Children's Home run by Suffolk County Council in Suffolk

Inspection report for children’s home: SC037281 1 SC037281 Registered provider: Suffolk 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 home provides care for up to six children aged between 11 and 17 years with social and emotional difficulties.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC037281 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/05/2022 Full Good 07/07/2021 Full Good 26/02/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 11/04/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC037281 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are currently five children living at the home. Since the last inspection, two children have moved on in a planned way. Children continue to keep in touch with staff and children at the home once they have moved. This demonstrates that children develop strong relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children have moved into the home since June 2022. They are making variable progress in all areas of their development. Due to several serious incidents, children’s experiences and routines have been increasingly disrupted. One child is currently spending time at an alternative address, with support from staff known to the child. This period of respite has benefited all of the children and helped to rebuild a sense of stability at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education plans are in place for all children, and staff are actively encouraging children with their learning. Managers and staff advocate for the children and their educational needs. Bespoke educational packages have been generated because of this collaborative working. While children’s educational attendance and achievement are not where they should be for children’s age or ability, there is progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have worked hard to develop trusting relationships with the children. They use a nurturing approach that encourages the children to share their feelings and talk about things that are important to them. Staff have helped children to build and maintain relationships with family members. For some children, this has led to seeing a family member who they have not seen for a considerable amount of time. At these times, the staff have provided the emotional and practical support the children need to develop positive family relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The communal areas of the home are welcoming and well maintained. Due to the age of the property and amount of damage, the home requires regular maintenance, which is carried out. However, some of the children’s bedrooms are not decorated or maintained to a good enough standard, with marks and graffiti on the walls and stained carpets. Bedroom windows are mouldy and dirty. Bedroom heaters have used debris and rubbish inside. In some bedrooms, the children’s furniture is dusty and unclean. This does not create a homely environment for the children.

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

Children’s plans are clearly written. Risk assessments for children are detailed and contain risk-reduction strategies. These are regularly reviewed and updated following any changes. Staff produce descriptive incident reports. Professionals’ meetings are held regularly for each child. The manager and staff are proactive in their attendance at these meetings. As a result, professionals are well informed, and there is a coordinated response for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC037281 4 The staff are well trained and understand effective safeguarding practice. They are clear about their roles and responsibilities to safeguard the children. Safeguarding concerns are shared appropriately with other professionals. This allows the most relevant professional to respond to any incidents.

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

Serious incidents have occurred at the home. On occasion, children and staff have been injured during highly volatile situations. Staff respond and take action to de- escalate and reduce the risk of further harm. The staff have called the police for support during some of these incidents. Police involvement has been proportionate and necessary to keep others safe.

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

Physical intervention is used at times to keep children safe and prevent harm to others. The use of restraint has been appropriate. Children are offered time and support to express their feelings after the restraint. Staff have received debriefs. However, on several occasions, the manager has failed to ensure that the oversight of the restraint was carried out within the required time frame. Delay in oversight means that emerging concerns or issues relating to the restraint could be missed and not responded to promptly.

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

At times, children smoke in their bedrooms. Staff have been unable to discourage children from picking up and smoking discarded cigarettes when they are out. During the inspection, the fire alarm was activated; however, two children refused to leave the home. This places children at increased risk of harm in the event of a fire.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A dedicated and well-experienced management team leads the home. Managers have established excellent relationships with other agencies. This collaborative working helps them to meet children’s needs. Professionals are positive about the communication and working relationships with the staff. Concerns for children have been successfully escalated by the managers when a multi-agency response is needed. Children benefit from effective working relationships between managers and external professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff speak highly of the managers and say that they feel supported, both personally and professionally. The staff are committed and dedicated to the children. The managers have set a clear example of going above and beyond expectations to support children, and the staff have followed this lead.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have a clear understanding of the progress children are making. They are highly visible and spend time with the children. Recent unsettled times have led to managers providing more support on shift. Subsequently, some managerial tasks, such as regular staff supervision sessions and the monitoring of restraints, have not been completed promptly. This lack of managerial oversight reduces the manager’s capacity to monitor the quality of care provided and make continuous improvements. Inspection report for children’s home: SC037281 5 The manager completes staff performance reviews. However, they do not provide an appraisal of the staff’s performance and fitness to perform their roles. Therefore, opportunities to drive staff development are missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of care review does not include any feedback from the children living at the home. This weakens the evaluation of the care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, one requirement has been met. All staff are now trained in fire safety awareness. Three requirements have not been met, and these are restated. Inspection report for children’s home: SC037281 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, The 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 bedrooms are decorated and maintained to provide a clean, welcoming environment. 20 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 20 September

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)— 20 June 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC037281 7 has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children and staff involved in a restraint are spoken to within the required time frame.

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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

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 20 September

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff support children to be aware of and manage their own safety, both inside and outside the home, to the extent that any good parent would. In particular, they should ensure that children Inspection report for children’s home: SC037281 8 understand the risks associated with smoking, especially in their bedrooms, and also the risks of not leaving their bedrooms during a fire evacuation. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)  The registered person should ensure that the quality of care review includes feedback from children living at the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)

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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: SC037281 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Suffolk County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Endeavour House, Russell Road, Ipswich, Suffolk IP1 2BX

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Inspector

Rachel Watkinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC037281 10 regulates and inspects 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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