to increase their knowledge and understanding in an area that is highly relevant to the children. An emphasis on staff’s development helps to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills they need to provide children with good-quality care.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is a strong advocate for children. She has excellent working relationships with external professionals. The manager is central to the network around children and drives plans forward for children. Recently, when there were concerns about one child’s school attendance, the manager did not accept plans that were suggested by the child’s school as she felt that these were not in the best interests of the child. She proposed an alternative plan and discussed this with the other professionals involved. This resulted in a more suitable education plan for the child. Another child is due to move on from the home soon. The manager has advocated tirelessly for the child in relation to their future plans and the support that they will have. Good advocacy for children helps to ensure that their needs are at the forefront of plans and they have the support they need.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers have highly effective monitoring systems. Consequently, they have an excellent understanding of children’s progress and the staff team’s strengths and areas for development. A comprehensive development plan is in place. Managers monitor this closely to ensure that identified improvements are implemented. Inspection report for children’s home: SC068955 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers. (Regulation 8 (1) (2) (a)(iii)) 30 January 2023

p.6

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff record information about individual children in a non-stigmatising way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

p.6

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: SC068955 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Norfolk County Council

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Inspector

Joe Cox, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC068955 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8