Children's Home run by Sheffield City Council in Sheffield

Inspection report for children’s home: SC066747 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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SC066747 Registered provider: Sheffield City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in March 2006 and is owned by a local authority. It provides care for up to 5 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 4 children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2025.

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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 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/04/2025 Full Good 04/06/2024 Full Good 31/10/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/07/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC066747 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Summary of findings

Children have a sense of belonging and say that they are happy living in the home. They feel cared for and say that they have positive relationships with staff.

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Summary of findings

Staff use their relationships with the children to de-escalate incidents when they occur. Despite there being a high number of incidents, children are rarely held.

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Summary of findings

There is a strong multi-agency response to risk management in the home. This positive approach helps staff to better respond to the children and ensures that children are accessing the right support from external services.

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Summary of findings

The manager has good oversight, and the systems in place to monitor the quality of care are effective.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with a good standard of nurturing care. They implement strong boundaries, routines and structure, which provide children with a sense of stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The open and trusting relationships that children have with staff are key to them feeling a sense of belonging in the home. Staff understand how children’s past experiences affect their lives and why they sometimes demonstrate unwanted behaviours. Staff remain committed to wanting the best for the children, and they show a sense of genuine care for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s experience in education is mixed. There are barriers to education for some children, which have affected their attendance at school. Staff understand the barriers and continue to provide children with support and encouragement regarding their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children are in good health; they attend routine appointments and enjoy a healthy diet and exercise. However, some children continue to vape and misuse substances. Staff talk to children about risks to their health, and they ensure that children access the relevant support from external services.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s emotional wellbeing and mental health are understood. Staff work collaboratively with mental health professionals, equipping them to better respond to children when they may be experiencing difficult emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are consulted regularly about the home and the care they receive. Their wishes and feelings are captured in their records. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066747 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to maintain contact with the people who are important to them. Staff build positive relationships with children’s families, and they provide families with help and support to maintain positive relationships with the children. One parent said, ‘I would rate the home with 5 stars; the staff are amazing.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions for children are positive and well planned. The manager makes child-centred decisions when children move into and out of the home, and their individual needs are considered. When children move out of the home, staff continue to visit them and provide them with support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well decorated and homely. Unfortunately, there has been some damage to the home, which is not always repaired in a timely manner. Some areas of the home are locked routinely, which means that access for children is restricted.

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

Children’s individual risk assessments are detailed, and they identify all known risks to each child. They provide staff with clear guidance and are kept under management review. Staff understand children’s risks and vulnerabilities, and they are clear about the steps they need to take to mitigate some of the risks.

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

There is a strong multi-agency response to risk management at the home. Staff utilise support and training from external support services. This helps to ensure that they are equipped to respond to children who misuse substances, who have been found in possession of knives and who may be at risk of exploitation.

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

Children engage positively with professionals from external support agencies who visit the home to educate the children about risks. Staff have open and honest conversations with children about their individual risks and vulnerabilities. Staff are creative with the methods they use to engage children in educational work about risks. This positive approach has helped children to reflect when they have been involved in an incident.

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

Children’s individual missing-from-home plans are detailed and provide staff with clear guidance. Staff are clear about their responsibilities to children who go missing. When children go missing, staff are proactive in their response and work collaboratively with the police and other agencies.

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

Allegations are taken seriously; they are investigated and information is shared with safeguarding professionals.

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

Incidents occur regularly at the home; however, children are rarely physically restrained. When children demonstrate unwanted behaviour, staff use their relationships with them to de-escalate the situation. Staff speak with children about their behaviour and help them develop better coping strategies. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066747 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and is working towards a relevant qualification. She is a positive role model for staff, and she provides them with effective leadership. The manager has a child-centred approach. She is aspirational for the children, which is a goal shared by the whole staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable, skilled and experienced staff team. As a result, children are provided with a high standard of consistent and continuous care. Staff are provided with a range of core training, and they have received additional training specific to the individual needs and risks of the children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Other professionals hold the manager and staff in high regard. They said that children are provided with good-quality care and that the manager and staff go above and beyond in their efforts to keep children safe. One professional said, ‘Staff understand and respond to children’s complex needs and risky behaviour. Despite the challenges, they are resilient, and they don’t give up on children.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision that is reflective and supportive. Staff said that they are happy working at the home, morale is high, and they feel supported in their roles. Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended. This provides staff with opportunities to discuss children’s plans and refresh their safeguarding knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of staff development and the quality of care provided to children. Serious incidents are routinely reported to the regulator; however, there have been a couple of incidents that have not been reported in line with regulatory requirements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Shortfalls in practice have been identified, investigated and addressed by the manager. There has been one internal investigation into staff practice where it is not clear whether a full investigation has taken place because the records are poor.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Complaints are taken seriously. They have been investigated and responded to in line with internal procedures. The manager supported one child in raising a complaint about an external agency; however, they failed to follow escalation procedures when the child did not receive a response. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066747 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Statutory requirements

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

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c)) 23 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iv)) 23 August 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff seek to meet children’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met. This is an important aspect of staff demonstrating that they care for children and value them as individuals. This relates specifically to ensuring that any damage to the Inspection report for children’s home: SC066747 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Recommendations

home is repaired in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure that performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that they notify Ofsted and other relevant parties if one of the situations specified in regulation 40 (4)(a) to (d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home that they consider to be serious. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

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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 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sheffield City Council

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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 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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