Children's Home run by Acorn Norfolk Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report for children’s home: 2688701 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 six children with learning disabilities. It is operated by a national provider.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has not had a registered manager since 30 April 2023.

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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.

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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: 20 September 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2688701 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2688701 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, four children were living at the home. The overall experiences of children are good. Staff provide individualised support that children and parents value. Children have established nurturing relationships with a core staff team that is committed to their well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend school. The staff work very well with the school staff to provide tailored academic and vocational learning plans. One child has started work experience at a local leisure attraction and has been described as ‘thriving’ in this opportunity. Staff have adapted another child’s evening routine to better support the child’s attendance at school. Individualised timetables have helped children to make sustained improvements in their school attendance and academic engagement from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff offer a range of experiences that reflect children’s interests and hobbies. These include activities such as footgolf, paintballing and trips to the cinema. Children gave positive feedback about their enjoyment of these activities and how they help them to develop their friendships with each other.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers have recently overseen a well-thought-out refurbishment of the home. Reconfigured communal areas and individual spaces create a stylish and well- presented home. Children have contributed significantly to the personalisation of their bedrooms. However, further work is needed in the rear garden, which is currently sparse and lacking in stimulation. This detracts from the other decorative improvements that have been made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in routine activities to support their independence and self-care skills. Staff create individualised goals with children in line with their plans, to support their progress. However, for some children, progress is slow and improvement is needed in how staff monitor and support this work. This is important for children as they prepare for adulthood.

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

Staff are well trained in understanding effective safeguarding practice. They are clear about their responsibilities to safeguard children and have good knowledge of the children’s additional vulnerabilities. Managers have responded to recent safeguarding concerns appropriately and effectively.

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

Staff skilfully adapt communication aids to meet children’s individual learning styles. This allows staff to have important conversations with children. Emerging subjects include online safety, managing healthy relationships and developing coping strategies. These conversations improve children’s knowledge of their personal safety. Inspection report for children’s home: 2688701 4 Children have not gone missing from the home. Appropriate staffing supervision levels ensure that, on the few occasions when children have walked away from the home, they have been followed by staff and encouraged to return.

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

Children have improved their relationships with each other. Since the last inspection, there has been minimal conflict, and staff work with children to resolve their differences.

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

Staff actively follow children’s clear and responsive risk-management plans. They are skilled in de-escalation techniques and understand how to address children’s emotional needs.

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

Staff use physical interventions as a last resort. Managers review the use of these interventions to identify trends and patterns to encourage safer practice. However, on one occasion, there was a delay in the staff debrief, which took place far beyond required timescales. Managers have put in place plans to prevent a reoccurrence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been no registered manager since 30 April 2023. A successful recruitment drive has resulted in an experienced candidate being offered the role of permanent manager. In the interim, while recruitment checks for the permanent manager are undertaken, the deputy manager has been appointed to manage the home. Staff and parents provided positive feedback at the inspection about their confidence in the current management arrangements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers’ internal monitoring systems are effective. Senior managers have ensured that areas for improvement are promptly identified and actioned. Good-quality external monitoring visits by an independent person provide a strong level of scrutiny, which helps drive improvements in children’s care and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff have sustained positive relationships with the children’s families. Parents provided unanimously good feedback about the quality of support and the effectiveness of communication with staff. The strength of these relationships is instrumental in supporting a unified approach to meeting children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff participate in a wide range of training. This includes training that develops staff’s skills in line with the model of care adopted. However, some staff have not undertaken training in understanding autism spectrum disorder. This training gap has been identified by senior managers and an appropriate course is booked for August 2023.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff said that they feel well supported by managers, and new staff confirmed that they have a full induction. However, the manager was unable to provide records to evidence this at the time of the inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2688701 5 Well-attended staff meetings ensure that effective communication and good support are embedded. Most staff receive child-focused and reflective supervisions. However, agency and part-time staff have not had supervisions at the frequency outlined in the home’s policy. This means that these staff have had not had the support they should have to enable them to suitably reflect on their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a recent period of high staff turnover. Managers have used agency staff to cover staffing gaps. Although there is some understanding as to why individual staff have left, no formal review of staffing trends has taken place. Therefore, although the problem has been recognised and the immediate impact is being managed, opportunities to identify and address underlying causes are being restricted. It is important that causes of staff turnover are identified and addressed in order for children to receive good continuity of care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2688701 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

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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff turnover is monitored and reviewed to understand and, where possible, address any negative trends. In addition, ensure that all staff attend training in understanding autism spectrum disorder. 31 August 2023

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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)) 11 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2688701 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the rear garden is appropriately resourced. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that children are fully prepared to move into adult care. In particular, children’s progress with their independence should be systematically monitored. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)  The registered person should ensure that agency and part-time staff receive supervision at appropriate intervals. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)  The registered person should ensure that records can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view them. In particular, they should ensure that staff induction records are accessible. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes

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Recommendations

Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.2)

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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: 2688701 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: 33 Roebuck Road, Hainault Business Park, Ilford IG6 3TZ

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Inspectors

Mark Anderton, Social Care Inspector Trudy Potter, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2688701 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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