Children's home run by Norfolk County Council in Norwich

Inspection report for children’s home: SC034797 1 SC034797 Registered provider: Norfolk 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 medium- to long-term residential care for up to four children who have experienced trauma and may have experienced neglect and/or emotional abuse.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2020.

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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: SC034797 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/07/2022 Full Good 30/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/09/2021 Full Inadequate 08/01/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC034797 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, three children have moved on to supported accommodation. Four children have moved in. These four children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen to children and take their views seriously. Children raise their wishes and feelings in meetings and in discussions with staff. Children’s views are then considered in staff meetings. Feedback is then shared verbally and in writing with the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children often arrive at the home having been out of education for long periods of time. When children are unable to engage in education, staff work hard to support them to find ways to do so. For one child, staff have creatively adapted education programmes to meet the child’s needs and interests. These approaches contribute to some positive educational progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health is good. The staff ensure children access the doctor, the dentist, mental health services and sexual health services. Staff provide advice and guidance to the children about caring for themselves and avoiding behaviours such as smoking, vaping and self-harm.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage and support children to develop their individual identities, including through activities and learning about their heritage. For example, one child enjoys cooking traditional dishes that come from their cultural background.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with staff. These relationships help children to have conversations and explore difficult emotions with staff. However, there are occasions when staff are not able to calm children down and prevent conflict between them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, there was significant damage to the home. Although managers had taken action to request repairs, the damage notably affected the homeliness of the environment. In addition, some children’s rooms were very untidy.

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

Staff support children to learn to manage their difficult feelings and relationships with others. Staff speak to children about ways to reduce their anger and distress.

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

Children know what bullying is and the expectation that it should not happen in the home. Staff address incidents of bullying swiftly and have clear plans in place for children. This is helping children feel safe in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034797 4 Children have had good experiences and made some progress developing relationships with staff in the home. However, the relationships between the children in the home have involved some conflict, resulting in difficult behaviour and missing- from-home episodes. Staff have been developing a consistent approach, working alongside children to develop this. This approach is beginning to contribute to improvements in this area.

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

Staff respond to missing-from-home incidents appropriately. They understand and recognise the associated risks and focus on safeguarding the children. Leaders and managers ensure that incidents are reviewed. The learning from these reviews informs risk management.

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

The staff use risk assessments which are personalised for each individual child and identify measures to reduce risk. These are kept up to date. For example, an increase in one child’s fire-starting behaviour has been addressed by work being carried out with the child by the fire service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced, qualified manager manages the home. At the time of the inspection, two managers from other services were also providing support to the home. The support from these managers has contributed to recent improvements to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers understand the individual needs of the children. They ensure that children receive care that enables them to make some progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have made recent improvements. They have introduced new approaches encouraging positive activities and improved working with partner agencies. These improvements are at an early stage but have yielded some positive progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have good communication with partner agencies. Communication is open and transparent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have identified further opportunities for staff development to support further change. They actively monitor the care provided to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers provide the staff team with regular supervision and training opportunities. Leaders and managers have identified additional learning and development opportunities for staff, for example, training relating to mental health and self-harm. However, several staff have not completed training relevant to the children and deemed mandatory by the provider. This significantly increases the potential for staff to lack important knowledge about meeting the needs of the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034797 5

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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— ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure damage in the home is repaired and children’s bedrooms are clean. 22 September

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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

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; 22 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC034797 6 de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iv)(xi)(b))

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure staff receive training in harmful sexual behaviours and autism. 20 October 2023

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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: SC034797 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Norfolk County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Norfolk County Council, County Hall, Martineau Lane, Norwich, Norfolk NR1 2DH

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Inspectors

Clare Hannah, Social Care Inspector Lianne Bradford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC034797 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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