Children's home run by Sheffield City Council in Sheffield

Inspection report children's home: SC036023 1 SC036023 Registered provider: Sheffield City Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority operates and runs this home. The home provides short breaks for up to eight children or young people who have learning and/or physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2018. He has the relevant experience and qualifications relating to caring for children and young people.

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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 outstanding

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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: 30 January 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC036023 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/01/2018 Full Good 13/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 04/10/2016 Full Outstanding 02/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC036023 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered persons must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, the Children‟s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the „Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟. The registered persons must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used, or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“"the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within five days of the use of the measure, the registered 28/04/2019 Inspection report children's home: SC036023 4 person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that the effectiveness of any physical intervention or consequence used is recorded in detail by the manager and that the incidents are reviewed within five days.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should consider the use of an independent advocate (see paragraph 4.16) if the child‟s needs are not being met („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 12, paragraph 2.8). In particular, ensure that the advocate works to identify an appropriate service or placement and supports the young person to move to adult services. This should be achieved in a timely manner so that it supports the transition when the young people leave at 18 years of age.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people make continued good progress. This is due to the consistent and nurturing care provided by a child-centred staff team. The children and young people benefit considerably from having an allocated key-staff member who is devoted to their care, development and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children‟s and young people‟s views and opinions are sincerely sought. The introduction of staff consultation champions is increasing the level of participation by the children and young people. This is currently being embedded in practice. The use of the champions expands the children‟s and young people‟s involvement in having a real say about their care. All the staff, including the ancillary team, use Makaton sign language. Using sign language with the children and young people is part of everyday life in the home. This fully supports and encourages the children and young people to make their own choices and communicate their wishes and feelings clearly. Consequently, the children‟s and young people‟s voices, views and communication skills greatly improve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each child‟s and young person‟s care plan is fully implemented. The staff care and support the children and young people to learn everyday independence skills over time. This includes undertaking all, or aspects of, their own personal care, for example to dress themselves, make snacks and build good social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A social worker said: „I am really happy that [Name of young person]‟s plan is being followed. The staff have gone the extra mile to support [Name of the young person], doing specific work to help him understand.‟ Inspection report children's home: SC036023 5 A parent said: „The staff are lovely. [Name of child] likes to visit. He packs his bag in advance. He has made progress. The staff work with me and he is now using the toilet. This has made such a difference to us.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people have built tremendously strong, sustained and trusting relationships with the staff. These positive relationships enable the children and young people to listen and engage well with staff, who want the very best for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children and young people visit for short breaks. All attend education and their health needs remain the responsibility of their parents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people thoroughly enjoy their visits and overnight stays at the home. This is due to the dedication of the staff team, which ensures that the children and young people have access to a wealth of leisure pursuits, enjoy play and take part in social interaction and community activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people participate in an array of activities. These include arts and crafts, listening to music, sensory play, visiting local parks, bowling, visiting the cinema and trips to Bakewell. These activities broaden the children‟s and young people‟s daily life experiences and involvement in the local community. They build confidence and awareness of the world around them. A young person said: „I like to come to [Name of the home]. It‟s calm, and I get on with the staff. I do like the activities we do. I like going out on the mini-bus best.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people benefit from and enjoy a homely and safe environment. The home is decorated and furnished to a high standard. The comfortable lounges, domestic-style dining rooms and personalised bedrooms are complemented by the activity spaces, such as the ball pool, snooker table, sensory room and computer room, along with a large garden.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff make significant efforts to ensure that a transition plan to prepare the young people who reach 18 years of age is in place for their move to an adult provision. There has been a great focus on working with the local authority to try to achieve this. The staff have tirelessly pursued trying to plan in the best interests of the young people. This has been undertaken by contacting the relevant professionals in writing, by telephoning, and by holding meetings. This action has not been successful for all the young people. In these instances, the staff have initiated challenges. This indicates a serious shortfall by the local authority and has resulted in some of the young people leaving the service without an adult short-break service or an alternative placement being organised. This has a negative impact on the families and the young people concerned and is a deficit in the much-needed support.

