Children's Home run by Sheffield City Council in Sheffield

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has declined effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, young people's potential exposure to risk, and the risk that they may present to others, has increased. This is because young people are largely left to their own devices for the majority of the time. They choose to be away from the home, for 12 hours or more on some occasions. For one young person, this includes time when he should be receiving some form of education. Actual missing from home incidents and unauthorised absences are low. No young people are deemed to be at risk of exploitation. However, although staff say they know where young people are, there are infrequent checks on them to ascertain their whereabouts. This means staff cannot be sure that young people are safe and have, for example, eaten a meal. No risk assessments have been undertaken on areas of vulnerability identified by the manager, such as the amount of time young people are away from the home. Risks that young people may present to more vulnerable individuals in the

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

community have not been assessed. At the last inspection, a recommendation was made to improve risk assessments. This has not been met. Young people can and do participate in activities and make friends in the community, but they live at the home entirely on their own terms, coming and going as they please. Staff are not effective enough in engaging young people so that they invest in the home and what it has to offer. Those who should be receiving full time education are not provided with good quality alternatives to populate the whole of the school week. The home's statement of purpose says it will maintain the routines around the school timetable and provide a range of educational work. This is not achieved. Similarly, the statement of purpose says it will 'endeavour to promote a healthy diet' but the manager could not demonstrate that young people enjoy a good diet and are getting the nutrition they need. For example, the last time that one young

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

person is recorded as eating food at the home is the 31 st January 2016. A recommendation to improve practice in this area is not achieved and a requirement is now set. At the last inspection, the manager's monitoring was found to be insufficient. This has not improved and the requirement set at the last inspection has not been met. The independent visitor routinely forms the view that young people are safeguarded and their welfare is promoted. It is difficult to see how they arrive at this conclusion given the amount of time young people spend away from the home, the lack of risk assessments and evidence that young people rarely appear to eat at the home. Requirements have been met with regard to vetting new employees and the independent visitor's report being sent to the regulator, along with a recommendation regarding the behaviour management of older teenagers. Physical restraint has been used on occasion, but for the minimum amount of time and

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

always in compliance with the regulations. Additional support has been provided by the home to enable young people to get the most out of their time at school. Overall, young people have good attendance at their places of education. Some young people have experienced good outcomes since the last inspection in terms of their educational achievements. Young people's immediate and long-term health needs are suitably met. One young person has achieved her Duke of Edinburgh Award and is enjoying success in her cadet training. Others are beginning to accept support for their emotional help. Although some of this progress is slight, it nevertheless represents some improvements for young people from their starting points.

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Information about this children's home

This is a local authority children's home. It is registered to provide care for up to five young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

19/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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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 (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

10: The health and well-being standard In order to meet the health and well-being standard, with particular reference to nutritional intake, the registered provider must ensure - (a) the health and well-being needs of children are met (c) children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles 01/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard* In order to meet protection of children standard, with particular reference to risk assessment, the registered provider must ensure that staff - (i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; 01/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard* In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children's home that— (a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and (b) promotes their welfare. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided at the home. 01/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose (Regulation 16 (5)) 01/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to statutory requirement notice.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Children must be enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities (The Guide to the Children's Home's Regulations, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  Improve the capacity and competence of staff to build constructive, warm relationships with children that actively promote positive behaviour (The Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, page 39, paragraph 3.14)  Any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home's arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home's care. (The Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, page 65,

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection 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

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This 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 Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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