Children's Home run by Sheffield City Council in Sheffield

Inspection report for children’s home: SC066747 1 SC066747 Registered provider: Sheffield City Council

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Full inspection 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 five children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has not had a manager since 30 November 2024. A new manager has been appointed and they are still to make their application to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children were living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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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 for children’s home: SC066747 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/06/2024 Full Good 31/10/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/07/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/02/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC066747 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy secure and trusting relationships with staff, which provides children with a sense of stability and belonging. Staff are committed to the children. They want the best for the children, and they do not give up on them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a high importance placed on consulting with children and involving them in decisions made about their lives, the care that they receive and the home they live in. Records capture children’s wishes and feelings and they show how staff respond to these.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the barriers to children’s education. Staff advocate for children to ensure that the right support is in place to help them to access education. Children who attend school have good attendance and they are making progress from their individual starting points. Some children are not accessing formal education; however, staff provide them with lots of opportunities for informal learning and they help children to prepare for future employment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s emotional and mental health needs are understood. There is a clinical psychologist, and a speech and language therapist based at this home one day a week. This arrangement has removed the barriers children experience around attending health appointments and means that children are now accessing the right help and support for their emotional well-being. Having these professionals based at the home provides an additional layer of support for staff, to better equip them to meet the children’s individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When a child moves into or out of the home, these transitions are well managed and child focused. Children have moved into the home in a planned and positive way. Staff support children to prepare them for independence and they continue to provide this support when children move out of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s day-to day experiences are captured in memory books and each child has a box of memorabilia and photographs, which they can take with them when they move on.

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

There is a strong multi-agency response to safety planning for children, whose behaviour puts them at risk of exploitation and criminal activity when they are in the community. This includes incidents related to knife crime. There are safeguards in place to reduce some of those risks. Children’s individual risk assessments are detailed, they identify all known risks for each child, and they provide staff with clear guidance. Staff understand children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities, and they are clear about the steps to take to mitigate some of those risks. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066747 4 When children go missing staff take a proactive approach. They search for the children, and they report the children missing if they cannot be found. Children’s individual missing plans provide clear guidance for staff, and they are kept under review by the manager. Staff understand their responsibilities to children who go missing.

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

Children are provided with help and support with their individual health needs. Some children continue to vape, and some children use cannabis. Furthermore, some children are at risk of alcohol and substance misuse. For one child, there are concerns that this increases their vulnerability to exploitation. Staff talk to children about these risks and the implications for their health, and they refer to external services for support.

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

There have been occasions where children have injured each other when there have been disagreements between children. Staff talk to the children about their relationships and bullying; however, they have not always been able to de-escalate conflict to prevent children harming each other.

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

Staff rarely need to hold or guide children. When incidents have led to children being physically restrained, records show that this has been necessary to ensure the child’s safety. Staff talk to children about their behaviour, and they ask children how they are feeling. This approach helps children to reflect on their behaviour and means that consequences are rarely used.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been three managers in post during this inspection period, with a newly appointed manager in post. These managerial changes have led to some shortfalls in the continuity of management oversight at this home. Senior leaders provide an additional layer of oversight, and the manager has a plan to improve and embed the day-to-day management oversight of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a long-standing staff team at this home who are suitably skilled and experienced to meet the needs of the individual children and provide them with a high standard of care. Staff are provided with a range of training specific to children’s individual needs. Staffing is sufficient to provide children with high levels of supervision and continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision which is supportive and allows them to reflect on practice. Staff meetings happen regularly, and staff said that they feel supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been one complaint made by a child. The manager investigated the complaint in line with internal procedures, and the child has been provided with feedback and is reported to be happy with the outcome.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have built positive relationships with other professionals involved with the children. Professionals consistently said that staff are committed to the children, Inspection report for children’s home: SC066747 5 and that the open and trusting relationships between staff and the children have provided children with a sense of security and belonging.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The systems in place to review and monitor the quality of care provided to children are not fully effective because gaps in children’s records have not always been identified. Furthermore, management oversight of incidents involving children is not always evaluative. This has the potential to hinder learning from incidents and is a missed opportunity to identify patterns and trends that could inform new strategies to reduce the likelihood of incidents reoccurring. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066747 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(xi)) 23 June 2025

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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

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; 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(h)) 23 June 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC066747 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: SC066747 8

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Rachel Webster, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC066747 9 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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