Aldine House Secure Centre

Inspection report secure children’s home: SC046524 1 SC046524 Registered provider: Sheffield City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this secure children’s home

This home is operated by a local authority and is approved by the Secretary of State to restrict children’s liberty.

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Information about this secure children’s home

The home provides care for up to 10 children. Up to five children can be placed by the Youth Custody Service and up to five children placed by local authorities under section 25 of the Children Act 1989. Five children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this secure children’s home

The admission of any child under section 25 of the Children Act 1989 who is under 13 years old requires the approval of the Secretary of State.

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Information about this secure children’s home

The commissioning of health services in this home is the statutory responsibility of NHS England under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Education is provided on site in dedicated facilities.

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Information about this secure children’s home

The manager of the home registered with Ofsted in August 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

Children’s education and learning requires improvement to be good Children’s health requires improvement to be good How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and/or the care Inspection report secure children’s home: SC046524 2 and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 28 February 2023

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report secure children’s home: SC046524 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/02/2022 Full Outstanding 01/09/2021 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report secure children’s home: SC046524 4

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inadequate

The judgement on children’s experiences and progress is impacted by the failings in how children are helped and protected and the leadership and management of the home. These failings include the unlawful use of measures of control that unnecessarily restrict children’s liberty.

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inadequate

Children are able to build trusting relationships with the staff who are caring for them. The atmosphere in the home is relaxed and children are mostly settled. One child said, ‘Being in this home has helped me to press pause on my life and deal with my issues in a safe way.’

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inadequate

Children have regular one-to-one time with staff in keywork sessions. However, it is not always clear how these sessions support children’s wider plans. Staff do not consistently record the work that they do with children around key issues in their life, such as exploitation and developing independence skills. This is not helpful to children as they are not able to reflect on the work that they have done or the progress they have made.

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inadequate

There is a lack of clarity about where children’s records are kept. Some records, such as local authority care plans and statutory information, could not be located during the inspection. This does not provide confidence that managers and staff are clear about children’s individualised needs and how to meet these.

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inadequate

Children have opportunities to spend time in the community as part of their preparation to move on from the home and to develop their independence skills. However, children do not have written transition plans that set out a clear timetable and the responsibilities of all professionals to work together to help children move on in a positive way.

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inadequate

Children said that they are able to talk to staff about any concerns or worries they may have. Children have access to an independent advocate who visits the home regularly and knows the home and children well. This provides an additional layer of independent advice and support for children.

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inadequate

Children are supported to maintain important ties with family and friends. Families visit and are welcomed into the home and children also benefit from having regular telephone and video calls.

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inadequate

Feedback from professionals and parents is positive, and parents feel more optimistic for their children. Parents said that they are secure in the knowledge that their child is safe and well-cared for. Inspection report secure children’s home: SC046524 5 The environment is tired looking and some areas of the home require deep cleaning and maintenance. Required improvements have not been addressed in a timely manner. Wall displays in the home are old. They do not reflect the activities and achievements of the children currently living in the home.

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Children’s education and learning: requires improvement to be good

The judgement for children’s education is impacted by the failings in how children are helped and protected and the leadership and management of the home. These failings include the unlawful use of measures of control that unnecessarily restrict children’s liberty.

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Children’s education and learning: requires improvement to be good

Education staff work flexibly and teach across a wide range of subjects. This enables children to access a well-designed and sequenced curriculum. Staff use children’s starting points well to plan a curriculum for each child that meets their individual needs. Children can study towards and achieve a good range of accredited and non-accredited qualifications.

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Children’s education and learning: requires improvement to be good

Staff promote the benefits of reading both during lessons and for pleasure. They ensure that children can access a good range of books relevant to their interests and reading ability.

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Children’s education and learning: requires improvement to be good

Education staff have good levels of knowledge and skill which they use well when teaching and supporting children who often have complex needs. They plan lessons well and use a range of teaching strategies to support children to make good progress.

