Children's home run by Sheffield City Council in Sheffield

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC036026 1 SC036026

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Sheffield City Council

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a local authority. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children or young people. The children or young people receive care that supports them to manage their emotions and have positive childhood experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The staff provide support to adolescents in local authority care. The home acts as a bridging placement to permanence in a foster family, back to birth family, or for older young people, to permanence in the community.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is experienced and has been in post since October 2019.

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This monitoring visit

This visit was undertaken remotely. The inspector followed the health and safety guidelines in respect of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

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This monitoring visit

This visit was carried out in response to an escalation in concerns about children’s safety, well-being and the quality of care they receive. There have been several notifications relating to care practice and child protection concerns. The last inspection of the home was conducted in October 2019.

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This monitoring visit

The children’s care, safety and well-being are often compromised by staff not always following the relevant risk assessments and behaviour management plans. The children’s needs, risks and vulnerabilities are well identified in the risk assessments but are not fully understood by staff and the management team. Staff are reactive to incidents and are not always proactive in addressing concerns.

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This monitoring visit

All safeguarding, child protection and any other incidents of concern are not routinely recorded in line with procedures and do not have consistent management Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC036026 2 oversight. When incidents have happened, the decision-making by staff has not always been consistent, which has led to children’s behaviours escalating.

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This monitoring visit

Staff say that they feel well supported by the manager and the rest of the team. However, they acknowledge that, at times, due to staffing levels, they are not always able to carry out searches to help safeguard children when they go missing from the home. As a result, staff cannot be fully aware of any risks the children may be exposed to.

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This monitoring visit

High levels of physical interventions have taken place. These are appropriately managed by staff. However, records relating to the interventions lack clarity and do not have appropriate management oversight. In addition, the staff and children do not always receive debriefs following incidents. This is a missed opportunity to develop practice and to help children reflect about what happened.

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This monitoring visit

Poor matching of children’s needs has resulted in children’s behaviour having a negative impact on each other. Impact assessments seen by the inspector were not analytical or did not fully consider the needs of all the children.

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This monitoring visit

There are high levels of bullying, and for some children this means that they have re-engaged in antisocial and dangerous behaviours. This includes damage to their home and physical violence towards peers and staff.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have access to training, supervision, weekly team meetings, handovers and weekly debriefs. However, supervision records lack detail and do not demonstrate reflective practice. This is a missed opportunity to support staff development.

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This monitoring visit

The staff team is resilient and works with other agencies to provide support for the children. Staff carry out direct sessions with children to address risks. However, these sessions are often reactive and do not fully address the current concerns and the risks that children are exposed to.

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This monitoring visit

Professionals spoken to said that the staff have worked hard with the children and they work well in partnership. For example, one social worker spoke about the positive work staff did with one child after another child made an allegation against him.

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This monitoring visit

The inspector consulted with three children during this visit. The children said that they feel safe and that they can access support from the staff and the manager. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC036026 3

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 15/10/2019 Full Good 12/09/2018 Full Good 25/07/2017 Full Good 30/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC036026 4

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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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This is in relation to only accepting placements for children when the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, and when the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children and young people has been properly considered. 31 March 2021

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(xi)) 31 March 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC036026 5 In particular, ensure that members of staff are provided with the skills to manage behaviour effectively.

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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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)) 31 March 2021

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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 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 31 March 2021

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC036026 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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Inspector

Noel Cooper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC036026 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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