Children's home run by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2629335 1 Registered provider: Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority owns and manages this home. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties, and who may have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager at the home since 7 December 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Inspection date: 3 March 2025

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 3 March 2025

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2629335 2

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Findings from the inspection

Ofsted did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

Since the last inspection, two children have moved on from the home and one child has been welcomed into the home. Staff support children during these key times in their lives through careful planning and consideration of their needs. This helps children to settle into their new home.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff help children to build secure and trusted relationships by spending time with them. Staff gather information from key professionals about a child’s needs and vulnerabilities. This helps staff to provide care that is tailored to a child’s individual needs. The child living in the home is making good progress from their starting points due to this.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff encourage children to share their views and opinions in numerous ways. Consequently, children have positive experiences while living in the home through personalising their bedrooms, eating food that they enjoy and taking part in activities that they are interested in. In addition, children are encouraged to contribute to their plans and are supported to attend key meetings. This helps children to contribute to decisions about their day-to-day lives.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff work in partnership with children’s family members and support children to maintain relationships with people who matter the most to them. Equally, staff work closely with the child’s professional network so that information about the child can be shared in a timely way. This supports a cohesive approach to care planning.

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Findings from the inspection

The manager has introduced systems to support the child, their family members and staff to measure a child’s progress against the child’s aspirations. This helps the child to recognise and celebrate their achievements.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders and managers have good oversight of the home and the quality of care that staff provide. In addition, the deputy manager has introduced systems to further support effective oversight of the home.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff supervision takes place in line with policy and gives them the chance to reflect on their practice and the impact this is having on children. Where there are shortfalls in staff’s practice, discussions take place between staff and their line manager and appropriate support is put in place.

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Findings from the inspection

Improvements have been made to the home’s documents for children. Risk assessments have been streamlined to allow staff to quickly gain an understanding of a child’s vulnerabilities and what action they need to take to promote their safety and well-being. Any changes to a child’s plans are communicated quickly within the staff team. This helps staff to take a proactive approach to reducing risk, and to know how to respond quickly if safeguarding concerns arise. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2629335 3 Staff have a good understanding of the model of care used in the home. This has supported them to work together to promote consistent boundaries and routines for the child. As a result, there have been very few occasions when the child has become distressed.

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Findings from the inspection

When allegations are made about staff, or there are concerns about a staff member’s conduct, the interim manager and deputy manager follow safeguarding procedures. In addition, staff are recruited in line with the safer recruitment procedure. This promotes children’s safety in the home.

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Findings from the inspection

Children do not go missing from the home. However, staff know what to do should this happen.

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Findings from the inspection

There is currently no registered manager in the home. Leaders and managers have put in place interim arrangements while a permanent manager is recruited. The interim arrangements have had a positive impact on the leadership and management of the home. Staff talked about how much they welcome these changes and how much they enjoy working in the home.

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Findings from the inspection

The home is fully staffed, and the use of casual staff has reduced. When casual staff are used, the deputy manager ensures that these staff are familiar with the child. This promotes consistency of care for the child.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders and managers are ambitious for children. They have reflected on the findings of the last inspection and have worked at pace to address the shortfalls identified. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2629335 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/08/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/10/2023 Full Good 25/01/2023 Full Good 20/07/2021 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2629335 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Shirin Khan, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2629335 6 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people and 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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