Children's Home run by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council in Rotherham

Unique reference number SC037521 Inspector Nicola McEvinney Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council Registered person address Rotherham Metropolitain Borough Council, Riverside House Main Street ROTHERHAM South Yorkshire S60 1AE Responsible individual Jane Parfrement Registered manager Darren David Higgins Date of last inspection 18/09/2014 2 of 5 Inspection date 11/12/2014

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Previous inspection good Enforcement action since last inspection none

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This inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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This inspection

The purpose of this interim inspection was to assess the progress made since the last key inspection conducted in September 2014 when the home was judged to be good.

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This inspection

A number of requirements and recommendations were raised at that visit. These relate to adhering to the Statement of Purpose; staff supervision; sending the regulation 33 and 34 reports to Ofsted; ascertaining children and young people’s views and ensuring new staff receive behaviour management training. In the short time since the full inspection, the home has addressed the majority of these requirements and recommendations.

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This inspection

There have been no children or young people placed other than on short breaks; this complies with the home’s Statement of Purpose.

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This inspection

This is a large, stable staff team and although a number of staff have had regular supervision there still remains some who have not had supervision for a few months. This is due to staff from this home also working at the neighbouring children’s home because of a staffing crisis which has posed difficulties in arranging their supervision. However, the Registered Manager and the senior team are addressing this and some supervision is booked and will include the supervision of agency staff. However, those staff who are on probation receive fortnightly supervision ensuring that they are well supported.

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This inspection

The independent visitor has provided an evaluation on the quality of care provided which she considers to be good. However, the visitor does not routinely contact parents as part of the visit in order to gain their views. This does not enable her to form an opinion as to whether children and young people are effectively safeguarded and comment on how the conduct of the home promotes the wellbeing 3 of 5 of the children accommodated there. The visitor does not view original records when undertaking some monitoring tasks but relies on information from the Registered Manager’s report. This does not ensure a robust monitoring system. However, these reports are regularly forwarded to Ofsted.

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This inspection

Although the Registered Manager undertakes an in-depth monitoring of the home, these reports are not sent to Ofsted at three monthly intervals. This does not ensure that the regulatory body has an overview of the service.

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This inspection

The home has secured the services of a children’s rights organisation to gain children and young people’s views. Their involvement is in its infancy and the first meeting was cancelled due to children and young people doing other activities.

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This inspection

Staff have all attended Makaton training and refresher training has been confirmed. . All staff have attended behaviour management training including agency staff prior to them commencing work in the home. Training on Autism has been organised for the whole of the staff team which will give them a better understanding of this condition. This ensures children and young people are cared for by skilled and knowledgeable staff.

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This inspection

The home continues to provide an invaluable service to families in the city. However, at this time the home is operating a limited service due to the staffing crisis in a neighbouring home which is for looked after children. The local authority have no alternative but to maintain that service which has impacted significantly on the support provided to families at this home. However, the local authority has provided alternative day care support to these families with another organisation.

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This inspection

Children and young people are cared for by well qualified caring staff that provide safe, nurturing care. There are no safeguarding concerns. There have been only two restraints since the last inspection and these were appropriately applied.

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This inspection

Shortfalls identified at this inspection relate to the Regulation 33 and 34 reports and staff supervision. However, these do not impact on the safety and welfare of young people or the continued effectiveness of service delivery. 4 of 5

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Information about this children’s home

This is a short break service run by a local authority, providing care and accommodation for young people with learning and physical disabilities. This service also has an emergency bed which can be used for a 12 week period.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/09/2014 Full good 13/02/2014 Interim good progress 01/05/2013 Full adequate 09/01/2013 Interim inadequate progress

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that persons employed at the home receive appropriate supervision (Regulation 27 (4)(a)) 31/01/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure the independent visitor interviews parents to gain their views on the care provided by the home and inspect the children's home's records (Regulation 33 (8) (a) and(b)) 31/01/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure the Regulation 34 report is sent to Ofsted at least once in every 3 months (Regulation 34 (1)(2)) 31/01/2015 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Reg. Requirement Due date

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.

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What inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspections we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection.

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Information 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.

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Information about this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the framework of inspection for children's homes.

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