Children's home run by BREAK

Inspection report for children's home: SC400901 1 SC400901 Registered provider: Break Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home, which is run by a registered charity, can provide care for up to 5 disabled children.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2022.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC400901 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/03/2025 Full Good 28/02/2024 Full Good 01/03/2023 Full Good 11/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC400901 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living at the home. All contributed to the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved in. The manager and staff worked closely with the child's social worker, family and previous home to understand this child's needs and plan a move suitable for them. Leaders and managers advocated strongly for the child and the other children already living in the home. As a result, the move for this child was a positive experience for them and the other children. No children have moved out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children have made progress from their individual starting points. For example, one child has settled into the home and been supported to manage some significant changes. Prior to moving in, this child would communicate using touch and by tapping things with their hands. This child has since been able to communicate their choices using some spoken words.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Another child has also increased their ability to communicate their needs, using pictures and objects of reference. This child taps images of what they want, and the staff understand and respond to this child's communication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of holidays and experiences. Staff ensure that children are enabled to make choices and be part of decision-making about their care. Some children have chosen their own holidays, and all children have chosen activities that they would like to do. Children have copies of their care plans that are written in a way in which they can understand. Communication aids are displayed throughout the home, and children use these regularly when interacting with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Important events for children are highly celebrated. Children have had birthday parties of their choice, and staff ensure that they go to children's school events. This helps children to feel that staff care for them and are there for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend full-time education. Staff use social stories to support children to understand when there have been changes in their education, such as new teachers.

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

Staff are skilled at supporting children when they become upset or angry, and they are skilled at understanding what children's behaviour is trying to communicate. This understanding has prevented incidents from escalating. This has contributed to there having been no physical interventions since the last inspection. Inspection report for children's home: SC400901 4 When incidents do occur, staff are consistent in their approaches to supporting children. This helps children know what to expect from staff and contributes to children feeling safe.

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

Incidents for one child initially increased when they first moved in. Staff developed their understanding of this child's communication and behaviours and have consequently been able to prevent incidents from escalating. For example, staff recognised that some of the child's behaviours were meeting a sensory need. This sensory need was met elsewhere in the form of near continual access to water play. As a result, incidents relating to this sensory need have significantly reduced.

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

Children are supported sensitively to manage their health needs and attend appointments. Staff listen to children's views about their health. They liaise with other professionals to ensure that children's health needs are met in a way that is the least stressful or upsetting for them.

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

Staff are creative at supporting children to develop life skills. One child has been supported to learn about oral hygiene through staff role playing with a dentist play dough set. Another child has been supported to learn about boundaries around privacy using social stories combined with playing with and building 'living rooms' and 'bedrooms' with magnetic building blocks to provide visual references for the child.

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

Due to children's specific needs and vulnerabilities, there are some restrictions within the home environment. These include magnetic locks on one child's wardrobe, and door alarms and audio baby monitors in other children's rooms. These have been initially assessed as necessary and proportionate, and the requisite permissions sought. However, these restrictions have not been formally reviewed for 6 months. For one child, it is not clear if the restrictions in relation to their access to their wardrobe are still proportionate or the least restrictive option.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably experienced and qualified registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers maintain effective oversight of the home. Managers review all records in a timely way. These reviews are analytical and consistently consider how the child may have felt and how staff practice could be improved. Managers talk to staff after all incidents. These discussions have a clear emphasis on reflection and staff development. When there have been areas for improvement identified, managers use these reflective conversations to address concerns and support continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals and parents are consistently positive about the home and the care offered to children. One professional said that staff are aspirational for children and that the staff approach focuses on enablement. Inspection report for children's home: SC400901 5 Leaders and managers advocate for children to ensure that their needs are met. Leaders have challenged relevant professionals to ensure that children receive appropriate advice and services.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers work closely with other professionals involved in children's care. When one child began using some sign language at school, managers worked alongside the school to ensure that the home's staff are using the same communication across settings. When there have been changes in children's behaviours, managers work closely with school and parents to understand triggers and make plans to support children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular team meetings and therapeutic meetings, where the children and their care plans are discussed. This helps to support the consistent approach that children benefit from.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are significant gaps in staff supervision. This does not provide staff the support they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Due to their individual needs, no children have free time in the community without support from 2 members of staff. There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home. However, some documents provide conflicting information on the supervision level for children when in the community. This has the potential to mean that agreed risk mitigation strategies may not be followed. In addition, missing-from-home protocols are not always consistent with managers' expectations regarding when to report children missing. Inspection report for children's home: SC400901 6

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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.

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child's privacy or access to any area of the home's premises—

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21(c)(iii)(iv)) 19 February 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 19 February 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home's policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. In particular, they should ensure that all records are clear and information is consistent across documents. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC400901 7

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Children's home details

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

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Inspectors

Andrea Bounden, Social Care Inspector Gemma McNevin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC400901 8 regulates and inspects 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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Inspectors

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