Children's Home run by Stratus Care Group Limited in Rotherham

Inspection report for children's home: 2862899 1 Registered provider: Stratus Care Group Limited

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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 provider. It provides care for one child who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living in the home at the time of this inspection and they were spoken with by the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first inspection after registration with Ofsted in April 2026. The manager also registered in April 2026.

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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: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2862899 2

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Summary of findings

The child was welcomed into the home in a planned and considered way. The child has made progress from their starting point. However, the use of agency staff together with staff work patterns do not support the child to receive care from a stable and consistent staff team. These arrangements impact negatively on the child’s day-to-day experiences.

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Summary of findings

Staff do not always work cohesively as a team to ensure that the child is safe when in the home and in the community. Responses from staff to safeguarding incidents are inconsistent.

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Summary of findings

Shortfalls were found in the leadership and management of the home. This includes that the relationship between leaders, staff and family members is poor.

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improvement to be good

The child has been living at the home for a few months and has made some progress from their starting point. However, the shortfalls in the staff’s safeguarding practice, together with the poor leadership and management of the home mean that the care offered to the child is not consistently of a good standard and requires improvement.

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improvement to be good

The child spends long periods of time in their bedroom. There is a mixed staff response in how they try to engage the child to encourage them to come out of their bedroom. This hinders the child from forming relationships with staff.

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improvement to be good

When the child is in their bedroom, staff do not always conduct visual checks to make sure that the child is safe. In addition, boundaries and expectations around mealtimes are not consistently implemented by staff. For example, while some staff encourage the child to come out of their bedroom for meals, other staff will take food to the child and leave it outside their bedroom door.

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improvement to be good

The manager’s challenge to external professionals is inconsistent. The manager has not questioned why there has been a delay in receiving information about the child, together with seeking a professional’s views on information sharing. This does not support the manager or staff to have a full understanding of the child’s needs. However, at the same time, the manager has been proactive in seeking the support of an external professional to challenge a decision made. This has been effective in helping the child to get the support that they need.

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improvement to be good

The child enjoys living in this home and has developed relationships with staff. The child has a particularly positive view about the manager because they say that ‘He is an actual human being.’ The child values the support that staff have provided to help them gain valuable life skills such as baking, cooking, and budgeting. Inspection report for children's home: 2862899 3 Staff support the child to have positive experiences in the home and to build memories. The child is offered a range of activities and staff help the child to take part in activities that they enjoy such a shopping for clothes and make up and going for walks.

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improvement to be good

The child is supported by staff to make progress with their education. Staff have helped the child to complete their exams. The child has ambitions in respect of their education and learning. These ambitions are understood well by the manager and staff, and they have helped the child to identify a college placement that will help the child to achieve their goals.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote the child’s health by ensuring that the child has access to universal health services and that they attend all routine and specialist health appointment. Therapeutic support has been provided for the child and they are building a trusting relationship with the therapist. At the same time, staff are supported by the therapist to understand the child’s needs and how to respond to these appropriately.

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improvement to be good

The home is decorated to a high standard and is spacious. The child is encouraged to make the home their own through personalising their bedroom and contributing to the décor of the home. This has helped the child to settle quickly.

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improvement to be good

Although plans to support the child’s safety reflect the child’s needs and vulnerabilities, they do not fully help staff to understand their roles and responsibilities in promoting the child’s safety.

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improvement to be good

Although the child has direct input into safety planning, their safety plan is not comprehensive. It lacks vital information from the child about how staff can help to keep them safe in respect of their vulnerabilities.

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improvement to be good

Furthermore, the child’s missing-from-home plan does not give clear guidance to staff about what they must do if the child goes missing from the home or while they are out in the community. In addition, the plan to support external professionals to properly assess levels of risk and locate the child when they are missing is not accurate.

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff have not always kept the child safe. For example, on the occasion when the child went missing from the home, staff did not follow and search for them. The placing authority failed to arrange an independent person to speak to the child upon their return and leaders and managers did not challenge this. This lack of challenge prevented the child from being given the opportunity to talk to someone independent about why they went missing.

