Children's Home run by Acorn Norfolk Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 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 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 manager registered with Ofsted in April 2022.

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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 inspector only inspected the social care provision.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/07/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home. Children have positive experiences and receive support from staff who have a good understanding of their complex needs. Both children have stayed at the home for several years and have forged nurturing relationships with staff. This gives children a strong sense of security and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff skilfully work alongside speech and language therapists to ensure that alternative communication aids are used purposefully and to good effect. Well- devised short stories that describe social situations enable staff to have important conversations with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage well in their education and have high levels of attendance. Managers have recently improved the working relationships between residential staff and school staff. This has strengthened the unified approach to children’s learning. Both children are making good progress towards their educational targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a range of activities that meet their preferences. Staff have worked effectively and sensitively to support one child to overcome their anxieties when accessing the wider community. Recent trips to the beach, zoo and country parks provide meaningful experiences for children to expand their interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has recently been refurbished to a good standard. Individual spaces and resources, including a recently improved sensory cabin, meet children’s sensory needs. Children’s bedrooms are spacious and personalised. Overall, the home is well decorated and appointed to reflect family style living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents and staff say that the children are making steady progress in their independence and self-care skills. Children take part in routine activities to support their skills in this area. However, further improvement is needed in capturing and monitoring this work. This is important for children as they are preparing for moving on to adult living.

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

Parents have confidence that the staff advocate for their child’s best interests, safety and well-being. Staff support children through high supervision levels and consistent, familiar routines. This is an important protective factor in children feeling safer.

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

The manager carried out careful planning when children temporarily relocated to an alternative home during the recent refurbishments of this home. This ensured that any risks associated with moving in and out were well understood and managed Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 4 during this time. As a result, the potential disruption to children’s day-to-day experiences was greatly reduced.

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

Staff are aware of their safeguarding responsibilities and have good knowledge of procedures. A recent investigation into an allegation of harm was shared with the appropriate agencies and handled objectively and fairly. This provides assurances that there are suitable systems in place to safeguard children.

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

Staff manage conflict between children well. Staff work with both children to encourage a positive relationship and help them to understand appropriate behaviours. There are clear strategies to help children to manage their relationships with each other.

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

Staff are skilled in responding to children’s self-injurious behaviour. Plans are responsive to this area of risk. Well-devised personalised scripts are used by staff to respond to other areas of emotional need for children. However, there are areas of risk management plans which lack depth and consideration. This relates to the identification of pre-cursor signs and triggers to children’s anxieties. Some reactive strategies to risks could be more clearly defined. This is an important area of improvement that is necessary to guide less-experienced staff in responding to the children’s needs consistently.

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

There have been several incidents when physical intervention has been used. This has been used proportionately and as a last resort to keep children safe. Staff are appropriately trained. However, staff debriefs are not always carried out or recorded. This was a shortfall identified at the previous inspection and has not been suitably addressed. This limits the depth of learning that could be generated from these incidents.

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good

The manager is suitably experienced and is working towards a relevant level 5 qualification. She is well regarded by parents, staff and professionals.

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good

Internal managerial monitoring requires improvement. Appropriate actions have not been taken to fully address the shortfalls identified at the previous inspection. Consequently, improvements in these areas of care and support have not been made, and requirements have been restated. Although staff say they have received a full induction, records relating to this are missing. This hinders monitoring of staff support during their probationary period. Additionally, there are gaps identified on the staff’s electronic recording system. This could lead to important information being missed.

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good

Most staff receive good-quality supervision. However, there is a delay in the manager receiving supervision in line with the home’s policy. Agency staff who work regular shifts are not currently offered supervision sessions to reflect on their practice. Two members of staff have not received their yearly appraisal within the Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 5 required time frame. This has not ensured that these staff receive the support they need.

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good

Staff take advantage of a range of training courses to equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to meet children’s individual needs. However, there has been a delay in staff receiving good-quality training in understanding autism spectrum disorder. Managers have identified this shortfall and a suitable course is due to be attended by staff in August 2023. Although an appropriate proportion of staff have the required level 3 qualification, one staff member, who should have achieved this, is yet to do so.

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good

Visits by the independent person provide detailed and impartial scrutiny of the running of the home. The manager carries out an internal review of the quality of care at suitable intervals. However, the internal review does not identify measurable objectives to sufficiently drive improvement. Many areas of the review are descriptive with limited evaluation. This reduces the effectiveness and value of this quality assurance measure.

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good

Staff meet regularly as a team and prioritise children’s needs. Open discussions about staff practice support a professional and constructive culture.

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good

The manager maintains good relationships with parents and social workers. Feedback is positive regarding the levels of communication and good-quality care provided to children. Parents and social workers describe staff as ‘incredible’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 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

within 48 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and has been restated. 31 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and has been restated. 31 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— 31 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 7 ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction.

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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 (1)(a) (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and has been 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.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part- time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and has been restated. 4 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the behaviour management strategy for children is kept under review and revised where appropriate. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)  The registered person should ensure that children’s progress in their independence is systematically monitored. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)  The registered person should ensure that the internal quality of care review is responsive and evaluative to the care provided and clearly identifies actions that aim to secure continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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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: 2642116 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Acorn Norfolk Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 33 Roebuck Road, Hainault Business Park, Ilford IG6 3TZ

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Inspector

Mark Anderton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2642116 10 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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