Children's home run by Norfolk County Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2834597 1 Registered provider: Norfolk County Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties. There was one child living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in September 2025.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2834597 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved into the home since it opened. The inspector spoke with the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has experienced a sequence of extremely difficult childhood events and moved to the home under difficult circumstances. Before the child moved in, staff took the time to get to know the child’s needs fully. They arranged for information about the home to be shared with them, along with video calls with staff. This meant that when the child arrived, they were greeted by staff they were familiar with. The staff have gone on to build extremely warm and trusting relationships with the child. The child is relaxed and happy in staff’s company and is confident to share with staff their past experiences without fear of judgement. Staff listen with kindness and empathy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite staff being relatively new to their roles, they have a very good awareness of the child’s needs. Staff use child-focused, curious and sensitive approaches to support the child. As a result, the child has made significant progress in the short time they have lived at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are creative in how they gather the child’s wishes and feelings. Staff understand the importance of helping the child make considered but significant changes at the child’s pace so as not to overwhelm them. The child feels listened to and part of their care planning. This has led to some positive changes and less restrictive routines for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand how best to motivate and support the child to explore their individual interests. Staff have bought musical equipment for the child. This has helped the child to develop their own hobbies and talents, including learning to play the guitar and keyboard. Consequently, the child is becoming more confident and the child felt comfortable to demonstrate their guitar playing skills to the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite court-ordered restrictions being in place for the child, the staff are committed to providing them with an array of experiences. Staff make every effort to overcome barriers. This means the child has been provided with a range of activities, including watching football matches, attending clubs to practise music and attending a local youth club. As a result, the child has become more independent and sociable. The child’s achievements and memories are captured in thoughtfully crafted books.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of supporting the child in maintaining family relationships. Staff are considerate in how they support both the child and family members to experience meaningful time spent together. The child’s family is made to feel welcome when they visit the home. The child’s parent said: ‘[I am] really proud of how far my child has come. [I] can’t ask for a better place to look after my child.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2834597 3 The child’s engagement with education has considerably improved due to the help and support of staff. The child had been out of education for a significant period before moving to the home. Staff work in close partnership with the virtual school and other local organisations to overcome challenges. This partnership approach, with detailed communication between providers and staff, has meant professionals have worked together to ensure that the child is given opportunities to further their education. The

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

child is eager to attend education having been provided with a focused and varied timetable in keeping with their interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated and furnished to a good standard and provides a comfortable space. The manager has arranged for some areas of the home that are looking worn to be repainted. The child’s musical equipment is proudly displayed in the lounge. The child has personalised their bedroom.

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

The child has complex needs and vulnerabilities. Staff understand risk and how to help the child stay safer. Staff provide the child with stability, security and clear boundaries, along with child-focused support. This has helped the child to communicate any worries safely and work with staff to overcome challenges. Staff have not had to physically hold the child, nor has the child left the home in an unplanned way. Family and professionals recognise that because of this child-focused support, risks have considerably reduced from the child’s starting point.

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

Comprehensive safety plans and risk assessments are tailored to the child’s individual needs. The child is subject to a deprivation of liberty order. However, staff always use the least restrictive methods to support the child. Leaders and managers work closely with the child and their placing authority to help reduce the restrictions gradually and in a well-considered way. Staff have helped the child feel part of their care and safety planning. This clear planning is central to the child’s continued progress.

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

Staff are confident in taking measures to protect the child. They recognise concerns and act on them. Staff confidently challenge professionals to help ensure that the actions taken to manage risk are solution-focused, appropriate and quickly undertaken.

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

Staff very seldom use consequences to manage the child’s behaviour. Instead, staff have created a reflective culture whereby the child is able to recognise when things have gone wrong, and work with the staff to learn other ways of managing difficult emotions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a qualified and experienced manager. She is kind, reflective and considerate in her approach. Staff and the child’s wellbeing remains her prime focus. The manager leads by example and supports the staff to feel confident to help the child make progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2834597 4 The manager, along with the senior staff, provides a good level of management oversight. The manager has a good understanding of the home’s challenges and the importance of driving standards and consistency for both the staff and the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One professional said: ‘She [the manager] is a real driving force in the child being given the opportunities they have been. [She] will challenge us to ensure things move forward quickly for the child.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel valued and have clear and shared goals. They are invested in their roles and achieving the best outcomes for the child. One staff member said: ‘The manager is brilliant, and despite a lot being expected of her, she delivers.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are invested in staff’s continued development. Staff benefit from regular supervision and yearly appraisals. Staff’s development, along with a focus on their wellbeing, features heavily in discussions. Staff are given opportunities to undertake management qualifications to prepare them for future promotion within the company.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The regular team meetings are well attended by staff. Expert practitioners are invited to offer further training and answer important questions the staff may have. Meetings are also used to review progress for the child and agree actions to support their ongoing progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers enjoy spending significant lengths of time with the child. The child feels well supported and that their wishes and feelings are valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders, in the planned absence of the manager and prior to the child moving in, gathered a large amount of information relating to the child to inform care planning. However, they did not assess staff’s experience and training to ensure they had the skill set to meet the child’s unique needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The child has learned valuable independence skills. However, staff do not routinely record how they support the child, nor the progress the child has made. As a result, the child’s skills are not reviewed in line with the home’s own ethos, which means gaps in their skill set may go unnoticed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2834597 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children after they have assessed the staff’s experience and training to be suitable to meet the needs of the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  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. Staff should record key information relating to how the child is supported to build on their independence skills, and progress made. (‘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: 2834597 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Norfolk County Council

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Lexi Mitchell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2834597 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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