Children's Home run by City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council in Bradford

Unique reference number SC033492 Inspection date 07/11/2011 Inspector Nicola McEvinney Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 26/01/2011 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011) and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service that exceeds minimum requirements Satisfactory : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Brief description of the service

This local authority children's home accommodates 12 children aged from four to 10 years of age with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Brief description of the service

The home accommodates two distinct groups of children. There are separate entrances provided for each of the two groups which are split based on their needs and care plans. The main unit accommodates eight children admitted to the home where their needs are assessed and an intensive package of support is undertaken preparing them to be able to move towards a permanent placement. The other unit accommodates up to four children who move from the main unit and have reached a point where alternative placements are being sought.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be outstanding .

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Overall effectiveness

These very young children are admitted to this home with histories of a number of placement breakdowns. They often present some very disturbing and challenging behaviours which, without the appropriate intervention, could result in dire outcomes.

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Overall effectiveness

Children benefit from the excellent commitment and skills of the staff team who work in partnership with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). Through the intensive input from the staff following the guidance of CAMHS, children attach to the staff and the disturbing and challenging behaviours lessen. Eventually children are ready to be placed with families, ensuring that they have much improved outcomes. Relationships between staff and the children are extremely warm and nurturing, children thrive and blossom from the care they receive.

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Overall effectiveness

Each child has an extremely detailed care plan setting out their individual needs as well as a 24-hour management plan that gives explicit detail of how they are to be cared for. These plans include how their behaviours are to be managed. This ensures a consistent approach to their care, promoting their well-being.

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Overall effectiveness

Children consider that they have their say about how the home is run and they feel safe in the home. Children are safeguarded by the extremely robust measures in place.

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Overall effectiveness

There were no requirements or recommendations made at this inspection.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are outstanding . Children are admitted to this home after a number of placement breakdowns. They generally present with some extremely disturbed and challenging behaviours and, due to their young age, are often unable to verbalise their distress and confusion. The children develop their attachments and flourish in the nurturing environment provided, becoming confident boys and girls.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children's health needs are identified in their health care plans; they are all registered with doctors, dentists and opticians ensuring that these needs are addressed. The children are provided with healthy nutritious meals and mealtimes are a social occasion. Children are encouraged to develop their skills, for example some children on admission had limited gross motor skills. With support they have developed these skills and able to fully participate in activities they were previously told that would never be able to do. This promotes their well-being extremely well.

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Outcomes for children and young people

All the children have excellent school attendance, teachers report that they are doing well at school and have made excellent progress.

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Outcomes for children and young people

The children's home is very much part of the local community. For example, the home sponsors two planters in the village and the children have the responsibility of maintaining these. They are planning with the village to be part of the 2012 Olympic celebrations. They attend the local Brownies and Beaver clubs, use the local library and some children have friends in the village. They have adopted two dogs from the dog trust and have an ongoing fundraising event to raise monies to buy mosquito nets for a charity. This helps the children to become socially responsible people.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children's contact with significant others is clearly set out in their care plans. Staff have good awareness of how contact with families can impact on some children and are sensitive to ensure that children receive appropriate support.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Children benefit from the warm and nurturing relationships with the staff; they say that they feel the staff care about them. Staff are positive role models speaking to one another with respect which is emulated by the children. The children are extremely well behaved being polite to staff and visitors in a relaxed and natural way. This is a happy home, there are numerous pictures around the home depicting fun times.

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Quality of care

Children are encouraged to have their say in how the home is run. Although, due to the age of the children they do not hold residents meetings they have a 'bright ideas' post box where child can put forward an idea. Each idea is discussed with the individual with many of them being taken on board. Children are very positive about this process as each month the 'bright idea' with the response is displayed on the notice board. This ensures that children have an understanding of how decisions are made even if the 'bright idea' is not implemented. For example, one 'bright idea' was to have the older children sit on one table at mealtimes and the younger ones on a separate one. It was explained that staff felt it is important for the older ones to sit with the younger ones to set a good example.

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Quality of care

Children are very clear about how to make a complaint if they are not happy; they are confident that they would be listened to. The children have access to a children's rights organisation who may act as an advocate if necessary ensuring children's views are heard.

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Quality of care

Children's care plans are in excellent detail, clearly setting out how they are to be cared for. Regular ‘care around the child’ meetings are held with all professionals that are involved with the child. All decisions affecting the care and plans for the child are discussed to ensure that plans are consistent with every body in agreement. This ensures the assessed needs of the child are addressed promoting their welfare.

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Quality of care

Children benefit from the involvement of a number of services that help to meet their needs. In particular, an individual from the CAMHS team works closely with the staff. They are involved in drawing up the behaviour management plans and are readily on hand to support staff in managing some of the very complex behaviours that some children present. Some children have intensive therapeutic input including play therapy. Other services accessed include the looked after children’s nurse. An organisation involved with children who have been abused works with the children on stranger danger and positive friendships. This work is delivered to the children in a child-centred way, ensuring the children are able to safeguard themselves.

