Children's Home run by Sheffield City Council in Sheffield

Assurance visit report: SC066747 1 SC066747

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is owned by a local authority. It is registered to accommodate up to five children and young people with social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

In addition to supporting children and young people already in care, the provider offers care and support to children and young people on the edge of care. Stays in this home can also act as a bridging placement to permanence.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager resigned in September 2020. The new manager’s transition has been seamless. She is in the process of making an application to become the registered manager.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection date: 14 August 2019

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection judgement: Requires improvement to be good

p.1

Information about this visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), Ofsted suspended all routine inspections in March 2020. As part of a phased return to routine inspection, we are undertaking assurance visits to children’s social care services that are inspected under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF).

p.1

Information about this visit

At these visits, inspectors evaluate the extent to which:

p.1

Information about this visit

 children are well cared for  children are safe  leaders and managers are exercising strong leadership.

p.1

Information about this visit

This visit was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, following the published guidance for assurance visits.

p.1

Information about this visit

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s social care system has delivered child-centred practice and care within the context of the restrictions placed on society during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assurance visit report: SC066747 2

p.1

Findings from the visit

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance visit.

p.2

The care of children

Children receive good care and protection from a group of diverse staff who place the children’s safety and welfare at the centre of their work. Some positive relationships have grown between the staff and children. The children trust the staff enough to talk about their thoughts and feelings. This helps the staff to promote the children’s safety and welfare.

p.2

The care of children

Staff help the children to keep in touch with their families and other important people in their lives through regular visits and telephone calls. This helps to promote the children’s sense of identity and their emotional well-being. Guidance and support from staff help children to minimise the impact of unsuitable and unhealthy influences on their behaviour.

p.2

The care of children

The staff listen and respond to the children’s wishes and feelings appropriately. Staff promote advocacy services and/or contact with independent reviewing officers to represent children’s specific requests.

p.2

The care of children

Children are helped to make good choices and safeguard themselves from the COVID-19 infection. Good collaborative work between the staff and clinical psychologist ensures children’s specific needs are given appropriate consideration. The staff also promote the children’s general health and well-being. However, despite the best efforts of the staff, not all children engage with health services consistently.

p.2

The care of children

The staff team continue to work with professionals to ensure the children’s educational needs are met. This is despite children not always engaging in their formal education plans. The manager and staff have adopted new strategies to encourage better engagement and learning. This is a new initiative; therefore, its effectiveness cannot be evaluated.

p.2

The safety of children

Staff have a good understanding of children’s complex needs and adverse childhood experiences. However, the impact risk assessments do not include all forms of known risk that children present or are exposed to. Some risk assessments do not distinguish between old and new risks and the strategies to reduce risk are not recorded consistently.

p.2

The safety of children

Staff report incidents of concern about the children to the relevant safeguarding authorities. The safety of children is further enhanced through staff having honest discussions with the children about their known and suspected risk-taking behaviours. Assurance visit report: SC066747 3 Missing-from-home incidents are high. This has been due to children preferring to be with their family and friends rather than at the home. The proactive response from staff when children go missing demonstrates the safety and well-being of children is a priority. Staff actively search for the children and carry out safe-and- well visits to their family and friends. Professionals report that staff do all they can and go above and beyond to find missing children. This includes working closely with the police and other professionals to ensure the children’s safe return. The staff have a comprehensive understanding of risk relating to child sexual and criminal

p.2

The safety of children

exploitation. Multi-agency strategy meetings are used to discuss the risks and agree on the strategies needed to safeguard children. These strategies are kept under review by the professionals responsible for the children’s safety.

p.3

The safety of children

The staff are consistent in their response to children’s challenging behaviours. The staff’s restorative approach to behaviour management helps the children to make amends and teaches them how to better regulate their emotions. Staff rarely need to use physical interventions to keep children and others safe.

p.3

Leaders and managers

The newly appointed manager has significant experience in residential care and is a qualified social worker. She has been the deputy manager of the home for many years. The manager has a very good understanding of how the home functions on a daily basis and the quality of care children receive. Opportunities for some staff to be promoted to more senior roles have allowed them to influence how the service operates.

p.3

Leaders and managers

A core group of staff, including agency staff, have provided a consistent presence for the children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some children have benefitted from having a smaller circle of staff to care for them, which has broken down barriers. New staff, including existing agency staff who have been appointed to permanent roles, are known and liked by the children. This strengthens the team dynamic and the relationships with children.

p.3

Leaders and managers

Staff receive regular supervision and feel supported by managers. Relationships between staff have grown stronger over the last few months. This has led to them learning from each other’s areas of specialism. The delivery of some training has been delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but a plan to restart training is underway. Team meetings have not been as regular due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. However, staff have continued to share information about children’s progress with their peers and professionals to keep everyone informed.

p.3

Leaders and managers

The Regulation 44 reports have not been sent to Ofsted promptly, which impedes the regulator from reviewing the quality of care. Not all safeguarding notifications have been sent to the regulator, which prevents the monitoring of safeguarding concerns in the home. The home’s statement of purpose has been updated to reflect the management and staff changes but a copy has not been sent to the regulator, as regulations require. The rationale for having locks on the kitchen door and other Assurance visit report: SC066747 4 communal areas is not made explicit in this document. This has been since been addressed.

p.3

Leaders and managers

The last inspection identified that not all the children’s care needs were aligned with the home’s current model of care. This continues to have a negative impact on some children who have not engaged in their care plan.

p.4

Leaders and managers

Damage to parts of the home following incidents has resulted in a less-homely environment. Some of the children’s rooms are not well maintained. Children smoking in their rooms is not always detected by the fire alarms or staff. This raises concerns about fire safety in the home.

p.4

Leaders and managers

Two requirements relating to regulation 14 made at the last inspection have not been met. They are repeated with additional requirements. Two of the three recommendations have been met but one is repeated.

p.4

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet 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 within the given timescales.

p.4

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(b)(d)) In particular,

p.4

Requirement Due date

 ensure that all risk assessments are up to date, accurate and measure the effectiveness of the risk management strategies  ensure that smoking is prohibited in the home. 30/10/2020

p.4

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.4

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

p.4

Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 30/10/2019 Assurance visit report: SC066747 5 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.4

Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) and (2)(a))

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the needs of young people admitted to the home must be met, in addition to the needs of young people who are already in residence. Overall, the young people must have a positive experience.

p.5

Requirement Due date

This is a repeated requirement. The care planning standard is that children—

p.5

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.5

Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1) (a)(2)(c))

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, all identified aims and goals must be completed by undertaking direct work with the young people. This must be in line with all the areas set out in their care plans, which must be updated when plans for the young people’s futures change. The plans must also reflect the aims of the home’s statement of purpose.

p.5

Requirement Due date

This is a repeated requirement. 30/10/2019

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.5

Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 30/10/2020

p.5

Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

p.5

Requirement Due date

HMCI; (Regulation 44 (7)(a)) 30/10/2020 Assurance visit report: SC066747 6 Specifically, that the independent visitor reports are sent to Ofsted promptly.

p.5

Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

p.6

Recommendations

In particular, ensure that all areas in the home are maintained to a good standard. Repair or replace all fixtures and fittings that have been damaged.

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sheffield City Council

p.6

Children’s home details

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

p.6

Inspector

Jacqueline Malcolm, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: SC066747 7 to 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.

p.6

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector

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

p.7

Inspector

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

p.7

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7