Children's Home run by Sheffield City Council in Sheffield

Jennifer Fenlon

Inspection date 17/01/2017 Previous inspection judgement Requires improvement Enforcement action since last inspection None

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

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

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people continue to make reasonable progress at the home. Their general health needs are met with the involvement of specialist services to help steer them away from smoking and drug use. Effective partnership working with health professionals ensures that young people with complex health needs get prompt medical intervention when required.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people engage in education and work placements, but their commitment to formal education and learning can fluctuate. In partnership with social workers and education providers, staff make every effort to re-engage young people and secure alternative provision to meet their specific educational needs.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff are very aware of young people’s emotional needs and how these can affect their behaviour. They make sure that young people are offered the right kind of specialist support, given their emotional and psychological health, and persevere in encouraging young people to engage with these services.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people are treated like the emerging young adults they are and behaviour management strategies seek to balance this with reasonable boundaries. Physical restraints are rare, but when used are proportionate and well-managed.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Effective inter-agency working ensures that safeguarding measures are implemented and, as a result, missing-from-home incidents, risk of child exploitation and offending behaviour have reduced. There is a strong appreciation of the risks to young people’s safety when they are in the community. Measures to counter these risks include viability assessments, good communication with the police and strategies such as raising concerns with local taxi firms.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people who are new to the home are given the chance to visit prior to moving in. This gives them the chance to meet with staff and other young people. Impact assessments are undertaken to identify, as far as possible, the compatibility of young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people receive effective support on their journey to independence. In particular, their needs and views are central to how quickly the move to independence progresses. Young people know that they can continue to rely on staff support when they have moved on. Staff also continue to provide outreach support to them and their families.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Complaints raised by the community are responded to swiftly. This demonstrates that the service is listening to their concerns. The views of young people are clearly represented in the service’s statutory reviews and are taken into account in the running of the home. For example, following a request from young people a games room was changed into a room with gym equipment.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The provider has responded appropriately to high levels of staff sickness by employing a familiar group of agency and bank staff to cover the staffing shortfall. This ensures that young people have a consistent staff group looking after them.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Monitoring is effective in tracking young people’s progress and identifying and prioritising new areas of need. However, the independent visitor does not always evaluate whether young people’s safety and welfare is adequately promoted. This is a procedural shortfall that has no detrimental impact on young people, but fails to fully reassure the provider and the regulator on this aspect of care.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Notifications are usually sent to Ofsted within the timescales recommended, but on occasion this too has been inconsistent. The actions taken by the provider to address concerns outlined in notifications are not always clear. This makes it hard to assess whether enough is being done to support and safeguard young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The majority of recommendations raised at the last inspection have been met. A new template is now in place to provide a more bespoke approach to planning for independence, and the quality of supervision has improved.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A recommendation to amend care planning documentation is work in progress and continues to be under review. This recommendation is therefore carried over to be assessed at the next inspection.

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Information about this children's home

This is a local authority children’s home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 05/04/2016 Full Requires improvement 09/02/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 19/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/01/2015 Full Adequate

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person 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 must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ('the independent person's report') which sets out, in particular, the independent person's opinion as to whether – children are effectively safeguarded; and the conduct of the home promotes children's well-being. (Regulation 44 (4)) 17/02/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Staff should be familiar with the home's policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4). Specifically, clearly identify care planning objectives and timescales in order to prevent drift and better monitor young people's progress.  The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified to the appropriate people within 24 hours. The home's record of the event must include a description of the action taken and the outcome of any resulting investigation. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraphs 14.13 and 14.14). Specifically, improve the timeliness of notifications and clearly state the actions taken to prevent a re-

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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 that 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 whom 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 0300 123 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, work based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

T: 0300 123 1231 Text phone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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