Children's Home run by The Ryes College Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report for children’s home: 2537782 1 Registered provider: The Ryes College Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to six children who have experienced significant trauma and loss. It was operated by a private provider and was acquired by a larger, national provider in December 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector only inspected the social care provision on this site.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2021.

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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: 25 October 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: 2537782 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/10/2022 Full Good 14/06/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2537782 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children and one young person were living at the home at the time of this inspection. Since the last inspection, two children have moved out and one child has moved in. Two children and one young person have lived at this home for over two years and are settled living there. The young person will be moving out of the home by the end of 2023. Another child will be moving out when they turn 18 later in the year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children and one young person are in full-time education provisions that meet their needs. One child has gained employment as an alternative to continuing their education post-16. One child has not been in education for many years. This child struggles with their emotions and is continuing to find it difficult to attend education regularly after the summer break. Staff are working with the school to slowly reintegrate this child back into school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to develop independence skills. One young person is preparing to move out of the home. Staff have supported them to gain skills in cooking, budgeting and cleaning. This young person will move on to a new adult home where they will still receive additional support to meet their care needs as an adult. The other child, who is close to turning 18, is waiting for the right place to move out to. This child’s social worker said the child has made good progress living at the home in the last two years, but that the child cannot make further progress living there as they are ready for independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children regularly spend time in their local community and participate in activities that interest them. Children go swimming, go for walks on the beach and go bowling. Staff support children to do other activities such as going to the circus, to theme parks and adventure activity sites. Children enjoy celebrating birthdays and special occasions at the home. Two children wanted to go on holiday this year and spent a week at a holiday resort. Children benefit from new experiences. One child said that they had great fun on their holiday.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment has continued to improve since the last inspection. The garden has been updated and, internally, most rooms have been repainted and there is some new furniture. Other changes are still ongoing. There are more photos of children around the home, which was something that children requested. Children have personalised their bedrooms and contributed to making decor choices in the shared living space. Children feel valued because of the changes being made that reflect their wishes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are registered with appropriate health services and staff help children to attend relevant health appointments. When appropriate, some children are supported to make their appointments independently. Staff often cook meals from scratch with the children. Overall, children’s health needs are met. However, staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2537782 4 are not consistently monitoring the needs of one child and providing them with skills and knowledge to make healthy choices.

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

Overall, children’s risks have reduced while living at the home. Two children moved out, in quick succession, in November and December 2022 when the staff could no longer help to keep them safe. Three other children who have lived at the home have been settled for two years. This has given these children stability and a sense of belonging.

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

Children are helped to make complaints or to have the support of an advocate so their wishes can be heard. The registered manager, with an advocate, helped one child to remain living at the home after decisions were made to change their care plan, which the child did not agree with.

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

Children have not been missing from care while living at the home. Some of the children have additional needs that can make them more vulnerable in their community. Staff are helping children to learn about being safer in their community and online. They are helping children to develop confidence to lead in day-to-day activities. Children are being helped to shop, use public transport and speak to professionals like their GP to make their own appointments. However, one young person’s social worker said that this young person needs more opportunity to take risks suitable to someone turning 18 to prepare them for independence.

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

Children have sometimes needed to be restrained. Staff are not always skilled to manage changes in one child’s behaviour and, sometimes, staff intervene at the wrong time. One child has received punitive consequences that do not help them to learn from events or repair relationships. Not all staff are confident in their behaviour support approaches with all children.

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

One child struggles with their feelings about staff. This child has made repeat allegations this year about four members of staff. These concerns are usually reported appropriately to the local authority designated officer (LADO) and Ofsted, and have required no further action from the LADO. However, on one occasion, the manager failed to notify the LADO and Ofsted and relevant professionals promptly about a safeguarding allegation. The responsible individual has reviewed this event, alongside circumstances at the time, and learning has been carried forward by the leadership team and the organisation about managing safeguarding referrals during a time of policy and procedure transition.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The permanent registered manager is leaving the home in December 2023. The responsible individual has a plan of alternative management support while recruitment begins for a new manager. Inspection report for children’s home: 2537782 5 Staff said they feel well supported by the manager, despite lots of changes at the home in 2023. Two social workers gave positive feedback about the manager and the home overall. One social worker said, ‘I think it’s one of the best homes I’ve worked with.’ Children have good relationships with the manager and he is well liked at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has advocated for maintenance and repair to the home. This has now been actioned by the new provider and the home is being modernised and decorated throughout. There is still work ongoing, including a full kitchen refurbishment at the time of the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are all qualified to a relevant level 3 qualification or working towards it within timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External monitoring identifies areas for improvement and the reports detail actions to support improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the home was acquired by a new organisation, the registered manager and staff have needed to change their ways of working to align with the new policies and procedures. This has taken time and, at the time of this inspection, several different policies and plans had not been transferred across to the new system. These changes have reduced the effectiveness in some areas of the manager’s oversight of children’s care and staff development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular training and supervision. However, these records are not fully up to date to demonstrate that staff have completed the relevant training. Staff training does not cover specific areas to meet the individual needs of some children living at the home and some staff are not confident in models of care used at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2537782 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 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 work as a team where appropriate;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(b)(c)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

staff work together and have the relevant training suitable to meeting the specific needs of children they care for;

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Requirement Due date

staff consistently provide good care to all children who live at the home; 31 January 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2537782 7 monitoring and review systems are effective and regularly updated, and that these systems support staff to regularly update children’s care plans and risk assessments;

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Requirement Due date

records are appropriately combined on new IT systems.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well- being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iv)) 31 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 1 December 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature. Consequences should help children to recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour, and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38) Inspection report for children’s home: 2537782 8

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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: 2537782 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Ryes College Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, Queensway, Halesowen B63 4AH

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Inspector

Rebecca Hannell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2537782 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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