Children's home run by Sheffield City Council in Sheffield

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC039414 1 SC039414 Sheffield City Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home is registered to provide care for up to four children with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since July 2021. The registered manager was not available at the time of this visit. An acting manager has been appointed to manage the home temporarily. No application has been made by the acting manager to register with Ofsted.

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This monitoring visit

A full inspection was undertaken on 10 November 2021. The findings from that inspection confirmed that leaders and managers had not been effective in managing this home. Serious shortfalls were identified relating to safeguarding practice and management oversight. This resulted in children receiving inadequate care and having poor experiences.

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This monitoring visit

This led to enforcement action through four compliance notices under section 22 of the Care Standards Act 2000. These were in relation to regulations 12, 13, 35 and 44.

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This monitoring visit

During this monitoring visit, the inspector found that the acting manager had improved the quality of care provided to the children. Her daily presence in the home and oversight of staff practice have provided some stability to the staff team. As a result, the staff have been more focused on the help that children need.

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This monitoring visit

Concerns relating to the safety and welfare of children have reduced significantly. Incidents relating to children going missing from home and being physically restrained and allegations about staff’s practice have reduced. The incidents that Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC039414 2 have occurred have the oversight of the acting manager and senior managers. This level of oversight and action helps to ensure that children’s risks are managed promptly to keep them safe. The team continues to work on helping children to feel safe living at this home.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has ensured that additional support has been available to help the staff to update children’s records via the provider’s electronic recording system. As a result, the quality of children’s records has now improved. This enables better oversight of the children’s care. It also supports the managers to better analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of the actions taken by staff.

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This monitoring visit

The acting manager has put in place regular team meetings and supervision for staff. Staff now have more day-to-day direction through clarity in their roles and structured guidance. One staff member said, ‘I feel much more supported. I have now had supervision, which I haven’t had for a long time.’

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This monitoring visit

The home’s development plan focuses on securing stability for the team through additional staffing. This is strengthened by senior managers having regular oversight of staff practice and the children’s care. This additional scrutiny and accountability have helped to improve the children’s experience. For example, staff are now able to spend more time with the children because staffing resources are less stretched. Staff sickness levels are still high but there has been a recent improvement, with some staff returning to work. Staff are no longer working excessive hours, as they had been previously.

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This monitoring visit

Since the last inspection, the independent visitor’s reports have been sent on time to the regulator. There is now a more structured system in place to ensure that reports are submitted as required by the regulations. This provides the regulator with a more timely oversight of the care provided to children.

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This monitoring visit

Consultation between the acting manager and children has focused on the children’s safety and experience of group living. Some minor adjustments have been made to the children’s routines to improve their experience. More meaningful work is yet to occur to help develop the children’s relationships with one another. Plans to involve the children’s social workers in this work are still in their infancy.

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This monitoring visit

Records relating to physical interventions have been completed satisfactorily. This enables managers to review incidents and evaluate whether staff’s practice has been proportionate and effective. However, not all staff have been debriefed after incidents as required by the regulations. This limits the staff’s ability to learn from such incidents. Also, managers have not formally spoken with staff about non- approved restraint techniques, despite it being known that they have been used. This does not provide reassurance that staff know what the non-approved techniques are. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC039414 3 The children’s risk assessments have been reviewed by managers, with some changes that promote a more child-centred approach and child-friendly language. However, risk-management plans do not always contain details of the strategies needed for staff to follow to reduce the risk of allegations being made. Not all

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This monitoring visit

children’s risk assessments contain the essential information needed to promote children’s safety. For example, one child’s missing-from-home protocol does not contain a recent photograph to support the police if the child goes missing. Children’s behaviour-management plans lack the guidance required to advise staff on how to respond to individual incidents. This does not promote positive relationships between staff and children, or prevent serious escalation of children’s behaviours.

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This monitoring visit

Managers have not sought validation that all staff know the children’s updated plans with respect to their risk- and behaviour-management strategies. Therefore, managers do not have reassurance that all staff are aware of how to reduce the risk of harm for children.

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This monitoring visit

As a result of these shortfalls, the compliance notice relating to regulation 12 will be revised and reissued. The steps in the other three compliance notices relating to regulations 13, 35 and 44 are met. The other requirements and recommendations raised at the last inspection were not explored during this visit. They are therefore carried forward to be reviewed at the next inspection. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC039414 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/11/2021 Full Inadequate 15/01/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/01/2019 Full Outstanding 22/06/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC039414 5

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children personal items that are appropriate for their age and understanding; and

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home 2 December 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC039414 6 are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vii)(viii)(ix)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

* The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must review the risk assessments and behaviour support plans to ensure that they include the children’s current risks and behaviours, and provide the staff with clear actions about how to reduce the risk of harm. 27 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 2 December 2021

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must— 02 December 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC039414 7 ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all children participate in fire drills.

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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. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)) 27 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; or

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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)(b)(e)) 2 December 2021

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a homely, nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the staff, the experiences of children living at the home and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. The registered person should ensure that the report is submitted to the regulator at least once every six months. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2) Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC039414 8

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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: SC039414 9

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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

Aaron Mcloughlin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC039414 10 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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