Children's home run by Sheffield City Council in Sheffield

Inspection report children’s home: SC036009 1 SC036009 Registered provider: Sheffield City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The service is operated and managed by a local authority to provide a short-break service for up to six children who have physical and/or learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is qualified and experienced and has been registered with Ofsted since March 2010.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020. We last visited this setting on 4 March 2020 to carry out a full inspection. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC036009 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/03/2020 Full Outstanding 05/12/2018 Full Good 31/07/2017 Full Good 20/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC036009 3

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outstanding

Children benefit greatly from a very warm welcome, safe care and nurturing support during their short-break stays. Meticulous staff provide high-quality care, which leads to the children making progress. A social worker described the service as ‘excellent’.

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outstanding

Children look forward to spending time at the home. They cannot wait to return. One social worker said, ‘He gets excited when [Name of the home] is mentioned to him and this demonstrates that he feels safe and happy when he is in the setting.’ The considerable thought given to matching of children promotes lasting friendships.

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outstanding

The staff are exceptionally knowledgeable about the needs of the individual children. They talk about the children with love and concern. Children feel comfortable expressing themselves to staff through their preferred method of communication.

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outstanding

The staff plan the children’s short breaks efficiently and safely. The bubbles that have been formed during the coronavirus pandemic protect the children. The staff communicate with parents in advance of the children’s stay, to reassure them of the measures taken to keep children safe. This consultation allows staff and parents to address any issues that have arisen since the last visit. As a result of this careful planning and communication, children enjoy a seamless stay.

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outstanding

The staff ensure that the children’s short-break stays are relaxing, fun and filled with new experiences regardless of the child’s complex needs. Staff promote an atmosphere of trust, which helps the children to grow in confidence and thrive. One parent commented how their child’s speech has improved from saying the odd word to having conversations. This promotes children’s confidence and aspirations.

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outstanding

The staff support the children’s complex health needs in a highly sensitive manner. Staff follow the children’s health protocols according to their individualised health plans. The staff team’s contact with the schools promotes the children’s attendance and supports their personal goals.

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outstanding

Consultation with children is firmly integrated into the ethos of the home. Staff have supported children to contribute to the biggest ever survey of children in England through the Children’s Commissioner for England. Pictures around the home show how children are engaged with topics that are well researched and raise awareness. The chats with the children promote creative ways for children to learn. In particular, the children’s artwork about identity and how the children see themselves is worthy of dissemination.

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outstanding

The children have a wide variety of activities to choose from. Some have visited the seaside, parks and other places of interest. The well-equipped home provides Inspection report children’s home: SC036009 4 children with lots of fun things to do without the need to travel. The extensive garden offers the children an area where they can play safely. A recently purchased swing provides children with something new to enjoy. Children and staff have hours of recreational and educational time on the new, oversized interactive computer. Children can develop new skills in the kitchen, which is accessible to them. All these activities help the children to develop in confidence and independence.

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outstanding

Children enjoy their short breaks in a clean, bright and well-maintained environment that provides a calm atmosphere. One parent described the home as, ‘A home from home.’

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outstanding

A robust level of protection is provided for the children during their short breaks. Appropriate supervision is maintained by a strong staffing ratio, and smaller groups of children are cared for on the secure premises. As a result, children are safeguarded effectively, and no children have gone missing.

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outstanding

Parents who were previously hesitant to send their children for short breaks now feel comfortable leaving their child in the care of the staff. Parents praise the staff for keeping their children safe.

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outstanding

Staff have a comprehensive understanding of the children’s vulnerabilities and risks. Staff implement the children’s individual risk assessments to ensure the children’s safety. The risk assessments are kept under review. This ensures consistent and up- to-date care and the optimum protection of the children.

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outstanding

The safeguarding training and updates prepare the staff to respond to any safeguarding concerns effectively. Staff know what to do in the event of an emerging concern. They are proactive in their response to children and contribute to multi-agency meetings. The training in health and safety, medication management, moving and handling, and fire prevention all keep everyone safe.

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outstanding

Furthermore, the staff are highly attentive to the children’s presentation and behaviour, which allows them to detect concerns quickly and report them. Consequently, children do not come to any harm. The exceptional safeguarding culture protects the safety and well-being of the most vulnerable children, particularly those at risk of harm. One parent said, ‘I know that [name of home] is very good at checking everything, they query everything, it couldn’t be any better,’ and ‘I have never had any concerns whatsoever with his safety, everything is covered.’

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outstanding

Staff manage the children’s low-level challenging behaviour effectively. As a result, there have been no physical interventions. There are no known child exploitation concerns. Recruitment practices are safe and minimise opportunities for unsuitable adults to care for the children. Inspection report children’s home: SC036009 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has extensive knowledge and experience in caring for children with disabilities and complex needs. She has provided the stable and experienced staff with loyal and effective leadership for many years.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have displayed high levels of resilience during the temporary closure of the short-break service due to the restrictions and challenges that arose when caring for a child with unique needs that staff were not familiar with. The staff team was rewarded for its hard work and commitment by winning an award for ‘Keeping Calm and Carrying On’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff praise the quality of the manager’s leadership and support. This motivates the staff to deliver the best possible care to the children and offer them experiences that they may not have at home. The staff also support each other very well. A staff member described the staff and children as her ‘[name of home] family’, which shows deep affection towards the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Good support and communication systems, such as face-to-face and online training, daily handovers, team meetings and ad hoc discussions, challenge and inform the staff to enhance their practice. The improvements around medication management help the staff to minimise the risk of further medication errors. Supervisions and appraisals promote the staff team’s professional development, yet not all supervision records show reflective supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A major strength of the staff team is its ability to work effectively with professionals and parents, keeping them involved and informed. There have been no complaints. It is clear from the compliments how appreciative the families are of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager makes good use of the visits conducted by the independent visitor. The manager knows where there is room for improvement and has a plan to progress the service. The manager’s review of the quality of care does not include the views of the children, parents, professionals and staff. As a result, it is not clear how their views have been used to shape improvements. The manager has not challenged social workers with sufficient rigour when they have not followed through their responsibilities, which has led to drift in some children’s plans. The shortfalls have not impacted negatively on the children’s short-break experience. Inspection report children’s home: SC036009 6

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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, the 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 system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (5)) 29 October 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered provider must ensure that, where the placing authority or another relevant person does not provide the input and services needed to meet a child’s needs, the home must challenge them to meet the child’s needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8). In particular, that education review meetings that have lapsed are chased by the registered manager with the relevant social workers.

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Recommendations

 The registered provider must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2). In particular, that the supervision records show that all staff receive reflective supervision.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC036009 7

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Registered Provider: Sheffield City Council

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

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Inspector

Jacqueline Malcolm, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC036009 8 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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