Children's Home run by Aegis 247 Limited in Sheffield

Inspection report for children’s home: 2630701 1 Registered provider: Aegis 247 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

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties. One child was living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager at the home since 5 June 2025.

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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

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: 2630701 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/08/2024 Full Good 23/05/2023 Full Good 11/04/2022 Full Good 05/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2630701 3

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improvement to be good

When leaders and managers receive information about a new child, their assessment is not consistently robust enough to ensure that each child will have their needs met by the staff team. This resulted in one child experiencing a sudden and unplanned move from the home.

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improvement to be good

Children’s plans do not consistently include vital information about a child’s specific needs and vulnerabilities. Leaders and managers have not outlined how staff and external agencies will meet the child’s needs. For example, for one child, the home’s care plan lacked any detail about how the child would be supported in several key areas of their life. In addition, children’s plans do not always contain clear milestones through which the progress of children can be measured. This reduces the effectiveness of the manager’s oversight in ensuring that children make progress from their starting points.

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improvement to be good

Most children build positive relationships with staff. One child described the staff as ‘amazing’ and that the staff are ‘funny and keep me entertained’. In addition, one child who has moved on from the home described the staff as a ‘good team’.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to be healthy through eating a balanced diet and attending routine health appointments. The staff also help children to take part in education and activities that promote their learning.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported by staff to keep in touch with those that matter the most to them. This allows children to develop their sense of identity and develop a support network outside of the home.

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improvement to be good

The home environment is clean, welcoming and maintained to a reasonable standard. Children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms to suit their individual preferences, and this helps children to develop a sense of belonging.

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improvement to be good

Children spoken to said that staff make them feel safe. The child living in the home was observed to be relaxed and confident with the staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff spend time with children, which enables them to have conversations with children in line with their needs and vulnerabilities. Staff help children to understand risks and to make safer choices. However, these conversations are not consistently recorded by staff in a way that will be helpful for the child. The responsible individual is aware that this is an area of development for the staff and has implemented a plan to address this. Inspection report for children’s home: 2630701 4 When some of the children moved into the home, the home environment was not adequately prepared prior to them moving in. This resulted in children going missing from the home. When this happens, the staff are proactive in searching for the child. This includes staff contacting family members and friends to try to locate the child and return them home safely. However, children’s missing-from-home plans do not always provide accurate guidance for staff about when they should contact police to report the

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improvement to be good

child as missing. Moreover, leaders and managers do not always ensure that children get a timely independent interview when they return.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always act to safeguard children in line with their plans. This meant that one child, who had court restrictions placed on their liberty, was able to leave the home unaccompanied by staff.

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improvement to be good

Children are physically restrained as a last resort by staff. However, not all staff are confident in knowing when to hold a child to keep the child and others safe, or to prevent situations from escalating. In addition, when a child is held, this is not clearly recorded and does not help the child to understand how they have been helped.

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improvement to be good

When a child makes an allegation about being harmed by a staff member, it is not clear from case records what actions have been taken to immediately safeguard the child. This means that records relating to allegations are incomplete.

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improvement to be good

Children’s positive behaviour support plans and risk assessments are not consistently of good quality and are not regularly reviewed. This shortfall does not help the staff to understand how they can help children to manage their behaviours and feelings effectively, or what their roles and responsibilities are in keeping children safe.

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

The registered manager left suddenly, and the home is currently without a manager or deputy manager. A new manager has been recruited, but is yet to start work at the home. This vacancy has led to some to instability in the staff team, and staff said that they are keen for a new manager to provide day-to-day guidance and support for staff.

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

In the absence of a dedicated manager for the home, the responsible individual has been instrumental in ensuring that the staff are provided with support, supervision and training. The staff value this support and have confidence in the responsible individual.

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

Staff said that they work well together as a team and are able to learn from each other. The staff’s commitment and desire to help and support children is strong. However, the staff team is inexperienced and only one member of staff is qualified. Furthermore, one staff member has not completed the relevant residential qualification needed within the set timeframe. The responsible individual is committed to ensuring that all staff complete the required qualification and now has oversight of the staff’s progress in this area. Inspection report for children’s home: 2630701 5 The responsible individual understands the shortfalls and has developed plans to address these. However, the sudden departure of the previous manager and the current lack of a dedicated manager for the home is having an impact on these plans being fully implemented and embedded. Inspection report for children’s home: 2630701 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 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

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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm; and

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that relevant information about a child’s specific risks and vulnerabilities are detailed within the child’s plans. These should be reviewed regularly to ensure that they are kept up to date and accurate. 1 September 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— 1 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2630701 7 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

staff are confident in using behaviour management techniques to promote a child’s safety; any allegation made by a child is clearly recorded and the outcome of decision-making is clear in these records; and the local authority is challenged effectively when they fail to arrange an independent return home interview for a child when they have gone missing.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that full information is gained from relevant external agencies prior to a decision being made about whether the home is suitable for a new child. 1 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2630701 8

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that information about the child is always recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2630701 9

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Inspector

Shirin Khan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2630701 10 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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