Children's home run by Clover Childcare Services Limited in North Norfolk

Inspection report for children’s home: SC424897 1 SC424897 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 privately owned home provides care for up to seven children. The home offers therapeutic care to children with complex health needs and children who may have experienced social and emotional difficulties. Children may have a history of insecure attachments and may have experienced the breakdown of numerous placements in foster care or children’s homes.

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Information about this children’s home

The provider operates an on-site school, which is registered with the Department for Education. The inspector only inspected the social care provision at this setting.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, six children were living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 27 February 2024

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC424897 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/02/2024 Full Good 01/02/2023 Full Good 09/06/2021 Full Outstanding 06/02/2020 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC424897 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Since the last inspection, four children have moved on from the home and four children have moved into the home. One child lives in another building in the grounds, which is part of the registered home. This child has been settled there for several years. Two other children have lived at the home for two years. All children living at the home contributed to the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children receive high-quality care and make exceptional progress at this home. One social worker said, ‘The child is doing incredibly well. They are a completely different child to the one they were a year ago.’ Another social worker said their child’s all-round progress has been ‘absolutely fantastic’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff provide children with a strong sense of security and stability. Staff help children by implementing clear routines and consistent boundaries. Before moving into the home, one child’s living arrangements had been changed several times. The child’s needs had challenged other providers. However, at this home, staff have provided bespoke support to enable the child to settle and thrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

All six children are attending school full time at the on-site provision. Before living at the home, most children had been out of education for long periods of time. Staff are highly resourceful and find creative ways to support children’s enthusiasm for learning. Children take part in new experiences as part of a varied curriculum. This includes going bouldering and going on sailing trips, supported by staff. Staff have excellent levels of communication with school staff, which ensures that a unified approach to supporting children is maintained. As a result, all children are now making notable academic progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Some children have additional health needs. Staff carefully consider these needs with other professionals to ensure that children receive the best possible care. One child, who had not been to the dentist or hairdresser for many years, was helped by staff in creative ways to attend these appointments for the first time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s positive emotional well-being is a high priority for staff. Staff have advocated for children to receive the right mental health support at the right time. One child has made progress to the extent that they no longer require support from child and adolescent mental health services. This is despite them initially having significant needs and requiring additional support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

All children lead highly active and healthy lifestyles. They are provided with an excellent range of experiences and spend meaningful time together in the community, at the beach and at local youth clubs. Some children have been to circus events and attend football games across the country. Children have been on a week-long holiday to a caravan park and have made happy memories with friends. Inspection report for children’s home: SC424897 4 Staff have provided exceptional support for one child. Previously, this child spent a large amount of time in their room and suffered from high levels of anxiety. Because of staff’s tailored support, this child is now confident and flourishing socially.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The manager and staff are extremely committed to helping children to spend time with their families. One child had not seen their parent in over four years. The manager and staff’s sensitive and unwavering support for the child has enabled them to slowly rebuild this family connection. The child’s social worker said that this achievement was ‘the most incredible thing staff have achieved for them’. Other children are helped to spend quality time with their families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff meticulously document children’s experiences, achievements and memories through a range of high-quality memorabilia. Staff regularly review these documents with children to help them think about their experiences and successes. Children cherish these special memories and records and are proud of their accomplishments.

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

Children are making substantial social and emotional progress. Children are helped to understand their lived experiences through a variety of approaches, including therapeutic play sessions and life-story work. These approaches are purposeful and help children to make sense of their identity. A social worker highlighted that staff’s excellent-quality reparative work with a child has greatly improved the child’s personal insight into their past experiences and emotions.

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

The manager and staff work in accordance with a bespoke model of care to help them provide exceptional care to children. This model is supported by an independent specialist practitioner, who provides additional training and oversight to staff. Staff also receive comprehensive guidance from a clinical psychologist and a psychiatrist. Staff are dedicated to reflecting on and improving their practice to provide the best outcomes for children.

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

Children’s risks reduce because of the progress they make at the home. Since the last inspection, no children have gone missing from the home. There is a high level of supervision for children, which is suitable to their age and developmental needs. Children learn about risks in helpful ways. For example, staff help children to explore the local area to understand potential hazards. This increases their understanding of their personal safety in the local community.

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

Children have needed to be physically held to keep themselves safe. These incidents have been necessary and proportionate. Children acknowledge staff’s therapeutic approaches and reflect on their behaviours and feelings. When one child moved into the home, they needed to be physically held frequently. However, over time, this need has significantly reduced as the child now feels safer. Inspection report for children’s home: SC424897 5 Staff help children to explore new ways of managing their emotions. When children receive consequences, these are proportionate and restorative in design. The manager implements a high level of scrutiny and monitoring to ensure children are receiving optimum responses from staff. Staff are highly skilled at working with children to help them learn about safer choices. Over time, children require less support from staff because they develop effective strategies to manage their feelings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is managed by a confident and highly motivated registered manager. The manager champions the therapeutic model of care adopted at the home and ensures this is woven seamlessly into staff’s practice. She is supported by a competent deputy manager and is working towards a relevant leadership qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Aspirations and expectations for children are extremely high at this home. Leaders and managers inspire staff to support children to achieve their best outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers are committed to developing the care provided and prioritise continuous improvements. There are strong and established networks with managers and staff from other homes in the organisation. Specialist workshops are attended by managers to develop their learning around best practice. The manager utilises a wide range of feedback from professionals and external independent monitoring to successfully influence improvements in children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff said they feel extremely well supported by leaders and managers. Staff receive regular, high-quality supervisions. These are detailed, and cover relevant topics to explore staff’s learning and children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive a wide range of training to equip them with the skills they need to meet children’s individual needs. This includes bespoke training in line with the therapeutic model of care adopted at the home. Staff said this training is instrumental in helping them to think about how they meet children’s needs and provide exceptional care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers work closely with children’s social workers to help develop plans that are right for children. Social workers and other professionals were positive about the levels of communication with staff and the strength of collaborative working. This has ensured that children’s complex needs are being met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Two staff have not achieved a relevant qualification within the required time frame. This is because of issues with a training provider, which are outside of the manager’s and staff’s control. Despite this, leaders and managers are monitoring and resolving these issues effectively to ensure there is timely completion for these staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC424897 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: SC424897 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Clover Childcare Services Limited

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Inspector

Rebecca Hannell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC424897 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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