Children's Home run by Acorn Norfolk Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report for children’s home: 2673265 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 who are on the autistic spectrum. 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: 6 September 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: 2673265 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/09/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2673265 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home. The child has established strong relationships with staff, who show skill in understanding their needs. The child has positive experiences, and receives support that enhances their quality of life and future opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child attends the on-site school. Staff continue to work on the child’s social skills and perception of others. This support has helped the child to move in to a larger class with peers. Staff have recently supported the child to complete their GCSE exams and attend the end-of-year prom. These are significant achievements for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents have trust and confidence in the staff to advocate for their child’s best interests and well-being. Parents particularly highlighted the good progress that the child has made with cooking. The child has been proud to share these new skills at his family home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child participates in a range of activities that meet their preferences. Staff provided good support for the child to use public transport. Recent visits to restaurants and the cinema provide meaningful experiences for the child to expand their interests. Staff are mindful of and sensitive to the child’s anxieties. Further work has been planned for the child to take part in an increased range of shared experiences with peers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has engaged in a range of specialist support from trained therapists. Play and art therapies have supported the child to explore their feelings and perspectives in a safe space.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s views are regularly gained and contribute to the day-to-day running of the home. Staff encourage high levels of participation through discussions and house meetings. The child’s placement plan is regularly reviewed by staff, and work has begun for the child to actively contribute to writing a personalised plan. This is an important area of development as, currently, it is unclear which aspects of the plan reflect the child’s views.

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

The child feels safe. Staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding the child. The staff have a good knowledge of the child’s additional vulnerabilities. Staff meetings are adapted to explore the individual safety needs of the child.

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

Staff have excellent working partnerships with other professionals, such as the police, social workers and school staff. When risks for the child emerged in relation Inspection report for children’s home: 2673265 4 to their increased vulnerability to exploitation, the success of these working relationships helped the child to be safer.

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

Staff help the child to develop personal safety strategies. Frequent and planned one- to-one discussions with the child cover important topics. These include online safety, mental health, positive well-being, understanding other people’s differences, and supporting healthy relationships. This has significantly improved the child’s emotional resilience and knowledge of their personal safety.

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

Managers have ensured that risk-management plans for the child are responsive and updated when additional risks are known. Although some risks have increased recently, staff have been proactive and responded to these in ways that reduce risks in accordance with the child’s plan.

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

Staff follow behaviour management strategies successfully. Staff have a good awareness of potential triggers for the child’s worries. This is combined with skilled de-escalation approaches to reduce difficult situations.

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

Consequential sanctions for the child are infrequent, restorative, and have been used appropriately. However, staff’s use of positive rewards still needs further development. Written plans around this strategy are not in place for staff, and the child is not always motivated to engage in planned life skills tasks. The lack of effective planning has hindered the child’s progress in this area of targeted work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has not had a registered manager since April 2023. In the interim, a manager from another home in the organisation is working with the deputy manager. This manager is highly driven to provide good-quality outcomes for the child. Due to the effectiveness of the current management arrangements, the manager has been appointed permanently and is applying to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers understand the home’s strengths and areas for development, and have an ambitious vision to develop the care and support further. Managers lead by example and have an in-depth understanding of the needs of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular reflective supervision sessions in line with home’s policy. The staff say that they feel well supported by managers, and this is further evidenced in the high levels of staff retention. This ensures that the child has good continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff access a wide range of training. This equips staff with the skills that they need to meet the individual needs of the child. All staff have a relevant social care qualification. Managers have devised a clear training plan to further upskill staff, including an advanced autism awareness course. Staff said that their training opportunities demonstrate that managers value their ongoing professional development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2673265 5 External monitoring by an independent person provides a good level of scrutiny to improve the quality of care. However, the views of the child’s family are not regularly gained in these visits. Therefore, the additional safeguards intended are not always realised. Inspection report for children’s home: 2673265 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the strategy around the use of consequential rewards is understood by staff and revised where appropriate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)  The registered person should make best use of information from independent monitoring. In particular, they should ensure that the independent person is supported to gain the views of parents more frequently. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful and clear recording. In particular, ensure that the child’s placement plan clearly identifies when the child has stated their views. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2673265 7

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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: 2673265 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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