Children's Home run by Sheffield City Council in Sheffield

Unique reference number SC356868 Inspection date 19/03/2014 Inspector Debbie Foster Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

p.1

Date of last inspection 18/12/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.1

This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

p.2

Brief description of the service

This children's home, run by a local authority, provides up to 5 long-term placements for young people, aged from 12 up to 17 years of age on admission.

p.3

The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

p.3

Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making good progress .

p.3

Progress

This home was judged as good overall at the previous full inspection in December 2013. Following this interim inspection this home is judged to be making good progress.

p.3

Progress

Young people are making progress in a number of areas which include emotional wellbeing, education and work placements, gaining independence skills in preparation for leaving care, building family networks and keeping safer. The home has addressed the one requirement and one recommendation made following the previous inspection and has therefore demonstrated the capacity to improve.

p.3

Progress

Young people benefit from the new programme of independence work the staff are implementing with them. A young person said ' I'm good at cooking and looking after myself now; I'm working on my budgeting skills at the moment. I'm doing well in my work placement, I need to get up very early to get there; it’s hard but I'm enjoying the work.'

p.3

Progress

The provider has taken action to ensure the regulation 33 visitor gains the views of parents and relatives as well of those of staff and young people to assist in evaluating the quality of care delivered in the home. Regular direct work is undertaken with young people in line with their care plans; the records kept evaluate and reflect the progress each young person is making relating to their care plan aims.

p.3

Progress

Young people say that they feel safe and safeguarding continues to be a high priority in their home. Young people benefit greatly from clear boundaries, to which the majority adhere. Young people say staff are always talking to them about importance of making the right choices to keep themselves safe. As a result, young people have positive behaviour and late returns or missing from home incidents are low. Staff are proactive, discuss and work with young people to address any such incidents to minimise risks and keep them safe.

p.4

Progress

Young people say there home is very comfortable, nicely decorated, well furnished, clean and tidy and they like it this way. They benefit enormously from living in a home that is maintained to a very good standard internally. Frequent health and safety checks are undertaken to ensure the environment is safe and secure for young people to live. However, the exterior of the property and garden area of the home is not kept to the standard of the interior. The front door is showing signs of wear and tear and there is a miss-match of fencing and hedge. This is not in keeping with the rest of the adjoining housing and does not ensure that the home blends in well with the local community.

p.4

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

p.4

Recommendations

 ensure the home provides a comfortable and homely environment and is well maintained and decorated. In particular that the exterior of the home and the garden area are maintained to a high standard. (NMS 10.3)

p.4

About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

p.5

About this inspection

The report details the progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection.

p.5