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improvement to be good

Staff responses to promoting the child’s safety are inconsistent. Staff conduct room searches when they have concerns. However, some case records relating to searches Inspection report for children's home: 2862899 4 have gaps in information, in particular the reason for the search. This does not provide assurances that room searches are conducted in a sensitive and proportionate way.

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improvement to be good

The manager ensures that Ofsted is notified of all significant safeguarding events; however, this is not always done in a timely way. This shortfall does not allow the regulator to quickly assess the safety of the child living in the home.

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improvement to be good

The child feels safe because they have adults that they can talk to about concerns that they may have. Conversations that most staff have with the child support the child to understand risks and make safer choices. Staff find different ways to make the child feel comfortable and confident to talk to them. Consequently, the child is now able to enjoy free time in the community.

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

The leadership and management of the home is undergoing a period of transition. The current manager is due to leave the home. Senior leaders have recognised the potential impact of this change on the child and the staff team, so there are clear transition arrangements for the management of the home to minimise any disruption.

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

While the quality of care is regularly monitored by leaders and managers, documents to support management oversight are not always accurate and completed in full. This shortfall does not support leaders and managers to fully understand the strengths and areas for development of the home.

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

When external complaints are made, leaders and managers do not conduct full investigations into these. They do not respond to the complainant in writing stating what actions they will take as a response to the complaint made. This leaves the complainant feeling unheard, prevents learning by the staff team and does not foster positive relationships with people such as the neighbours.

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

Staff support the child to keep in touch with the people who are important to them. However, the relationship that the child’s family members have with the manager and staff is poor. Family members spoken to did not know the name of the manager or any of the staff. In addition, when the child sees their family members, not all staff check to see what the quality of family time is like and if any concerns have arisen. The poor quality of this relationship with the child’s family members does not promote safe contact and continuity of care.

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

Leaders and managers are ambitious for children and fully understand the connection between having highly skilled and experienced staff working in the home and children’s experiences and progress. The responsible individual has identified this as an area of improvement for the service and has a clear training place in place to support staff development. This plan has yet to be implemented and therefore its effectiveness is untested. Inspection report for children's home: 2862899 5 Staff enjoy working in the home and feel supported by leaders and managers. They benefit from supervision and training opportunities that help them provide care for the child in line with the child’s needs and vulnerabilities. However, staff said that the use of agency staff in the home and the current working arrangements for staff do not support consistency of care for the child and do not support staff’s wellbeing. Leaders and

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

managers are aware of these shortfalls and are taking steps to address them.

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

The quality of relationships that the registered manager and staff have with the child’s social worker is good. The child’s social worker spoke positively about levels of staff engagement and communication. Inspection report for children's home: 2862899 6

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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

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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

the staff know what their responsibilities are in respect of providing the child with the appropriate level of care and supervision, particularly when the child spends long periods of time in their bedroom; and

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Requirement Due date

all staff working in the home understand the home’s safeguarding policies and procedures and what they need to do should a child be absent or go missing from the home or while in the community. 30 September 2026

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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 promotes their welfare. 30 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2862899 7 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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)(a)(b)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

staff communicate and work together to promote consistent boundaries and expectations within the home;

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Requirement Due date

all case records relating to a child are recorded in full and use language that supports the child to understand how they have been helped; and

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Requirement Due date

the staffing arrangements of the home, including rota arrangements provides continuity of care for a child.

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must ensure that-

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children's home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered must ensure that: 30 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2862899 8 plans relating to a child are received in a timely way from the relevant person;

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Requirement Due date

decisions relating to information sharing about a child’s welfare are explored and information-sharing protocols are agreed; and

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Requirement Due date

effective professional relationships are built between the staff and children’s family members, where appropriate.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that there is a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should cover the action that should be followed if the event arises at the weekend or on a public holiday. (‘Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: 2862899 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stratus Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 482 Lupton Road, Sheffield S8 7NP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christian Palfrey

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Inspector

Shirin Khan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2862899 10 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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