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Children’s education and learning: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and staff have addressed the recommendation from the previous inspection to better monitor children and help them to understand the progress that they are making. Teachers set clear targets for children and provide them with verbal and written feedback. This confirms the progress that they are making and what they could do to improve their work.

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Children’s education and learning: requires improvement to be good

Education staff set high expectations. Children develop positive relationships with staff and gain in confidence. Children have good attendance and their behaviour in lessons is good.

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Children’s education and learning: requires improvement to be good

Education staff liaise effectively with other professionals to plan and teach a curriculum that meets children’s needs and future plans. For example, the head of year at one child’s school has discussed with the child and education staff at this home how the curriculum the child follows can be planned and implemented to support their possible return to the school in the future.

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Children’s education and learning: requires improvement to be good

The curriculum helps children to develop personal and practical skills to support their long-term independence and employability. Leaders and staff ensure that children receive appropriate impartial careers guidance that helps them to prepare for their next stages in education or future employment. Inspection report secure children’s home: SC046524 6 The head of learning is heavily involved in the wider management of the home. This limits their available time to lead on improvements in education. Leaders have not addressed the recommendation from the previous inspection to ensure that teaching staff receive more focused continual professional development to further develop their teaching practice.

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Children’s education and learning: requires improvement to be good

The head of learning is due to leave at the end of 2023. Leaders recognise the importance of putting in place suitable transitional arrangements to ensure the ongoing oversight and management of children’s education.

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Children’s health: requires improvement to be good

There is an experienced and well-resourced multi-disciplinary health care team on site. The team provide timely access for children to a range of health services during the 9am to 5pm working week. There are suitable arrangements in place for children to access health care out of hours should they need to.

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Children’s health: requires improvement to be good

Timely assessments using the comprehensive health assessment tool (CHAT) are quickly completed when a child comes to live at the home. However, these assessments are not updated using existing plans such as education, health and care plans and looked after children’s health assessments. This may mean that not all of children’s health care needs are being captured.

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Children’s health: requires improvement to be good

All children are registered with a local general practitioner, a dentist and an optician. Advance nurse practitioners offer children any missed immunisations and sexual health screening. There is good evidence of targeted child-centred work that leads to children’s known health needs being met.

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Children’s health: requires improvement to be good

Health care staff receive regular supervision and have completed all mandatory training requirements. This supports them to deliver individualised health care interventions to children.

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Children’s health: requires improvement to be good

Children’s medication is reviewed on admission to ensure that it is appropriate and required. However current arrangements for the dispensing and recording of medication are ineffective. Errors were noted with the system used to document medication, which appear confusing and unnecessarily complex. This results in a lack of clarity as to whether children have received their prescribed medication.

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Children’s health: requires improvement to be good

Health care staff see children following incidents of restraint. However, there has been one occasion when health care staff were not informed when a child was subjected to a period of prolonged single separation (where a child was locked into their room alone – see help and protection section of this report). This could have compromised the well-being of the child.

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Children’s health: requires improvement to be good

The model of care is not well embedded throughout the home. Only one child has a multi-disciplinary formulation plan. Care planning for children is not informed by health assessments including therapeutic interventions and advice. Plans are in place Inspection report secure children’s home: SC046524 7 to support care staff with additional training to help them to respond to children’s emotional needs, however this work is yet to be established.

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Children’s health: requires improvement to be good

Integrated working, including the sharing of information with other key professionals in the home, is weak. Therefore, not all staff understand the health needs of each child. This means that staff cannot respond to children’s individual needs in the most effective way.

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Children’s health: requires improvement to be good

The healthcare team has audited itself against the Healthcare Standards for Children and Young People in Secure Settings 2023 and the Secure Stairs framework. However, these audits have been conducted in isolation and not as part of the overall quality and governance strategy.

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Children’s health: requires improvement to be good

Health care staff are not routinely involved in contributing to transition planning to identify what support services are needed when a child is ready to leave the home. This does not give confidence that community health services are accessible to children when they move on.

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

There are significant failings that mean children are not appropriately helped and protected.

