Children's Home run by Atlas Children’s Homes Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report for children’s home: 2855462 1 Registered provider: Atlas Children’s Homes Limited

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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 multi-build home provides care for up to 4 children who have learning disabilities and emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since June 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: 2855462 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were 2 children living in the home at the time of this inspection. This is the first inspection since the home registered. Two children have moved in since the home opened, and no children have moved out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff adapt their practice to support children’s individual needs. Staff use humour and distraction techniques to help children maintain calm behaviour. Staff follow children’s care plans to provide them with individualised care and support. This supports positive relationships and provides a good level of overall care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in enjoyable recreational activities in line with their interests and hobbies. They benefit from stimulating and healthy pursuits, such as skating, go- karting and crazy golf. Children’s interests are truly supported and respected by staff. Resources and items at the home fully reflect their hobbies. Children are helped to build their independence skills around budgeting, which has led to one child buying a 3D printer.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to take part in education or alternative education provisions. Managers and staff have challenged education providers and advocated strongly for the children. One child has started at a vocational provision that supports their interest in horses.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to share their views. Staff have made themselves available for unplanned and planned one-to-one sessions. Children are supported to make complaints, and their views and feelings are taken seriously and explored thoroughly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family time is facilitated very well, and children are supported with their family relationships. Staff are mindful of different family situations and the potential impact on children. Staff sensitively adapt children’s routines to reduce comparisons and negative impacts. Staff are nurturing and hold children in mind. Birthday preparations reflect a loving family approach.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is light and airy and has good facilities to suit the children’s needs and preferences. However, children are not consistently encouraged to keep their personal space clean.

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

There are clear risk assessments that have been tailored to the children and support staff with their practice. The risk assessments are regularly updated and reviewed. This supports keeping the children safe. When needed, staff have undertaken room searches in an appropriate way to safeguard children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2855462 3 When physical incidents have taken place, these have been managed in accordance with the children’s risk assessments. Staff have used physical interventions to support theirs and the children’s safety. Physical incidents that have been reviewed by managers are thorough, with advice and action plans when appropriate. There have been no missing-from-care incidents.

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

Children have reward charts and incentives to support positive behaviour. When incidents occur, appropriate consequences are put in place. These help children to learn and reflect on more difficult behaviours.

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

There have been several new staff since the home opened. Staff recruitment checks are thorough.

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

Children are not always supported to develop understanding and empathy towards each other. Staff’s confidence and skills in redirecting children’s negative language and interactions could be more consistent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are confident and work well together. They know the children well and have high aspirations for them. Managers use each other’s expertise. The registered manager was not present during the inspection; however, the inspection was managed by the responsible individual. The manager prepared evidence that showed they had good oversight of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are regular supervision sessions for staff, which are detailed and reflect any practice issues. Discussions in supervision sessions address safeguarding concerns and focus on children. Staff feel supported in their supervision sessions, and some staff are coached and mentored to help them gain the knowledge for more senior roles. Feedback from staff is positive; they feel supported by managers and work well as a team. The team is flexible, which works for children who at times require a change of staff during incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from professionals is positive, with one sharing that the home has shown a positive openness to new ideas and suggestions around support. This demonstrates flexibility and a genuine commitment to improving outcomes. Professionals highlighted that staff are flexible and willing to try different approaches and techniques.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers generally have a good oversight of incidents, and most incidents are reviewed. On occasion, incidents have not been reviewed by managers. Some documentation was unclear and could be more streamlined. Inspection report for children’s home: 2855462 4

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. It should be a homely, domestic environment. In particular, maintenance repairs should be completed in a timely manner, and children should be encouraged to keep their bedrooms clean. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that standards of behaviour are high for all staff and children in the home. These standards should be clear and unambiguous. Children should be supported to develop understanding and empathy towards each other. Positive behaviour and relationships should be reinforced, praised and encouraged; poor behaviour should be challenged and discussed. The development of safe, stable and secure relationships with staff in the home should be central to the ethos of the home and support the

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Recommendations

development of secure attachments. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11)  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. Records should be completed in a way that makes it easy to understand what has happened and when. (‘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: 2855462 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Atlas Children’s Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Congress House, 14 Lyon Road, Harrow HA1 2EN

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Inspectors

Deirdra Keating, Social Care Inspector Abby Lynch, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2855462 6 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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