Children's Home run by Quality Protects Children Ltd in Sheffield

Inspection report for children’s home: SC066010 1 SC066010 Registered provider: Quality Protects Children Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private company. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children 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: SC066010 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/04/2024 Full Good 25/07/2023 Full Good 20/04/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC066010 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Effective plans are put in place to prepare for the arrival of a new child in the home. Children are provided with opportunities to meet the staff and visit the home before they move in, which helps to put any anxieties children may have at ease. Staff speak to children already living in the home about new children moving in and continually seek their views, even after the child has moved in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s voices are championed by staff, who regularly consult with them about their wishes and feelings. Staff support children to attend meetings which affect them. Children are helped to share their views and wishes with other professionals. For example, one child was moving to a new home closer to their family. The child had a beloved pet rabbit they wanted to take to their new home. Knowing the importance of the pet, the manager advocated for the child until a suitable home was found that accepted the child’s pet.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children regularly engage in a range of activities. Staff support children to explore existing and new interests, especially when it aligns with their future career aspirations. Staff are aware of some emerging conflicts between children in the home and have made strong attempts to engage all the children in activities together to foster positive relationships between them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff develop positive relationships with children, including with those children who have recently moved in. Staff speak highly about the children and enjoy spending time with them. Staff have high aspirations for the children and consistently support them to achieve positive outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have left the home have done so in a planned way. The manager works closely with other professionals, sharing important information about the children to support a smooth transition. The management team keeps in touch through visits and phone calls with children who have left the home. One child in particular contacts staff when they want to offload emotionally, which demonstrates the strong relationships that staff built with them during their time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Areas of the home are well decorated and comfortable. However, some areas of the home have an institutional feel. For example, the children’s bedroom doors are engraved with the name of the room and a number, for example ‘Bedroom 1’. While this has been recognised by the management team and painted over, the engraving is still visible.

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

Staff involve children in regular discussions about their risks. Discussions are child focused and undertaken in a sensitive manner, with staff acknowledging that some conversations may be difficult for children. Staff support children to understand their Inspection report for children’s home: SC066010 4 risks and how to keep themselves safer. For example, one child has vulnerabilities regarding unhealthy relationships. Staff are creative and seized an opportunity while watching a movie with the child to discuss this issue. This conversation contributed to the child having a greater understanding of their risks.

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

Children are supported to take age-appropriate risks, such as spending unsupervised time in the community with their friends. Staff work with children and relevant professionals to make positive and progressive changes to the children’s plans. This promotes a sense of independence and autonomy for children.

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

Physical interventions are rarely used as staff utilise their strong relationships and understanding of the children to support and manage their behaviours. Positive behaviour is consistently acknowledged and rewarded, which supports children to develop their confidence and self-esteem.

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

There have been no missing-from-care episodes for the children. A previous child went missing on two occasions. These episodes were effectively managed by staff. However, one missing-from-care incident was not effectively prevented by one member of staff, who did not adhere to the safety plans for the child. Appropriate action was taken in relation to the member of staff following the incident in order to ensure appropriate safeguarding of the child moving forward.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager regularly communicates with professionals, updating them on the children’s progress. This fosters positive working relationships and contributes to effective multi-agency approaches for children’s care. One professional said the management team was ‘incredible’ and that ‘they are passionate about building relationships with children’s families’. Where possible, the manager ensures that children’s families are included in the care planning process, which ultimately supports the children’s sense of security.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One complaint has been received within the inspection period from a family member of a child living in the home. The manager responded quickly to the complaint and ensured all necessary fact finding was completed to provide a comprehensive account to the parent. Meetings with the child, parent, social worker and manager were swiftly arranged to promote an open culture of information-sharing. The manager ensured any actions were initiated to prevent the issue occurring again. The family member was very satisfied with the outcome and provided positive praise for the management team and staff for how they support the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has high aspirations for all the children and works hard to ensure positive outcomes for them. This child-centred culture is fluent throughout the staff team, whose members speak highly of the children and do everything they can to support them to achieve. One professional said that ‘[Name of child] will have a bright future’ due to the amount of support and care that they receive from the staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066010 5 Some staff who are in their probationary period have not received performance reviews in line with the home’s policy. This prevents effective management oversight and contributes to staff’s practice issues not being addressed in a suitable timeframe. Staff receive regular supervision and engage in team meetings; however, clear actions are not consistently set after these meetings, which may have an impact on the manager’s ability to monitor progress within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One child’s care plan had not been updated within the review date, which meant it lacked new information about the child. This means that staff do not have an up-to-date understanding of the care they need to provide for the child. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066010 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure any damage in the home is swiftly repaired and that maintenance work is completed to ensure a domestic and homely environment for children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure care planning documents are regularly updated to reflect the changes in children’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure actions from team meetings and staff supervisions are clearly recorded and accessible to staff. The progress against these actions should be regularly reviewed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff who are within their probation period are receiving regular supervisions and performance reviews. In addition, suitable

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Recommendations

plans should be put in place to support staff who are not performing their roles in line with expectations. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 13.1)

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: SC066010 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Quality Protects Children Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hill House, Archway Road, Huyton, Liverpool L36 9XB

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Inspector

Ladean Wilson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC066010 8 regulates and inspects 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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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