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

Children are subject to measures of control when they neither present a risk to themselves or others. Single separation, where children are locked into an area alone and managing away, where children are locked into an area but with staff present at all times, are used inappropriately. These measures are not always used proportionately or for the minimum time necessary. This means that children’s rights are breached and they are unnecessarily further deprived of their liberty. Leaders and managers have failed to implement monitoring systems to ensure effective oversight of these measures of control.

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

There have been low level restraints that have been both reasonable and proportionate. However, when children have raised concerns about staff behaviour during these incidents, leaders and managers have not acted to investigate this further. This does not reassure children that their concerns are taken seriously.

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

The risks relating to children are understood by staff. However, risk assessments and other recording activity, such as handover records, are conflicting and not kept up to date. This leads to inconsistencies in staff practice and may place children at risk of harm.

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

The manager is beginning to build working relationships with relevant safeguarding agencies. However, this practice is in its infancy and needs to be embedded further to ensure independent scrutiny and oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Inspection report secure children’s home: SC046524 8 There are significant failings in the leadership and management of the home. The registered manager is relatively new to managing a secure setting. She recognises the gaps in her knowledge and is continuing to work to develop her expertise in these areas.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managerial oversight and monitoring systems are either non-existent or ineffectual. They do not pick up on practice that fails to take account of the lack risk to self or others for example, when children have been kept in single separation or managed away for extended periods of time when the legal criteria is not met. This lack of effective monitoring means that poor practices continue and prevents opportunities for learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has been running on reduced numbers of children living there for some considerable time. This is due to staff shortages at all levels including delays in the appointment of a manager. There is a high staff attrition rate and staff sickness levels remain of concern. A number of vacancies in the senior leadership team impacts on the managers ability to effectively manage this service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is no formal development plan for the home and staff said that they are unclear how leaders and managers intend to begin to move the service forward. Quality of care reviews have not been completed. This impedes the ability of the manager to evaluate the progress and experiences of the children, and make essential improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are significant gaps in staff supervision and annual performance development reviews. This has been raised as a shortfall in previous inspections. As a result, staff do not receive regular support, guidance or constructive challenge around their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The lack of a multi-disciplinary approach across the service in care and formulation planning means that there are missed opportunities for collaborative working. The absence of a shared ownership hinders the implementation of a trauma informed model of care. This contradicts the ethos and approach as set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Training and induction programmes have improved to provide staff with increased skills and knowledge. This gives new staff the foundation to meet the specific needs of children they are looking after. Inspection report secure children’s home: SC046524 9

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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

* Restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing—

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Requirement Due date

injury to any person (including the child);

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Requirement Due date

serious damage to the property of any person (including the child).

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (1)(a)(b)(2))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff and managers fully understand the legal criteria that determines the circumstances when single separation and managed away can be used with children. 31 December

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; 14 January 2024 Inspection report secure children’s home: SC046524 10 demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(d)(e)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

* The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) 14 January 2024

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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.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iii)(c)) 14 January 2024 Inspection report secure children’s home: SC046524 11 The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, safe keeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

in particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1)(2)(c)) 14 January 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children at least once every 6 months. (Regulation 45 (1)) 14 January 2024

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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 there is a workforce plan in place which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). In particular, establish suitable transitional arrangements to ensure effective oversight and management of children’s education provision when the current head of learning leaves the service. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that teaching staff have access to focused continual professional development to further develop their teaching practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 29, paragraph 5.18)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home makes available suitable facilities, equipment and resources for learning. In particular, ensure that the head of learning has the time to manage and support the teaching team effectively. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 29, paragraph 5.18)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming, supportive, and is personalised to children and celebrates their achievements. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62 paragraph 14.4) Inspection report secure children’s home: SC046524 12

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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 secure children’s home: SC046524 13

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Secure children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Cath Sikakana, Social Care Inspector (lead) Thirza Smith, Social Care Inspector Dawn Parton, Social Care Inspector Lea Pickerill, Health and Justice Inspector, Care Quality Commission Malcolm Fraser, His Majesty’s Inspector, Further Education and Skills Inspection report secure children’s home: SC046524 14 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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