Children's Home run by BREAK in Norfolk

Inspection report for children’s home: SC040191 1 SC040191 Registered provider: Break Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a registered charity. It provides long-term care for up to two children who have had traumatic backgrounds.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC040191 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/07/2022 Full Good 30/09/2019 Full Good 11/12/2018 Full Good 04/12/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC040191 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child was living at the home at the time of this inspection. This child has lived at the home for over a year. They have continued to make progress from their starting point when they moved into the home. Since the last inspection, restrictions placed on the child have been lifted. This is progress for this child and is a result of their sense of safety at this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has built good relationships with staff and is learning ways to manage their complex feelings. Staff manage significant health risks to the child well and provide good care and support. Overall, some risky behaviours have reduced since the child moved into the home. The child now seeks support from staff sooner after risky incidents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have supported the child to explore their gender identity. Before the child moved in, they were not able to explore their identity in safe ways. Since then, staff have offered opportunities for the child to attend youth identity community groups, and the child has accessed a mentor. Staff support the child to express themselves fully without shame or judgement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is not currently in any formal post-16 education or training. However, the manager has worked with the local authority and the virtual school professional to explore alternative approaches to engage the child in bespoke education provisions. The child is engaged in a voluntary activity in the community, which is helping them to learn new skills and have new experiences, which previously they would not have had the confidence to do.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has complex health and well-being needs. Staff support the child to access any health appointments that they request and follow up on concerns that the child shares about their health. Health concerns are explored sensitively, and the child receives appropriate medical care.

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

The child has a complex history and vulnerabilities that have an impact on many areas of their life. Staff have worked with the local authority and health services to help find the right mental health support for the child. The child now has weekly access to a youth mental health service, which has helped the child to reduce the frequency of self-harm incidents.

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

Staff are helping the child to learn about themselves through carefully planned life- story work, which was introduced to the child on the day of the inspection. The staff are supported by the organisation’s therapeutic team, which helps the staff and child to learn about their trauma and rupture and repair in their relationships. Staff help the child to maintain meaningful relationships. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040191 4 The child has received support to think about how to keep themselves safe online and to reflect on online bullying experiences. Staff have responded appropriately when the child has shared concerns, and they have shared these concerns with the local authority and police. Staff have helped the child to think about ways they can respond differently and stay safe online.

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

There has been a significant incident for the child since the last inspection. There was a detailed investigation into this event, and the manager quickly actioned any recommendations to ensure ongoing safety for the child.

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

The child has sometimes needed to be restrained by staff to keep them safe. These restraints are necessary and proportionate. However, they are not always well recorded. Management oversight is missing on one record, and staff debriefs do not consistently take place. Therefore, staff have not always felt supported after significant incidents.

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

Since the last inspection, the child has been missing from care on two occasions. Staff actively search for the child and make good use of the child’s family support network to provide contact with and reassurance to the child. Staff actions helped to locate the child and supported them to return home. However, staff’s recording of one missing-from-care episode is unclear and does not have management oversight. In addition, staff were not supported promptly by the leadership team to help repair relationships with the child after other harmful incidents occurred when the child was missing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a permanent registered manager. The manager, deputy manager and staff team know the child well and have built positive relationships with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is supporting the team to build trusted relationships with the child, even when their behaviours challenge the staff. This has sometimes led to the child sharing allegations with the manager about other staff. The manager takes the child’s concerns seriously. He investigates and reports the outcomes back to the child in a kind way. When concerns are raised, these are reported to Ofsted promptly. At the time of the inspection, four incidents were notified to Ofsted on the first day of the inspection. These incidents have been referred to the appropriate agencies and were to be investigated by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular training. This includes bespoke training offered by the organisation’s therapeutic service. This training helps staff to understand the child and respond in a trauma-informed way. Staff said that this training has been beneficial to their learning. The manager has sourced training on gender identity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from the child’s social worker is positive about the support that the staff provide to the child. The social worker said that this is evidenced in the positive Inspection report for children’s home: SC040191 5 progress the child has made. The social worker said that the day-to-day care is managed well and that this home is a really good provision for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly. The organisation’s therapeutic support team ensures that leaders and staff are child-focused and understand the child’s complex history. Staff find these meetings helpful. However, they do not always have easy access to the additional learning resources.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When supervision sessions take place, they are effective. However, they are not always regular. One staff member has missed three consecutive supervision sessions. Another staff member did not have adequate supervision and support after a significant event. Therefore, some staff say that team morale is low. The manager had already identified this and has well-being days planned to improve team relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is currently working across two homes to provide support to another home in the organisation for a three-month period. The manager’s capacity to be available to the staff and the child has been limited by this arrangement. The manager has sometimes failed to have oversight of events. Some staff’s feedback has reflected on the negative impact of the reduced management oversight on care planning for children and feeling supported as a team. Staff said that this was not their usual experience and that they felt supported by the manager before this change. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040191 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff are vigilant when supervising the child and that medication, sharp items and financial details are appropriately stored and monitored. 29 September

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and 20 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040191 7 a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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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”)—

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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; 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)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(x))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff receive regular supervision. Offer staff additional supervision or debriefs after significant incidents involving the staff or the child and ensure that leaders and managers support staff and the child to repair their relationships. 20 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040191 8

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home has all the records that must be kept in children’s homes, and that all children’s case records are kept up to date. In particular, ensure that local authority plans are recorded and up to date and that the manager ensures that there is clear recording of positive behaviours, behavioural consequences and staff resources. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: SC040191 9

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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

Rebecca Hannell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC040191 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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