Aldine House Secure Centre

Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC046524 1 Aldine House Secure Centre 75 Limb Lane, Dore, Sheffield S17 3ES

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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 Department for Education to restrict children’s liberty. The home provides care for up to 10 children aged between 10 and 17 years.

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Information about this secure children’s home

At the time of this inspection, four children were living at the home.

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Information about this secure children’s home

The home provides care for up to five children placed by the Youth Custody Service and up to five children under section 25 of the Children Act 1989 who are placed by local authorities.

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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 of age 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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good

Children’s education and learning good Children’s health good How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC046524 2 The secure children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/07/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/01/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/10/2023 Full Inadequate 28/02/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC046524 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said that they like living at this home and enjoy spending time with staff. They can choose from various fun and social activities that help them to develop positive relationships and increase their self-confidence. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their individual tastes, which provides them with a sense of ownership and belonging. The recent redecoration of the home, new furniture and new equipment further enhance children’s daily life experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans are individualised and informed by collaborative working between health teams, education staff and care professionals and focus on the child’s experience. These plans provide clear strategies for staff to follow to support children and enhance their understanding of children’s needs. Staff talk to children with respect and care. This helps them to feel supported and able to make progress and navigate any challenges that they experience. Staff also advocate effectively for children and ensure that their views are taken seriously and acted on when possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff carry out targeted work with children that is linked to their statutory care plans. This means that all professionals working with the children are working towards the same plan. This mostly ensures that children benefit from unified and cohesive practice that supports their progress. However, this consistency is not maintained for all children, and staff do not always adhere to the clinical team’s planned sessions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff speak to the children about moving on from the home in a way that is reassuring and informative. They regularly check in with children who are leaving to discuss any concerns and queries they may have. If children have questions or raise concerns, staff seek answers and find solutions. This approach helps children to prepare for their future outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from planned community-based sessions with staff, tailored to their individual needs and interests. These purposeful experiences support the development of practical and social life skills, build confidence, and prepare children for a successful return to community living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children fix their relationships when there is tension or conflict so that safety and respect can be restored. Staff also take opportunities to help children recognise their achievements and receive praise. This promotes children’s self-confidence and ability to maintain positive relationships with others.

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Children’s education and learning: good

The headteacher and education staff are enthusiastic about the curriculum they offer. They engage and inspire children to access education. Initially, they try to boost Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC046524 5 children’s confidence in accessing learning, as most have not had a positive learning experience before. Children follow a core curriculum and can select from a menu of additional subjects to make up their timetable. The timetables are individualised for each child, and there is something to inspire and motivate all children.

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Children’s education and learning: good

Education staff involve children sensitively and appropriately in the planning of their individual learning programmes. They provide regular and clear feedback to children on their educational progress. This supports them effectively to achieve their learning goals and future aspirations.

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Children’s education and learning: good

The education team is suitably qualified and has the knowledge and experience required. Teachers use their knowledge creatively and are very flexible in how they deliver their subjects. Managers have plans to increase the number of teachers, which will give them greater coverage.

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Children’s education and learning: good

Education facilities have been updated with redecoration and comfortable new furniture that meets children’s sensory needs. The classrooms are suitably welcoming and provide children with a choice of seating arrangements. This helps to ensure that they are relaxed and comfortable in lessons.

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Children’s education and learning: good

Children benefit from regular positive feedback and reinforcement. Relationships between education staff and children are kind and caring, enabling children to settle quickly into learning. Staff liaise regularly and efficiently with relevant professionals to ensure that they have the skills and knowledge to work effectively and sensitively with children with complex and wide-ranging needs.

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Children’s education and learning: good

Education staff benefit from a programme aimed at enhancing their professional development. Staff have completed annual safeguarding training, and psychologists work with teachers to help them learn strategies to better support children. This provides teachers with a safe space to discuss challenges. While it is beneficial that training focuses on managing and supporting children’s behaviours, opportunities to update teachers’ subject knowledge and specificity would be valuable for enhancing children’s learning.

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Children’s education and learning: good

Children’s progress is monitored regularly. Education staff discuss a child each week in regular meetings, and record entries in the children’s individual learning plans to reflect the progress being made in each subject. Staff speak confidently about the progress children are making. However, written documentation does not always clearly demonstrate the progress children are making towards their targets in their education, health and care plan (EHC plan).

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Children’s health: good

Children receive tailored health support and interventions that help them improve their overall physical, emotional and mental health. Holistic support, including psychology, speech and language, and dental services, contributes to children’s preparations to leave the home. Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC046524 6 Children spoke positively about their relationships with health practitioners and said that their individual needs are being met. Health staff routinely interact with children at the home, for example, while they are eating or exercising. This good practice helps to ensure that health staff can build and maintain positive relationships with the children in their care.