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Quality of care

Children are well supported with their education. Excellent routines are in place whereby after school they do a 20 minute homework session to promote their educational attainment. The education department employs an individual who has a weekly session at the home to support the children with their homework. Children are involved in a spelling challenge with the champion speller being awarded a cup. This promotes literacy skills for all the children.

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Quality of care

Children enjoy a range of activities, for example, all learn to swim, a number of them go to Brownies or Beavers; some have trumpet lessons. All the children are encouraged to participate in after school activities and some have friends with whom they have sleepovers. Although on first sight the home appears rather institutional, the space allows for children to be involved in a vast range of activities. Inside the home there is a large lounge and dining area where they can watch TV, play board games, access books. The separate art and craft room encourages them to colour, paint, play with modelling materials There is an extensive outside area with outdoor play equipment as well as an area for ball games or bicycles. They also have two pet rabbits that the children look after. The children participate in horticultural activities growing soft fruit and vegetables as well as maintaining the planters they have

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Quality of care

adopted in the village. The children enjoyed holidays in Scotland and Wales over the summer. These children lead busy fulfilling lives which promotes their well-being. Bedrooms are highly personalised and staff take pride in the home ensuring the children live in a homely environment. Children's care plans are highly individualised; each child is discussed at team meetings and their 24-hour management plan is formulated to ensure all staff offer a consistent approach to their care. Children are encouraged to follow their religion and staff will take them to Mass. The staff reflect the ethnicity of the city near where the home is situated and there is a good gender balance which offers good role models for the children.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is outstanding at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

These vulnerable children, some who have been involved in serious child protection concerns, are safeguarded by having robust systems and routines in place ensuring staffs vigilance in supervising the children at all times.

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Safeguarding children and young people

All the children say that they feel safe in the home; ongoing anti-bullying projects are held to raise the children's awareness to enable them to talk about this issue.

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Safeguarding children and young people

None of the children leave the home without consent, however, children are talked to about stranger danger to enable them to keep safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The majority of the children were admitted to the home presenting some extremely challenging behaviours, resulting in a number of placement breakdowns which has a detrimental effect on their well-being. Children very quickly respond to the firm boundaries and skills of the staff team who work very closely with the CAMHS team to help the children manage their own behaviour. Although there are a large number of restraints recorded these are gentle holds that enable the children to regain control; again these are discussed with the CAMHS worker to ensure that children are cared for safely. Each child has a positive handling plan identifying triggers to behaviours with strategies identified to manage these behaviours.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Children are protected by the authorities robust recruitment procedures ensuring only suitable people are employed in the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Risk assessments are in place for each child, the premises and activities identifying the potential hazard with strategies in place to minimise the risk. Even the youngest children were able to explain what to do when the fire bell was sounded, ensuring their safety in the event of a fire.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are outstanding .

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Leadership and management

This is an exceptionally well-managed home. All staff are clear on the home’s ethos, ensuring children are cared for by an enthusiastic professional staff team where children flourish. The home continues to strive to improve the service offered to the children. A development plan has been produced identifying areas to improve the outcomes for the children. For example, these include maintaining and developing existing partnerships with CAMHS; developing working and supportive relationships with all schools attended by children; and promoting staying safe techniques with children. There are clear strategies in place identifying how these are to be met with a six- monthly progress report setting out what work needs to be done.

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Leadership and management

The Statement of Purpose clearly identifies to interested parties what the home has to offer. A child-friendly guide informs children what they can expect when the come to live at the home.

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Leadership and management

There are robust monitoring systems in place. The Regulation 33 officer is a regular visitor to the home and is well known to the children. The restraint log is closely monitored with each restraint discussed at team meetings to ensure children are cared for by safe working practices.

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Leadership and management

Children are cared for by a sufficient number of resourceful, experienced and well- qualified staff. Staffing is arranged around the needs and of the children. In particular rotas are organised to ensure the same staff are rostered at night to put the children to bed and get them up in the morning. This is excellent practice and is a further example how well the children are cared for.

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Leadership and management

There are excellent training opportunities for staff, for example, relating to attachment, with staff also being trained as trainers on this topic. Other training opportunities include relating to control and restraint and eating disorders. A range of sessions are organised to help staff support children through bereavement, enuresis and encopresis and life story work. Staff also have access to e-learning, for example, child protection, equality and diversity, accident prevention, cultural awareness and early child development. This ensures children are cared for by knowledgeable staff who have a very good understanding of their complex needs.

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Leadership and management

Volunteer staff are supported and offer a different dimension to the children expanding the activities that they participate in.

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Leadership and management

Children's files contain a clear history of their lives and are easy to follow.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is outstanding .

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