Children's Home run by Juventas Services in Norfolk

Inspection report for children’s home: 2708784 1 Registered provider: Juventas Services Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private organisation. It provides care for up to three children aged between 10 and 18 with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2023.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2708784 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home opened in September 2023. Two children were living at the home at the time of this inspection. One child moved in from the provider’s sister home when the home opened. This was in response to the child’s need for more independence and a smaller home. A second child moved in the week before this inspection took place in December 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into the home are carefully considered by the leadership team and staff, along with children’s social workers. A social worker said that the manager had a good understanding of their child’s needs when they moved in. Another social worker said that their child’s recent move into the home was managed with empathy and that staff spent time getting to know their child. This helps children to settle into a new home and build new relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Currently, both children are not in education. Previously, children have struggled to attend, and one child has been out of education for over four years. Despite complicated factors relating to the child’s educational needs, the manager has advocated for alternative opportunities suitable to the child’s needs. The manager regularly communicates with external education professionals to support educational progress. Children receive good support to improve their educational opportunities and encourage future aspirations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well supported by staff. One child has additional physical health needs. Staff support the child to attend relevant health appointments, even when they are reluctant to attend. The manager has advocated for the child to be referred to relevant health services in the local area to accelerate their treatment. This ensures that the child receives the right medical treatment at the right time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their families, even when they live far away from home. One child is seeing their family more consistently since moving into the home. This is helping the child to maintain important family relationships and supports their long-term wish to be able to move home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have good relationships with children and help them to learn new skills. Staff spend time with children, talking about their life experiences. They support children to have conversations about their family, their wishes and how they can develop their independence skills. Staff are helping children to have new experiences, such as learning to shop, budget, cook meals and try new foods. Children have new and varied experiences as a part of living at this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is welcoming and presentable. One child has their pet cat living with them, which helps the child to feel at home. Children have not yet personalised their bedrooms. The manager is sourcing additional furniture for the child who has recently moved in to make their bedroom more homely. However, the Inspection report for children’s home: 2708784 3 outdoor space is less inviting and does not provide a welcoming space for children to spend time outside.

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

Children become safer living at this home. Children have not been missing from care, have not needed to be physically held by staff to be kept safe and have not needed to receive any consequences for their behaviour. As a result, children have settled experiences of living at the home.

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

Staff understand children’s risks in the community and online. Staff spoke clearly about missing-from-home procedures and what steps they would take to try and keep a child safe. A social worker said that the risk of their child being missing from home had been well considered when the child recently moved in. The staff are aware of risks that children can face online. Despite the limited intervention the home can implement for one child’s online use, the manager regularly assess this to mitigate risk.

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

Staff regularly consult with children to ensure that children feel heard. One child has made a complaint to the responsible individual about their experience of living at the home. This was quickly responded to with a suitable response. This child said that they had ‘mixed feelings’ about living at the home, and they did not agree with their care plan. They shared their views about this further with the inspector. Leaders and managers and the child’s social worker are aware of these views. The child has appropriate access to advocacy and advice services and has used these.

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

Children are praised for their achievements. Staff offer verbal praise and feedback to encourage positive behaviour. However, staff’s recording of positive actions for one child has reduced since this child moved in. This does not help the child to feel that their positive behaviour is well regarded by staff or give the manager oversight of the progress that the child is making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably qualified. He has clear aspirations to make improvements to the home and to provide children with new and varied experiences to enable their progress and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager monitors the quality of care provided to children effectively through regular review of records, consultation with professionals and speaking to children’s families. The manager has been proactive in asking for relevant care planning documents from the local authority when these have not been provided in a timely way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work well with professional and family networks. The manager has been a good advocate for children’s educational needs when no education provision has been in place. He has worked well with education Inspection report for children’s home: 2708784 4 professionals to consider alternative strategies to support children who are refusing education. Good relationships with family members are established when children move in. This supports children to spend time with their families more frequently and in line with their wishes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff at the home are new to the service. The manager has worked hard to recruit a blend of staff with different experiences to provide care and support to the children. Currently, there is only one vacant staff post. When the manager has used agency staff, they have been from a small pool of consistent agency workers. This helps children to know the adults who care for them and has improved relationships with these adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff recruitment practice is safe. Leaders and managers demonstrate appropriate additional steps to ensure that their recruitment practices are robust. This includes well-considered and relevant risk assessments where appropriate to mitigate any gaps in staff’s personal records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they receive good support from the manager. Staff supervision is regular. Staff can talk about their experiences relevant to the home and the children they care for, and there are opportunities to discuss any safeguarding concerns. Staff understand the whistle-blowing policy. They attend regular team meetings, which have included additional discussions from guest speakers with experience relevant to providing care for children in residential homes. This support helps staff to improve and reflect on their practice when caring for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff undertake the organisation’s mandatory online learning. Staff have received training in areas such as safeguarding, first aid and autism awareness. Staff said that the training and support provided are good. An external professional said that the manager understands their child’s needs. However, one child said they did not feel that staff understand their specific needs. Both children who live at this home experience additional needs that staff have not had specific training in. Children may not receive the best care and support if staff do not fully understand children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s review of records specific to the home is often good. He follows up to ensure that relevant documents, such as updated health and safety records, are available and completed. However, the manager has not provided Ofsted with an updated statement of purpose. In addition, the location risk assessment does not include up-to-date statistics or feedback from other professionals. Inspection report for children’s home: 2708784 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

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 12 January 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s homes provides a nurturing and supportive environment. In particular, ensure that the home is personalised to children and the garden is well maintained and provides a welcoming environment for children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff recognise and celebrate the achievements of the children. In particular, staff should clearly and consistently record the positive praise and rewards offered to children and show how this contributes to the child’s achievements and progress. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.7)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. In particular, ensure that staff have

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Recommendations

additional appropriate training to meet the specific health and development needs of individual children in their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. In particular, consult appropriate local services and use up-to-date local area data. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1) Inspection report for children’s home: 2708784 6

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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: 2708784 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Yare House, 62-64 Thorpe Road, Norwich NR1 1RY

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Inspector

Rebecca Hannell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2708784 8 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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