Children's Home run by Safe Haven Adolescent Care Group Limited in Rotherham

Inspection report for children’s home: 2587233 1 Registered provider: Safe Haven Adolescent Care Group Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is privately owned and run. It provides care for one child who may have social/emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, there was one child living at the home. Three children have lived at the home since the last inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered on 26 September 2023.

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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

Date of last inspection: 21 September 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2587233 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/09/2022 Full Good 10/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2587233 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have lived at this home have developed warm and trusting relationships with the adults who care for them. They experience love and affection from a nurturing staff team. The children’s progress is celebrated by staff, who treat them with dignity and respect.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff create bespoke education programmes for children when formal education is not available. This provides children with a structured routine while they wait for their education plans to be formalised. Managers challenge decisions that are not aligned to children’s best interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from therapy sessions with a locally commissioned therapeutic service. Staff’s care practice complements the direct therapeutic help that children receive. This is demonstrated through some children developing safer strategies to manage difficult feelings. For example, there are fewer incidents of self-injurious behaviours. Staff also encourage children to have a healthy lifestyle by helping them to have a balanced diet and take part in regular physical exercise of their choice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Constant praise and recognition of children’s achievements, no matter how small, helps children to develop their self-esteem. Staff regularly use letters, notes, and positive affirmations to build the children’s confidence and courage to try new things.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s voices influence decisions that are made about their day-to-day care. Their individual needs shape how staff involve the children in talking about their wishes and feelings. ‘Big girl chats’, ‘weekly stories’, and ‘you said we did’ are examples of some of the methods used by staff to ensure that children have a say and feel listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A well-maintained home and highly personalised bedrooms provide children with a comfortable and homely environment. Staff’s child-focused practice and use of language enhances the relaxing atmosphere that children experience. This approach reduces the impact that moving to a new home can have for some children. However, not all children move from the home in a planned way. Staff worked in consultation with a therapist to try to find the strategies needed to help one child with their complex needs. However, the child moved from the home in an unplanned way after a period of instability. The management decision to end the placement was made with the child’s well-being at the centre. Core members of staff remain in contact with the child to help to reduce the impact of relationships ending after the child moved from the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2587233 4

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

Children say that they feel safe living at this home. The relationships they develop with staff provide them with this sense of safety. One child rated living at the home as ‘nine out of 10’ with regard to how safe they felt.

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

Restraint practice is used in the best interest of keeping children safe. Conversations with children after they have been held allow them to share their concerns and for staff to explore with children what led to the incident. These reflective conversations support managers to evaluate the effectiveness of staff practice and find new strategies to support children’s behavioural needs.

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

Risk assessments are comprehensive and guide staff with the actions they must take to keep children safe. The children’s plans are reviewed after incidents occur to help to ensure that staff have up-to-date strategies to use. Regular consultation with a therapist further assists staff to develop plans that are aligned to the children’s needs.

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

Missing-from-home incidents are not a concern at this home. Staff take the necessary steps to reduce the likelihood of missing incidents occurring by encouraging the children to safely return to the home. The staff are clear that it is their responsibility to report a concern to help to safeguard children. When concerns are raised about staff practice, managers follow safeguarding procedures and ensure that children are safeguarded.

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

Well-organised safer recruitment processes ensure that staff are thoroughly vetted before employment starts. Managers ask an array of interview questions that are aligned to the provider’s ethos and values for caring for vulnerable children. On occasions, children have been involved in the recruitment process to add further scrutiny to the applicants’ suitability. Leaders have reflected on some of the challenges that they have faced with staff retention, to strengthen the questions they ask prospective staff members.

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

Not enough has been done by managers to understand the risks in the local area before admitting a child. They did not consult with other agencies to explore known concerns prior to admitting a child who was at risk of exploitation. This could have introduced the child to new risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a change of manager at the home, with a new appointment from within the team. Readily available support from senior managers is helping the new manager to adapt to their role as they continue to embed their leadership of the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported in their roles. One staff member described the managers as ‘the most supportive management I’ve ever worked under’. This level of support did not prevent a number of staff leaving the home for different roles or because of Inspection report for children’s home: 2587233 5 the challenges that the role can bring. In response to staff leaving, managers have analysed the period of time and taken learning from the team’s experiences to further strengthen the support that staff receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The team’s values and ethos are focused on making a difference to the children’s lives through the love and care that children experience. The provider’s embedded model of care forms an important part of the team’s aims and objectives. The use of reflective practice helps to develop staff’s approach and the quality of care that children experience.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to a wide range of training and regular opportunities for professional development, supervision, and additional support. The quality of induction for new staff helps them to quickly learn about the team’s approach to caring for children. Managers strongly focus on staff developing their understanding of the children’s early life experiences and how this affects the children’s needs. This helps staff to develop empathetic practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are used to good effect. Managers lead thorough discussions about the children’s needs by enabling all staff to make an equal contribution and plan for the children’s care. This shared forum helps to nurture the team’s supportive culture.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children’s records are well written and child focused. The style of language used by staff helps children to feel valued when they reflect on their experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers’ reports for other professionals are well written and celebrate the children’s achievements. However, they do not always accurately reflect the presenting needs of children. This prevents other professionals, such as independent reviewing officers, from having all the information they need to ask questions about the children’s care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2587233 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, 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 review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they have the necessary information available to them before deciding to admit children who may be at risk in the community. This information must be considered prior to making care planning decisions that are associated with elements of risk. 14 January 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the reports they share with other professionals, including the child’s independent reviewing officer, accurately reflect the child’s progress and current level of need, to allow others to ask questions about the child’s care plan. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 12, paragraph 2.7)

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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 for children’s home: 2587233 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Safe Haven Adolescent Care Group Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Whiting Street, Sheffield S8 9QR

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christie-Lauren O’Connor

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Stacy Linstead Barnes

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Inspectors

Aaron Mcloughlin, Social Care Inspector Ed McCallum, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2587233 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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