Children's Home run by Break Charity in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC439153 1 SC439153 Registered provider: Break Charity Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a large national children’s charity and provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 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: 5 November 2024

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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: SC439153 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/11/2024 Full Good 31/10/2023 Full Good 06/07/2022 Full Good 20/01/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC439153 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector spoke to two children during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children build positive relationships with the staff. Relationships between staff and children are warm and affectionate. Children express positive feelings about their home life and the care they receive. One child said, ‘I love the staff, and they love me; moving here has been the best thing that’s happened in my life.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Equality and diversity are celebrated in the home. Children are supported in exploring their identities. They can talk to staff freely about their feelings and emotions, and staff will sensitively support them in participating in LGBTQ+ groups to celebrate diversity. This helps children in promoting a more positive self-image.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively support the children in contributing positively to their local community. For example, staff and children regularly volunteer at charitable events, encouraging children to demonstrate kindness and social responsibility. Through these acts of kindness, children learn to treat others with humility and respect.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to build and maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Staff help children who have difficult family relationships to make sense of their emotions and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff actively encourage children to attend their education provisions. However, education remains a challenge for some children; staff demonstrate creativity in helping children explore alternative learning opportunities. Staff also encourage the development of essential life skills, such as cooking and tidying, which enhances independence and improves future life chances for children.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the children’s needs and the steps to follow to keep them safe. All incidents are clearly recorded and reviewed by the manager. Children’s views are sought, and resulting actions are clear. Incidents are followed up through individual discussions with children and staff that focus on keeping children safe.

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

Children benefit from staff carrying out good-quality key-work sessions with them. This provides a forum for children to discuss their feelings and behaviours. Children can reflect and discuss what staff can do to support them. This helps children to build their resilience and become active decision-makers in their futures.

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

Children know how to make a complaint. The manager responds promptly to complaints and takes time to engage with the children to understand and explore their feelings. Inspection report for children’s home: SC439153 4 Children rarely go missing from the home. When they do, staff follow the missing-from- home protocol and are proactive in searching for them. There is effective collaboration with relevant professionals to ensure that agencies are kept informed. The manager is effective in ensuring that there is a multi-agency approach when reviewing any incidents to identify trends and behaviours and follow-up strategies to support the children.

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

Safeguarding concerns are responded to quickly, and subsequent investigations are thorough and involve all the relevant safeguarding agencies. However, the manager has not notified Ofsted of one allegation made against a member of staff. This oversight has prevented Ofsted from scrutinising how allegations are investigated and managed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced. He is well supported by an experienced deputy manager. Together, they work effectively to ensure the smooth running of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the staff at the home and of the quality of care provided to the children. The manager uses a range of monitoring processes to scrutinise and improve the standards of care that the children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular reflective supervision, which they use to discuss the children’s current needs. Clinical supervision is delivered to support practice development in line with the home’s model of care. Team meetings are held regularly and provide staff with a valuable forum to come together. These measures strengthen team cohesion and promote a consistent, high-quality approach across the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that all staff receive training to meet children’s individual needs. Bespoke training helps the staff to better understand the children’s specific needs. This has provided staff with the skills and knowledge to care for the children safely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff work positively with other agencies. Professionals and family members provide consistently positive feedback that the children are making progress because of the support they receive from staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC439153 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living at the home that they consider serious. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

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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: SC439153 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Schofield House, Spar Road, Norwich NR6 6BX

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Inspector

Cherie Chen, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC439153 7 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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