Children's home run by BREAK

Inspection report for children’s home: SC400901 1 SC400901 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, which is run by a registered charity, provides care for up to four disabled children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2022.

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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: 11 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: SC400901 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/01/2022 Full Good 09/09/2019 Full Good 05/11/2018 Full Good 09/05/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC400901 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a sense of permanence at the home. Two children have lived at the home for over four years. This longevity enables children to build trusting relationships with the staff and have a safe base to explore from.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff clearly know the children well. Staff interactions are warm, friendly and tactile. This helps children receive individualised, nurturing care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious, with communal areas that children use to relax in. There are lots of lovely photos on the walls. All the children have a favourite part of the house, which helps their sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a variety of complex health needs, which are managed well. Medication records are clear and well audited. Each child has a healthcare plan. Specialist help is requested when needed, and the manager and staff are making important links with the services around them. This enables children to receive the care that they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend school on a regular basis, and feedback from school about the home is very positive. One child is being supported to increase his well-being to enable him to be able to return to education. The staff are working closely with the school and the local authority to find a provision that can meet his needs. This careful consideration of each child’s educational needs means that children learn at a pace that is suited to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a range of activities. These include firework displays, a Christmas light show, pumpkin picking and visiting a dinosaur park. Family members are also invited on these trips. One parent said about their child, ‘He is accessing things that I never could have accessed for him.’ Children enjoy a range of activities with the people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff use a variety of methods to enable children to communicate. One child has recently started using pictures to communicate. Another child has been supported to think about the impact of his actions on other people. This was a great achievement for him. Children are supported to choose their meals each week with pictures of foods that they enjoy. Supporting children to build their communication skills helps them to have their voices heard and build reciprocal relationships.

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

Children’s care plans are easy to understand. These describe their emotional and physical needs, and how best to help each child when they are in crisis. There are clear strategies that enable staff to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: SC400901 4 The use of physical restraint is low and de-escalation methods are successful. Staff guide children to spaces that they prefer. This careful consideration of the environment and children’s individual needs helps children feel calmer.

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

Children’s vulnerabilities mean that they do not have access to the freedoms that their peers would. Each of these restrictions is recorded and regularly reviewed. This regular assessment makes sure that children do not have their liberty restricted without necessity. These safeguards allow children to be protected and supported in line with their needs.

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

Children have been helped to learn about stranger danger, identifying adults they can trust, and how to use the internet safely. Key-work sessions and house meetings are used to help children build this knowledge.

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

Systems ensure that all agency staff checks are completed thoroughly. All staff, including agency staff, have a safe-care interview before working at the home. This helps to ensure that the right people are working with children.

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

The physical environment is safe and secure, and there is a good system in place for monitoring health and safety.

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

Staff are familiar with the safeguarding policy, but they do not all know about the role of the local authority designated officer.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is very effective and efficient. She has good oversight and knowledge of the children and the home. The manager has high aspirations for the children and is ambitious for the staff team. She is open to learning and welcomes any challenge that helps her improve the home. This creates a learning culture for the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the children and their needs, and can convey this to the team in meetings and supervisions. Incidents are analysed and care plans updated accordingly. There is a system of email communication that keeps the team informed. This provides continuity of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervisions are thorough. They consider staff well-being and the children’s needs, and identify any areas for improvement. There is a good induction programme in place and all mandatory training is up to date. This helps staff to have the training, knowledge and support to look after children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The current children are approaching adulthood and this will mean changes as children move in and out. Leaders and managers are carefully planning these transitions, and starting to think about who might move into the home. This planning will enable transitions to be more successful. Inspection report for children’s home: SC400901 5 There are some staff shortages, but a recruitment drive is underway and there are new staff starting soon. The team is relatively new and there are areas of training and development that the manager would like to work on over the next year. Inspection report for children’s home: SC400901 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that sure that all staff are familiar with the policy for the protection of children from abuse or neglect and act in accordance with it. In particular, this is in relation to how to report a concern to the local authority designated officer. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.21)

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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: SC400901 7

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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

Mary Costello, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC400901 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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