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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC361385 1 SC361385 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

The home is privately run and provides care for up to five children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2024.

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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 good

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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: 21 January 2025

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC361385 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/01/2025 Full Outstanding 23/01/2024 Full Good 15/11/2022 Full Outstanding 17/08/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC361385 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children continue to make exceptional progress from their individual starting points, particularly with their social skills and their ability to recognise and manage difficult emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children build trusting relationships with staff. They receive wonderful care from a dedicated team of staff who know them well. Children benefit from long-term stability and permanence. Since the last inspection, no children have moved in or out of the home. All the children living at the home took part in the inspection and gave positive feedback.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff are incredibly dedicated to securing the best possible outcomes for children. They support children to recognise their own progress, which helps to build their self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

For some children, this is their first time living in a children’s home. Staff understand children’s past experiences and how they may shape how they view the world and build relationships. Staff use various child-focused approaches when communicating with children, and they take the time to build strong and loving relationships. Staff take their roles in children’s lives very seriously, and they are unquestionably committed to providing children with excellent care. These relationships mean children feel safe and secure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Managers and staff fully understand the importance of routine and structure for children. Staff help children to identify hobbies and find clubs of interest. Children have fulfilling lives and attend after-school clubs and activities that they enjoy. They also contribute to their local community, and this helps them to develop a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have enjoyed holidays with staff. For some children, this was the first time they had experienced a holiday. These new experiences have helped children thrive, develop their confidence and self-worth. Staff create beautiful memory books for children, filled with reminders of special times and achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

All of the children attend school. Children’s attendance has significantly increased from when they came to live at the home. The staff take a very keen interest in the children’s education. One professional said, ‘Staff know [child’s name] inside and out, they are very supportive of their education and will challenge decisions if they do not feel to be in the best interest of the child.’ This has helped to provide children with continuity and stability away from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff have created bespoke independence plans with children. The children have responded incredibly well to this person-centred planning. Staff have successfully helped children become more independent and enjoy time safely away from the home. Children actively take part in learning skills to help them in later life. Inspection report for children’s home: SC361385 4 Parents and professionals collectively say that the care children receive is excellent. Staff spend time building deep connections with children’s families. One family member said, [Child’s name] is the most settled they have ever been, staff are flexible, empathetic and consistent in how they care for my child.’ Another parent said, ‘I don’t class them (staff) as staff, I class them as an extension of my family.’

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

Staff have excellent insights into children’s backgrounds. External professionals and therapists participate in creating helpful strategies to help children become safer. These strategies are extremely thorough. Staff understand them well and use them consistently with children. These strategies are also informed by research. As a result, children are understood well and continue to make noteworthy progress from their starting points.

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

Staff follow an extremely well-embedded therapeutic model of support. This approach is integrated fully into staff practice. Playfulness and acceptance are at the core of the therapeutic model. Staff are highly skilled at adapting their approach to ensure that children’s needs are met. This allows for more personalised care that promotes children’s progress.

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

When children struggle with their emotional well-being, staff take effective action to keep them safe. On occasion, staff do need to physically intervene with children. This is only ever done when staff have exhausted all other options to help children manage their safety. Staff help children to understand why these steps were required. Staff are extremely inquisitive and curious about the challenges children face. Reflective conversations are held that encourage children to develop healthier coping skills. As a result, children have learned highly effective skills to help them manage difficult emotions.

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

Since the last inspection, there has only been one occasion when a child was missing from the home. This shows that children feel safe and happy. Staff responded in line with the child’s protocol, and the child returned home quickly. Managers work proactively and effectively with external agencies. This multi-agency response helps to reduce these risks.

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

There is an incredibly strong restorative culture at the home, which prioritises educating children about their behaviour. Children confidently talk to staff about their feelings and behaviours without fear of judgement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is enthusiastic about his role, the staff team and the children. He is working towards an appropriate qualification. Staff feedback describes a positive morale among the team with good support and guidance given by leaders and managers. One Inspection report for children’s home: SC361385 5 staff member said, ‘Managers give me freedom to develop as an individual, I have been encouraged to create my own opportunities for training with a focus on my skills.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and areas for development in the support provided to children. He carries out detailed reviews of children’s experiences and staff practice. Feedback from children is regularly obtained and actioned and helps to inform further improvements to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision sessions. This gives them the support to reflect on their practice. Additional and ongoing training for staff is specific to the needs of the children who live at the home. The additional training equips staff to enhance the care they provide to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have taken some steps to implement ongoing and targeted professional development for all staff. Once completed, these plans will complement the comprehensive support and training staff already receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff use monitoring systems to listen to children when they are upstairs. Leaders and managers have gained consent from professionals and discussed this with the children. Staff also lock a connecting upstairs door at night on the request of one child to help them feel safe. Leaders and managers have not regularly reviewed the use of such systems to confirm they continue to be proportionate. They have not considered how they can reduce the reliance on these methods, helping to adopt less restrictive methods to help children to feel safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The majority of staff are qualified for their role or are working towards the relevant qualification. However, a small number of staff have not gained their qualifications within the required timescales. For other staff who hold an equivalent qualification, leaders and managers have not checked to ensure the content of the qualifications held by the individual closely corresponds with the qualifications set out in regulations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers do not always ensure records written about children are reflective, accurate and helpful to children. Some of the children’s records are written using child-friendly language. However, other records are not to this standard and contain inaccuracies regarding children’s needs. Some reports are not dated, which makes it difficult to review when important pieces of work have been completed with children. This has not affected the overall excellent care delivered to children, but it is not in line with the high-quality ethos of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC361385 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any monitoring equipment used has a written policy describing how this will support the safeguarding and well-being of those living and working at the home in accordance with regulation 24. Homes should keep the use of such monitoring equipment under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record factual and accurate information on individual children in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that all reasonable effort has been made for staff in a care role, including external agency or bank staff, to achieve the qualification in

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Recommendations

regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale. Any delays should be clearly documented. The registered person should check that the content of the qualifications held by the individual closely corresponds with the qualifications set out in regulation 32(4) for any staff who hold an equivalent qualification. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.12)

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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: SC361385 7

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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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Inspector

Lexi Mitchell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC361385 8 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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