Children's Home run by Norfolk County Council in Norfolk

Inspection report for children's home: SC068076 1 SC068076 Registered provider: Norfolk County Council

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides care for up to two children. It provides time-limited care for children when family, foster care or other community-based placements are not possible or desirable at the time. One child was living at the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2021.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC068076 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/06/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/04/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/08/2021 Full Good 03/07/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC068076 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child spoke positively about their experiences of living in the home. Since the last inspection, two children moved into the home and two children moved out.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are warm and friendly and treat children with respect and dignity. Staff speak positively about working in the home, and about the relationships they have with the children. Staff have a nurturing approach. This helps children to feel safe and cared for.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged by staff to take part in a range of activities, in line with their hobbies and interests. Staff also encourage sport and activities in the home or local community, such as using a boxing bag or playing football in the park. One child was supported to attend a local basketball club.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their education. The manager has worked with local education authorities and the headteacher of the virtual school to draw up an individualised education programme for one child. When children are out of education, staff support them with learning in the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s day-to-day health needs, including mental health needs. Children have support to attend routine appointments. Therapeutic interventions are used to support children’s emotional well-being.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped by staff to learn independence skills. Staff create individualised plans to support children to develop these skills, working on monthly goals including cooking, budgeting and travelling on public transport. This has helped prepare children for moves to independent or supported living, and for adult life.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff proactively support children to spend time with their family, in line with their local authority plans. For example, staff arranged for a child to see a family member they had not seen for some time, and they are now seeing them regularly. This helps children to feel valued and promotes their identity.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well decorated and well furnished in most areas. All ground floor rooms are nicely furnished and decorated and look homely. However, damage to two walls and graffiti in an empty bedroom have not been addressed for several months. The stairs and upstairs landing are worn. These factors detract from the otherwise homely environment.

p.3

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

Children are well supported and feel safe. Staff know their safeguarding responsibilities, and understand whistle-blowing procedures. Inspection report for children's home: SC068076 4 Staff have a good knowledge of children’s strengths and vulnerabilities. Staff manage incidents well. They do not use physical intervention, and instead focus on using de- escalation techniques. This helps children feel that they are important and respected and helps them to feel safe in the home.

p.3

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

Staff have access to risk assessments and behaviour support plans for children. This helps staff understand and respond appropriately to children’s specific vulnerabilities when they are working with them. The plans and assessments are detailed and meaningful; however, they are not always updated regularly and do not therefore reflect a child’s current circumstances. Without up-to-date and accurate information about children’s risks and behaviours, there is a risk staff will not respond effectively to children’s behaviour when incidents occur.

p.4

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

When children go missing from the home, staff follow procedures and react responsibly, such as contacting other agencies, particularly the police. Staff also make enquiries and conduct searches when appropriate. The managers and staff work to a multi-agency framework to try and reduce episodes of children going missing.

p.4

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

The registered person has established effective working relationships with a range of external professionals. This has helped professionals appropriately share information about children. For example, for a child at risk of criminal exploitation, there was a coordinated approach by agencies in responding to this risk.

p.4

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

Staff promote equality and anti-discrimination practice. Staff challenge children when any incidents of discriminatory behaviour occur. Good use of one-to-one time with children helps children to reflect on and understand their actions, feelings and thoughts.

p.4

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

Staff promote positive behaviour. Incentives are individualised using a reward chart. For example, children can earn extra pocket money when they get up for school or keep their room clean. Consequences are also used. However, these are not restorative, recorded clearly or scrutinised by a manager.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified. Staff speak positively about the manager and her support for the staff team. The manager has also appointed a deputy and staff have spoken positively about her appointment and the ideas and changes she has bought to the home. Several staff felt that there has been more consistency and a more positive ethos in the home in recent months.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home has a stable workforce, many of whom have a good level of experience. Staff turnover is low, and morale among the staff team is high. Staff speak positively about working in the home and their support for each other in working together as a team to support children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home does not use agency staff. The manager uses in-house relief workers when needed and a small team of relief staff work at the home when required. Having Inspection report for children's home: SC068076 5 consistent and familiar members of staff helps children build trusting relationships with the adults around them.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Professional feedback is positive. This included responses from local authority social workers, youth offending staff, a psychologist and an independent reviewing officer. External feedback about the home is positive both in relation to children’s care and in respect of the staff and managers working in the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers ensure there is a good staff induction process for new staff when they join the home. Staff spoke positively about having a range of training, which they felt gave them all the necessary tools to be able to support children in the home competently.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff have regular supervision and speak positively about supervision being effective.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Children who have moved into the home have stayed for longer than the ‘time-limited’ period outlined in the statement of purpose. The statement of purpose therefore does not reflect the nature of the service being offered. Inspection report for children's home: SC068076 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

p.6

Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure vacant bedrooms are in good decorative order, and ensure the home maintains a domestic rather than institutional look, specifically in respect of the stairs and upstairs landing. 1 December 2024

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour. (Regulation 11 (1)(b) (2)(a)(ii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure the effectiveness of consequences, that any 1 October 2024 Inspection report for children's home: SC068076 7 consequences used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, and that staff support children to understand their behaviour, as directed in the manager’s review of incidents.

p.6

Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

p.7

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—

p.7

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential;

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.7

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of the care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(h))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure the statement of purpose is accurate and that management oversight ensures records are monitored and kept up to date. 1 October 2024

p.7

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: SC068076 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Norfolk County Council

p.8

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Inspector

Daniel Rankin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC068076 9 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9