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Children’s health: good

Health staff receive training and supervision that helps them to provide good-quality support to children. Where appropriate, health practitioners also provide specific training to care staff, such as how to identify children at risk of exploitation. This practice helps to ensure that all staff can support children effectively.

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Children’s health: good

Specialists provide guidance to staff to improve their understanding and promote inclusivity at the home. The speech and language therapist provides a universal offer to help make the environment and communication at the home more child friendly. The assistant psychologist continually works with staff in relation to their understanding of neurodiversity. This supports care staff and education staff to develop their understanding of children’s behaviours and enhances their engagement with children.

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Children’s health: good

Health staff are routinely present when children need to be held to keep them safe. They are always there either during the incident or as soon as possible after to assess the child’s physical and mental health needs.

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Children’s health: good

Staff recognise the importance of individualising the healthcare provided to each child living at the home. They encourage children to take ownership of their healthcare plans. This approach was particularly effective in helping one child play a bigger role in improving their health and recognising the importance of planning for the future.

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Children’s health: good

Recent commissioning changes mean that physical and mental health services at the home are now delivered by two different providers. Although the transition is still ongoing, children continue to receive holistic and efficient health services because of the established relationships between the current providers.

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

Staff prioritise building positive and trusting relationships with children. These efforts are received well by children and help them to feel safer. They use these relationships to skilfully and safely de-escalate situations. Over time, staff help children to understand their vulnerabilities and find successful strategies to communicate and express their needs. This approach means that children learn to manage their behaviour and emotions more positively.

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

Children are kept safe and protected from harm. This is achieved by staff consistently implementing each child’s individual support plan, identified goals, clear risk assessment strategies and boundaries. There is good communication between care staff and across health teams and the education team. This ensures that staff have access to current and relevant information about children so that they can respond to any risks appropriately. Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC046524 7 Staff follow all safeguarding measures appropriately. This includes safe practices when using physical holds, single separation, minimising self-harming incidents, and managing children away from the group. Managers keep these practices under continual review. This makes sure that the best safeguarding practice and guidance is continually observed to keep children safe.

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

Children do not harm themselves frequently, but when they do, staff respond empathetically and effectively. They ensure that medical attention is sought and provide meaningful emotional support to children.

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

Staff are vigilant to ensure that children live in a safe environment. Routine safety checks also maintain the safety and security of the home.

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

Managers understand how their implementation of safe recruitment procedures and good-quality induction, coupled with appropriate training and supervision, impacts the safeguarding of children. These practices ensure that children are cared for by suitable and knowledgeable adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has demonstrably grown in confidence and is well respected in the home. She is an eager advocate for the children and has thorough knowledge of their individual experiences and life stories.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The recommendations from the previous inspection have been met. There are sufficient, suitably trained staff on duty to meet the assessed needs of children living in the home, and there are clear plans to address staff vacancies. Plans to carry out remedial work to ensure that all areas of the home are fully functional have also been progressed, although some work is remaining.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a clear development plan in place, against which measurable progress has been made. There are more clearly defined roles for the assistant managers, and the registered manager is providing ongoing support to help them build on their existing strengths as leaders. This enables the registered manager to focus on the strategic elements of her role and monitor the effectiveness of the service more astutely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are aware that staff are experiencing some disharmony at times and are supporting them to find healthy ways of reconciliation through reflective practice and supportive supervision. There is some anxiety among staff about the progress and direction of care with one child. These concerns are well understood by the registered manager, who is building staff confidence that the stabilisation work being carried out with this child is inherently valuable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight to ensure that there is clear planning for children’s transitions out of the home. She has escalated concerns where planning has not been holistic or timely. In one case, the transition plan from the youth custody service for a Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC046524 8 child moving to the adult estate changed on several occasions. Despite the best efforts of staff to provide the best care and support, this led to the child feeling distressed and experiencing a disruptive end to their time at the home. The manager has taken the lead in forging better links with external agencies, and they have mutually recognised that there are deficits in communication.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Discussions between staff and managers are thoughtful, and formal supervision considers the care and support that children receive. This is contributing to the improvement in standards of care and staff performance. Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC046524 9

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff work with the clinical team to deliver targeted sessions to all children consistently and in alignment with their agreed plans to promote positive behaviour. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.13)  The registered person should ensure that the progress children make towards their EHC plan targets is tracked and recorded clearly. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 26, paragraph 5.2)  The registered person should ensure that education staff receive the training they need to keep their subject knowledge current and up to date. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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 secure children’s home: SC046524 10

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Secure children’s home details

Registered provider: Sheffield City Council

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Secure children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Tash Williams, Social Care Inspector (lead) Gemma McDonnell, Social Care Inspector Debbie Foster, Social Care Inspector Hayley Lomas, His Majesty’s Inspector, Further Education and Skills Daniel Carrick, Children’s Services Inspector, Care Quality Commission Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC046524 11 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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