Children's home run by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2629335 1 Registered provider: Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered in March 2021 and is owned by a local authority. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties and have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2023. She is experienced and suitably qualified.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 30 October 2023

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2629335 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/10/2023 Full Good 25/01/2023 Full Good 20/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2629335 3

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improvement to be good

Staff and managers understand how children’s past experiences affect them. However, staff are not always confident in the application of the home’s model of care. The manager has identified this as a concern and has started to take action to address this; however, the changes have not yet had the desired outcome.

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improvement to be good

Children have not always received appropriate and consistent boundaries to help manage behaviours. This has led to one child having significant influence. For example, the children were taken out together because one child insisted. This led to an incident between the children, and one child was harmed. This may have been prevented if staff had taken more control over the activities planned and a differential approach to each of the children.

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improvement to be good

Children’s plans are clear and outline what children need. They include information about children not being left upstairs without adult supervision. However, staff who are new to the home do not always read children’s plans. Staff have not always intervened when children’s behaviours have become unsafe. This has led to serious incidents occurring.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to be healthy. They have access to universal health services. Children are encouraged to be active, for example by taking part in activities such as cycling and swimming. Children who have experienced trauma are supported by therapists. One child has benefited from weekly art therapy sessions.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to spend time with family members and friends. One child is being supported to move back to the care of their family. When children make new friendships, the managers ensure that they get to know the friends and their parents. This includes taking the children out for a meal.

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improvement to be good

There have been a significant number of incidents in the home. Power dynamics and controlling behaviours between the children have gone unchallenged by staff. Some harmful behaviours between children have not always been suitably challenged by staff. On numerous occasions, staff have failed to act in response to the children’s behaviours. For example, when one child coerced another child to act submissively, staff made no attempt to intervene and did not prevent one child from filming the incident. The video was only deleted from the child’s mobile phone after this was raised during the inspection. Staff working with children do not always understand the risks or how to keep children safe. They have not always had the opportunity to read the children’s risk assessments before working with them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2629335 4 Staff are all trained in the home’s model of physical intervention, and children are only

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improvement to be good

held as a last resort. However, on an occasion when one child was at risk of injury from falling from climbing onto the stair banister, staff did not intervene quickly enough to safeguard the child. Staff did not take control and used the other child to support them to bring the child down to safety.

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improvement to be good

Children have frequently been missing from home. On most occasions, staff have acted quickly. On one occasion, staff did not follow the children when they both left the home at night. This is not in line with the home’s procedures or the children’s plans. The manager has not addressed this poor practice. In addition, one child’s missing-from- home risk assessment does not identify the possible triggers. This does not help staff to develop insight and predict when the child is likely to go missing.

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improvement to be good

Allegations are well managed. The manager ensures that children’s views are heard and that they are given time to reflect on and speak about their experiences. The manager has a good relationship with the local authority designated officer and approaches them for consultation and advice.

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improvement to be good

Staff have worked with one child to help them understand the dangers around child exploitation and alcohol misuse. This work is revisited as needed to help the child to develop an understanding of how to manage risky situations. Both children have made progress in sharing their worries with staff.

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improvement to be good

There have been 22 occasions when the manager has notified the regulator about serious events. Notifications are often submitted several days after the event.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is child centred and ambitious for children. In March 2024, the manager became registered for another children’s home in the local authority and divides her time between both homes. This has impacted on the manager’s oversight of children’s experiences. Steps have been taken to increase management capacity in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Shortfalls in staff practice are not consistently addressed. The managers have not always reviewed all the information available following incidents. Gaps and inconsistencies in records have not been identified. On one occasion, staff realised that another young person had been in the home without their knowledge. However, they did not speak to the young person to establish important details before they left. This was not addressed in the manager’s evaluation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Instability in the staffing of the home has been addressed by casual and agency staff. Some staff have taken on extra work to ensure that children are cared for by people they know.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive regular supervision that helps them to reflect on practice. Supervision records show that the manager is persistent in trying to embed the therapeutic parenting approach. However, this has not yet had the desired impact on practice. The manager Inspection report for children’s home: 2629335 5 has recently arranged for the staff team to benefit from a monthly consultation with a therapist. The manager has also recently introduced a tracker to support them to have better oversight of incidents. The impact of this is not yet known. Inspection report for children’s home: 2629335 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 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

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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that: staff have the skills and knowledge to consistently apply the home’s model of care; appropriate boundaries for children are in place and are consistently applied; children’s plans contain all relevant details; staff know and follow children’s plans. 30 November 2024

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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

that staff— 30 November 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2629335 7 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

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

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that: appropriate action is taken when children are missing from home and when their behaviours become unsafe; staff have the opportunity to read children’s records.

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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

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications, and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there is effective management oversight and evaluation of staff practice and records. 30 November 2024

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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; 30 November 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2629335 8 there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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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)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that they notify the regulator without delay when serious incidents occur.

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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: 2629335 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council, Riverside House, Main Street, Rotherham S60 1AE

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Inspector

Rachel Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2629335 10 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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