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

The staff diligently implement safety measures to keep children and young people safe. Inspection report children's home: SC036023 6 The staff are distinctly aware of the individual vulnerabilities and the potential risks to the health, well-being and safety of each child and young person in their care.

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

The staff demonstrate a good awareness of safeguarding and child protection procedures. They report concerns with vigour. The children and young people respond positively to the calm approach and re-direction that the staff deploy when they become anxious or distressed. Positive behaviour is promoted in all instances. The staff work to eliminate the factors that can act as triggers or cause upset and distress in the children and young people. This ethos is successful. Physical interventions and sanctions are a rare occurrence. In the main, the records include the relevant and required information as set out in the regulations. However, not all the records of incidents have been checked within the stipulated timeframes or record the manager‟s view of their effectiveness.

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

Good staffing levels provide the children and young people with continuous supervision, care and support. There are frequently reviewed, clear and detailed written risk assessments for each child and young person. These combined factors provide the staff with good guidance and oversight of the children and young people. There has been no bullying or missing from care incidents. This protects and keeps the children and young people safe from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2018. He has the relevant experience and qualifications relating to caring for children and young people. He ensures that children and young people are admitted in line with the home‟s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The children and young people substantially benefit from the clear vision that the manager and staff team strongly disseminate. This ensures that the children and young people succeed and thrive. The manager and staff team instil in the children and young people the belief that they can achieve. This is demonstrated in the individualised, tailored care plans and progress aims set out for each child and young person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is a diverse and very experienced staff team. It is extremely motivated, dedicated and child focused. The staff talk with conviction about the importance of working consistently together to meet the needs of the children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff team accesses a wide variety of training that includes specific areas relating to the children and young people in their care. This includes child attachment, autism spectrum disorder, PEG feeding and epilepsy. In the last year, staff have undertaken a new area of training in the signs of safety. This is being used to further improve the good quality of care already provided. The majority of staff hold the level 3 diploma in caring for children and young people. New staff are undertaking this qualification. All mandatory training areas, such as behaviour management, first aid, moving and handling, are kept up to date. Inspection report children's home: SC036023 7 The management team provides good-quality formal supervision to the staff team. The frequent use of reflective practice enables the staff to learn from experiences. In turn, this makes certain that the staff can meet the needs of the children and young people

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

exceptionally well. This consolidates the quality of care that the children and young people receive to provide continual improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A staff member said: „We are very fortunate, as we are an extremely supportive team. I receive regular supervision. There are weekly staff meetings. The manager and senior team are always on hand to help, which is great. It‟s a really good place to work.‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Professionals and parents confirmed that there are excellent working relationships with the staff. The excellent communication that the staff cultivate makes certain that the very best support and care are provided to the children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

An education link professional said: „There is constant communication between us, the home and parent. He always has a good day when going to [Name of the home]. This is something that he doesn‟t always experience on other days when not attending [Name of the home]. The staff always attend meetings and are well informed about [Name of child].‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A parent said: „The staff are incredible. They call me all the time and keep me posted about [Name of child]. They do understand my son. They listen to me, and this is so important to us.‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The management team carries out vigorous auditing of the care provided. This assists greatly in maintaining high standards. This is complemented by the thorough external monitoring undertaken by the provider. The manager demonstrates a strong awareness of the strengths of the home and the areas that the staff team diligently works to improve. The quick detection of shortfalls enables an immediate response to address them. The new approaches to care using the signs of safety model and the staff champions for consultation and transitions for the children and young people work to assist in continued improvement. This enables good care to be provided to the children and young people.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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. Inspection report children's home: SC036023 8 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

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Information about this inspection

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 children's home: SC036023 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sheffield City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Pinstone Street, Sheffield S1 2HH

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Inspector

Debbie Foster: social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC036023 10 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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