Children's Home run by Sheffield City Council in Sheffield

Inspection report children’s home: SC356868 1 SC356868 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

This children’s home is operated by a local authority. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children or young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home strives to provide an environment that facilitates growth, change and fulfilment for children and young people.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since September 2008.

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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 good

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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: 31 October 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC356868 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/05/2017 Full Outstanding 08/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/08/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC356868 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people make progress in their health, education, ability to keep safe, self- confidence and in their social and independent living skills. This is achieved by the individualised and nurturing care approach of the staff. An ethos of inclusion ensures that the young people are involved in decision-making that forms part of everyday life in the home. For example, they make decisions, alongside the staff, about their meals, weekly activities and appointments. This ethos allows the young people to influence how they are to be cared for now and in the future. The decision-making takes place naturally through daily discussions, direct-work sessions, young people’s meetings and through young people attending their own statutory reviews. The implementation of consistent daily care routines helps the young people to feel cared for, safe and secure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good and consistent support is provided to the young people to help them to attend routine health checks. Staff have access to professionals to guide them in supporting the young people’s emotional well-being. The young people receive advice and guidance on living a healthy lifestyle. The guidance relates to stopping and/or reducing smoking, not taking illegal substances and ensuring that young people are eating a balanced diet. Over time, this has improved the young people’s health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The education progress of the young people varies. All the young people have a placement, and some young people attain good attendance and learning. For others, the journey to secure full engagement in education in line with their timetable continues. The staff work tirelessly to engage the young people in education and continue to help them understand the importance of education. To achieve this, staff have worked closely with education professionals. Over time, this has enabled the young people to adhere to rules and boundaries that support them in education settings. Consequently, some young people improve their school attendance. This increases their opportunities to access training or employment as they progress into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people plan how they wish to spend their time in social and leisure activities. Some prefer to spend time with their friends while others enjoy going to the cinema, playing pool or going cycling with staff. A young person said: ‘I like to go and play pool and go on the electronic switch game.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One young person who had previously lived in the home told the inspector: ‘The staff here did so much for me. I could cook and budget before I left the home. The staff visited me for a time when I first left. I do still phone for advice. They always try and help. I thought I would pop in to see everyone today.’ The young people gain valuable skills to become independent. These skills include undertaking chores around the home and learning how to cook. This provides the young people with essential self-care skills that prepare them for adulthood. However, the young people’s formal pathway plans do not include all the relevant information. There is a lack of specific detail of the areas of independence already achieved and the areas that require ongoing support and Inspection report children’s home: SC356868 4 attention. The plans do not record the type of accommodation required to best support the young people when they leave.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people enjoy regular contact with those who are important to them. The staff support the young people to rebuild and maintain strong and positive relationships with family members and friends. This ensures that the young people have a strong sense of identity and a feeling of belonging, which allows them to maintain important support networks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s environment has improved since the last inspection. Rooms have been decorated and items of furniture have been replaced. There are photographs and soft furnishings that make the house feel more like a home. The staff and the young people continue to build on the work they started to fully personalise all areas in the home.

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

The young people said that they feel safe in their home. A young person said: ‘There isn’t any bullying here.’

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

The proactive actions of the staff keep the young people safe. This has resulted in reduced risk-taking behaviour, such as going missing from the home and being involved in criminal behaviour. There is a regular review of the care and support strategies, which includes other professionals and agencies involved with each young person’s care. As a result, effective safeguarding measures help to protect the young people from harm.

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

The young people respond well to the constant giving of praise, incentives and rewards and the consistently delivered care routines and boundaries. The staff work diligently to support the young people to learn how to manage their own behaviour better. This aids the young people’s progress and supports them to follow appropriate rules and boundaries in all social situations.

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

Behaviour management strategies work well. The young people are able to manage their feelings better and over time become more emotionally resilient. This is because of the staff team’s positive approach and its skills in de-escalating difficult situations. The staff listen, explain matters to the young people and give them practical ways to better manage their emotions. These measures are effective, as the young people engage well in daily activities, going to school and seeing their families and friends. There have been no physical interventions since the last inspection, and sanctions have been used minimally.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The young people benefit from the vast experience and the nurturing approach of the registered manager. The manager demonstrates a strong awareness of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. He ensures that the home works in accordance with the statement of purpose and implements the development plan to support continual progression. Inspection report children’s home: SC356868 5 The diverse and experienced staff team is caring and fully committed. The staff demonstrate that their focus is the young people in their care. Detailed and robust communication systems exist, which provide consistently delivered care to young people. This includes daily shift handovers, weekly team meetings and monthly supervision. A staff member said: ‘I receive great support from the manager and the staff team. It would be a harder job to do without this.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The majority of the staff team hold the level 3 diploma in caring for children and young people. In addition, the staff undertake mandatory training, which includes behaviour management, first aid, child protection and health and safety. In addition, the staff benefit from specialist training in relation to autism spectrum disorder, mental health and the signs of safety. This additional and focused training equips staff with suitable skills and knowledge to support the young people in their care. However, the training records are not accurate and do not fully represent the current position.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is positive partnership working with professionals. All professionals reported that the staff communicate with them well, informing them of the progress of the young people, as well as when any serious matter occurs. This collaborative working helps to provide good care to the young people and address any shortfalls swiftly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Action has been taken to implement the four requirements and the two recommendations that were made at the last inspection. The young people have a suitable and appropriate education provision that supports their learning and development. All areas of the home are decorated and furnished to a suitable standard, and damaged items have been replaced. The recommendations made at the young people’s statutory reviews have been implemented to ensure that their identified needs are fully met. The needs of individual young people can be met while also meeting the needs of the group of young people in residence. Dental check-ups are routinely made for the young people. The young people receive an independent return home interview after an incident of missing from care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is thorough internal and external monthly monitoring of the home. The monitoring system identifies deficits and makes recommendations to ensure that there are improvements to the care provided. Auditing processes and checks take place to review the young people’s case files, their safety, any medication that is used and fire safety in the home. This makes certain that the home identifies shortfalls and omissions, and that they are rectified promptly. Inspection report children’s home: SC356868 6

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Recommendations

 As the home will have a day-to-day understanding of young people’s capabilities and needs, children’s homes staff will have a valuable contribution to make to the detailed pathway plan. They should actively seek to make the fullest contribution, working with other relevant persons (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.28). In particular, the pathway plan should include key areas that the young person needs to develop so that the young person is able to live independently. The plan should detail the type of accommodation the young person is to move to.  Some records may be kept electronically (Regulation 38) provided that this information can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view it and, if required, be reproduced in a legible form (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.2). In

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Recommendations

particular, the electronic training records of staff should be accurate. This is to ensure that mandatory refresher training takes place for all staff within the specified timescales. Inspection report children’s home: SC356868 7

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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.

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Information about this inspection

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 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: SC356868 8

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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: SC356868 9 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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