Children's Home run by Aegis 247 Limited in Sheffield

Inspection report children’s home: 2630701 1 Registered provider: AEGIS 24/7 Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted in August 2021. It is owned and managed by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to one child who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is registered with Ofsted and has been in post since August 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2630701 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/04/2022 Full Good 05/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 2630701 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last full inspection, one child has left the home, and another child has been welcomed in. This child moved into the home in a planned and sensitive way and the child leaving the home experienced a planned ending that focused on their welfare and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to by staff and contribute to their plans. This helps their sense of ownership, self-determination and feeling of being valued and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children understand how to make a complaint. They are given information prior to moving into the home about the complaint process. The child said, ‘When there are ‘differences in opinion,’ I ‘can discuss these with the staff’.’ This means that solutions can be identified and provides transparency for the child, enhancing their day-to-day experience in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend time with their family members and are actively supported by the manager and staff to do this in a safe and planned way. This has enabled the children to develop and maintain relationships with the people that matter the most to them and promote their sense of identity. It also means that children can develop a support network outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff are aspirational for children. They promote and monitor progress through the child’s progression plan. The child participates in the writing of this plan with support from the manager and staff. This enables the child to understand and celebrate the progress they have made and work towards new goals. One parent said that staff ‘went above and beyond’ and ‘could not have tried harder’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to develop good independence skills in line with their age, stage of development, and interests. This includes household chores such as cleaning their bedroom. One child enjoys cooking healthy and nutritious meals and is supported by the staff to do this. These skills will serve them well into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support positive social engagement. This allows the child to develop new interests and peer relationships outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff support children with their health and education. The child currently living in the home has good access to health services and staff encourage and support them to be healthy. Specialist help is also available to the child in line with their individual needs. While the child is not in full time education, the manager has appropriately challenged this through the virtual school. However, Inspection report children’s home: 2630701 4 there are some missed opportunities by the provider to be more creative in identifying alternative provisions while a school placement is being identified.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The child has been supported by staff to build trusting relationships with them. The child said that the home is the ‘best care home ever’. They trust the registered manager and staff, and they feel safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are prepared before a new child moves into the home. This means that from the start, staff can offer suitable care for the child in line with their individual needs.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff have a good working knowledge of the therapeutic parenting model approach of the home, which supports the child to develop positive behaviours and reduces the need for physical interventions to occur.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The manager and staff take appropriate action to safeguard children when they go missing from the home. The home has a clear missing-from-care protocol. Children’s individualised protocols are reviewed and updated following any missing-from-care episodes. Both documents provide clear guidance for staff to take urgent action to reduce harm or the risk of harm. Although return home interviews are offered to children, records do not demonstrate the effectively the reasons why they have not taken place.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The registered manager and the staff have effective links with the child’s social worker and independent reviewing officer. There is good communication in relation to care planning, and safeguarding issues are shared in a timely way. This promotes the child’s safety and progression in a coordinated and considered way. One professional said that the child ‘has made huge progress’ since moving into the home. Another professional commented that the home is ‘organised, clean, tidy and the staff team all work in harmony’.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Room searches are clearly recorded by staff and detail the purpose of the search. Consent is gained from the child wherever possible, and the reason for the search is explained to them. The room searches are proportionate and undertaken where there are concerns about a child’s safety and welfare. This allows the child their right to privacy while promoting their safety.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Managers follow safer recruitment processes when appointing new staff. Staff practice and performance are carefully monitored through supervision and appraisals.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There have been no allegations against staff since the last inspection. The responsible individual and the registered manager have made links with the local authority designated officer and the child’s placing authority. Staff are aware of safeguarding procedures and the whistle-blowing policy should they have concerns Inspection report children’s home: 2630701 5 about the conduct of a member of staff. This promotes the safety and welfare of the child living in the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The location risk assessment is good. The manager has sourced information from a variety of partner agencies so that the staff team can act on any known risks to children in the community. There is good collaborative working with other agencies to safeguard children living in the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The home environment provides a safe physical space. The child is encouraged to personalise their bedroom and the decor of the home. This promotes the integration of the child into the home, and their sense of being valued, and it encourages their investment in their home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is properly staffed and resourced. It is managed effectively and efficiently by a permanent manager. The manager has a good understanding of the needs of the child living in the home and is committed and passionate about promoting their safety and enabling them to do well in life. The manager ensures that the staff have a good understanding of the child’s needs and risks. Plans and risk assessments are comprehensive, easy to understand and aligned with the local authority care plan for the child. This means that staff can provide consistent care for the child in line with their needs and take quick action to protect them when safeguarding concerns arise.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff are strong advocates for children. They appropriately challenge professionals to ensure that children receive the best service to meet their individual needs. The manager works closely with external professionals who have confidence in her and the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual and manager have good oversight of the staff team. They are visible in the home and have developed auditing tools to strengthen their oversight. This means that leaders and managers can quickly identify what is working well in the home and act quickly on any identified gaps in practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is good. The staff feel supported in their role and receive appropriate training to meet the individual needs of the child living in the home. Staff are child-focused and aspirational for children. Supervision is valued, and challenge from the manager is welcomed by staff, as this helps them to improve their practice. Staff have a good working knowledge of the practice models of the home and its values and ethos. The manager maintains oversight of staff training via the training matrix which is comprehensive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held monthly and provide an opportunity for staff to reflect on the past month in the home, as well as to learn and develop. Team meetings provide a sharp focus for the staff in terms of the child’s safety and progress. The meetings promote shared ownership and learning across the team and allow for staff to contribute their ideas. There is evidence of strong learning culture within the home which is promoted by the manager and responsible individual. Inspection report children’s home: 2630701 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that the home has proactive relationships with appropriate schools and educational support services in order to ensure that every effort is made to promote the child’s engagement in education (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ p 27, paragraph 5.7)

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that when a child returns home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. The registered manager should ensure that there is a record that details when the return home interview was offered, whom it was offered by and the outcome of the interview as this will help to inform care planning and risk assessments (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ p 45, paragraph 9.30).

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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: 2630701 7

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Beverley Jackson

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Inspector

Shirin Khan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2630701 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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