Children's Home, Residential special school run by Sheffield City Council in Sheffield

Assurance visit report: SC458115 1 SC458115

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Information about this children’s home

This is a local authority-run children’s home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 19 children and young people with learning disabilities. The accommodation is split between two areas: one offering long-term care and the other operating as a short-break provision.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since 2017.

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Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection date: 29 January 2020

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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).

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Information about this visit

At these visits, inspectors evaluate the extent to which:

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Information about this visit

 children are well cared for  children are safe  leaders and managers are exercising strong leadership. This visit was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, following the published guidance for assurance visits.

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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: SC458115 2

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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.

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The care of children

Children make significant progress. Some of the children are non-verbal and cannot say how they feel. However, their behaviour tells staff if something is wrong. Staff know the children well and help them to feel more settled, content and less stressed. Because the children feel secure, this helps them to make progress in other areas too.

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The care of children

Children’s care plans are individual to their specific needs. The support given by staff and the progress made are therefore unique to each child. This includes children starting to do things like using the toilet, sleeping in a bed and being more mobile. These are considerable achievements which are celebrated by staff, families and professionals.

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The care of children

Staff are held in high regard by the professionals that they work with. One professional said that the staff will support a child even if this feels ‘impossible’. Another said that the staff ‘go above and beyond’. The staff are passionate about supporting the children, and this is shown by the enthusiastic language they use when talking about them. The children’s rooms are personalised with objects and themes that matter to them. This celebrates the children’s individuality and reinforces their sense of identity.

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The care of children

The children have needs and behaviours which are complex. This makes sustained progress more remarkable. The staff work closely with other specialists to get the best outcomes for children. Children’s moves into or out of the home happen at their pace. Preparations are thorough, and staff work well with the children and their family to make the moves successful.

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The care of children

Staff offer a variety of activities to occupy, entertain and educate the children. Due to the pandemic the summer trip away was cancelled. However, staff replaced this with an alternative when they ‘brought the beach’ to the children. A ‘vacation’ took place in the grounds of the home, with a bouncy castle, barbecue, party and games. During the lockdown period, community resources closed, but staff were creative in finding things to do that the children would enjoy, including crafts and baking.

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The care of children

The care provided to the children makes a positive difference to their lives and development. One social worker said, ‘[Name of home] is the one element of stability and consistency, whatever else has moved or changed for [name of child].’ Assurance visit report: SC458115 3

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The safety of children

The children are safe in the home. The children’s risk assessments are individual to them, they are clear and they are regularly reviewed. Staff work with the local authority and others when safeguarding concerns arise. They are proactive in ensuring that concerns are responded to appropriately by other professionals.

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The safety of children

Staff respond appropriately to risks, and they make some adjustments to how they care for children in order to reduce future risk. However, one incident involving a ligature has not resulted in considering and mitigating associated risks across the entire premises. Ofsted were not notified about this incident, and staff have not been formally trained in ligature awareness. However, they know how to cut them and have access to ligature cutters.

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The safety of children

The managers have acted to try to reduce the spread of COVID 19. This involves morning and afternoon staff ‘bubbles’, and some staff working from home. The children have limited understanding in this regard and have relied on the adults to promote their safety. The children who do understand the risks posed by the virus have complied with mask wearing and increased handwashing. This is broader evidence of progress for one child, in following instructions, and in accessing the community.

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The safety of children

Staff follow plans to support children who use behaviours which challenge and put themselves or others at risk. Staff undergo training to offer this support, and rarely use physical restraint. Instead, they appropriately use distraction and de-escalation techniques. The provider has changed the behaviour management programme used during the last two years. However, not all staff use the same programme. It is important that all staff know which programme is in use in order to ensure that practice is safe and consistent in this regard. The home’s statement of purpose also does not reflect the change.

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Leaders and managers

The home’s managers and group leaders guide and support the rest of the staff team. Managers and care staff use the word ‘proud’ when describing being part of this team. During the pandemic, managers have reduced the time they spend onsite, both with the care staff and the children. This has minimised the risk in respect of the virus, but it has inevitably impacted on the team’s cohesion, and on the managers’ relationships with the children. The care of children, however, has not been affected.

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Leaders and managers

The managers have introduced effective alternatives to shift handovers and team meetings, which have ensured continued information-sharing. Individual staff supervision has continued regularly and is delivered remotely. All staff have been provided with laptops to enable them to work in this way. Assurance visit report: SC458115 4 Managers create a culture of improvement and have given staff their own area of practice to champion and develop, including support after bereavement, and safer social media use. This results in the team members being a valuable resource in responding to the emerging needs of the children.

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Leaders and managers

Managers have established an effective working partnership with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services Learning Disability Service (CAMHS LDS). Staff from CAMHS LDS work directly with the children, but also provide clinical advice to the staff to help guide them about how best to support the children. This results in the staff delivering meaningful and appropriate support.

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Leaders and managers

The children’s records are generally up to date. However, one child’s file did not contain an important court document. This is significant in that it meant the home could not demonstrate that the care they were delivering was in line with the court’s requirements. Although this was an isolated example, managers recognised it as an important oversight.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) 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(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child (Regulation 36 (1)(a)).

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Requirement Due date

This refers to ensuring a copy of any Deprivation of Liberty order is on file (information related to the care, protection or safety of the child) and that, where relevant, children’s risk assessments refer to risks arising from ligatures throughout the entire premises. 17/01/2021

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 30/03/2021 Assurance visit report: SC458115 5 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

This refers to all staff completing training on ligature risk The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c) and (e)) 17/01/2021

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Recommendations

 Homes that care for children where, as a result of their impairment or disability, restraint is a necessary component of their care should include information relating to this in the behaviour management policy and Statement of Purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations including the quality standards’, page 47 paragraph 9.44) Assurance visit report: SC458115 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sheffield City Council

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Rachel Ruth, Social Care Inspector Parveen Hussain, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: SC458115 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.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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