Children's home run by Clover Childcare Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1263776 1 Registered provider: Clover Childcare Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private organisation. It provides therapeutic care for up to two children who experience social and emotional difficulties and/or have complex health and social care needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 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: 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: 1263776 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/09/2022 Full Good 19/04/2021 Full Good 17/12/2019 Full Outstanding 08/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1263776 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. One child had recently left after a successful five years at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers ensure that careful, considered planning helps children to feel cared for. For example, a child who recently moved into the home had his room decorated and staff made sure that he had toys and books which he enjoys.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support children sensitively when moving into or out of the home. The staff are attuned to the children’s wishes and feelings. For example, they helped two children who previously lived at the home to continue to have a close relationship. This has been particularly important to the children and has helped them to maintain bonds.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support children to enjoy a positive range of exciting and interesting activities, including going to the cinema, trampoline parks, the beach and amusement arcades. One child has joined a local parkour club and has horse riding as part of his education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child is a member of the in-care council and has been on several trips, including time away with staff at a well-known holiday park. Children have also enjoyed a weekend on a campsite, where they enjoyed toasting s’mores over a campfire. Consequently, children have positive experiences to look back on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The provider ensures that the children have regular access to therapy. The therapy team attends meetings and communicates closely with the manager and staff team. This joined-up approach helps to support the growth in children’s emotional well- being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have therapeutic conversations with children. These are effective in helping children to reflect on events in the home. They provide them with strategies to manage difficulties within peer relationships in the community. This has enabled one child to be open with staff about issues outside of the home and to feel supported and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A newsletter is produced each month which features photos of events that have happened in the home and the community. This shows the journey the children have been on through having shared experiences with the staff and the manager.

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

Safeguarding concerns are managed well. All staff spoken to have a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and the whistle-blowing policy. Concerns raised by children are reported promptly and appropriately. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263776 4 Staff are attuned to the children’s needs, which helps to keep them safe. Children build positive relationships with staff, and they trust them. This helps children to have direct conversations with staff about safety when needed and to talk about challenging topics.

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

Leaders and managers promote a safeguarding culture of learning and reflection. Following incidents, staff have reflective conversations with children. The staff themselves have debriefs with the manager. Learning points are considered after each incident. This approach has helped to reduce the level of incidents in the home and helped children to be safer and more settled as a result.

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

No children have left the home without permission since the last inspection.

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

There have been very few incidents requiring the use of physical intervention since the last inspection. When this has occurred, it has been necessary to keep everyone safe. Managers ensure that the incidents are well documented and that follow up involves consultation with the child through reflective conversation.

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

Staff carry out regular fire drills. However, following the admission of a new child, the provider did not ensure that the child experienced a fire drill in a timely manner, as per the home’s policy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably experienced and working towards a relevant level 5 qualification within appropriate timescales. The manager is very child focused and motivated to ensure best practice to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff feel well supported in their role at the home. One staff member said, ‘Since the manager has taken over at the home, he has supported and shared his knowledge with me and our team.’ Another said, ‘He is a great support and encouraged me to progress in my role.’ This support and professional development help to create a motivated and effective team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides staff with regular supervision, which gives them time for reflection. This contributes to staff feeling listened to and being able to explore their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has implemented some innovative ideas. For example, the children have a digital passport. A designated digital champion is responsible for overseeing these. The passports capture an individual assessment of risks associated with children’s online lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some inappropriate language in records has not been picked up by management monitoring. Consequently, leaders and managers have not always ensured that the language used in some records reflects the therapeutic ethos the manager has created at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263776 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff support children to be aware of and manage their own safety inside and outside the home to the extent that any good parent would. Staff should help children to understand how to protect themselves, feel protected and be protected from significant harm. In particular, leaders and managers should ensure that any child admitted to the home experiences a fire drill in line with the home’s own policy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)  The registered person should ensure that monitoring and review systems are used to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. In particular, ensure that monitoring identifies language in records that is inflammatory or institutional and that the neccesary amendments are then made to the records. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality

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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: 1263776 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Clover Childcare Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Old Rectory, Old Rectory Road, Brumstead, Norwich NR12 9EU

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Inspectors

Mary Costello, Social Care Inspector Dan Williams, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1263776 7 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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