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

Unique reference number SC065552 Inspection date 08/01/2014 Inspector Paul Scott Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 26/07/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This children's home is run by a local authority. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to 8 young people of either gender between the ages of 8 years and 14 years. The home provides support for young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

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Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making good progress .

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Progress

At the last inspection in July 2013, the overall effectiveness of the home was judged to be outstanding. Since that time the home has made good progress.

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Progress

Young people continue to be cared for by a competent and committed team of staff who are well trained and have an excellent understanding of their needs. All young people speak very positively about living at the home and say they feel safe and well-cared for. Staff are strong advocates for young people and work exceptionally hard to ensure they get the services and support they require. For example, the manager regularly attends the local authority fostering meetings. This ensures the fostering needs of young people living at the home are routinely considered and work in finding suitable placements for young people with very complex needs is proactive.

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Progress

There have been some changes to the young people living at the home since the last inspection. Staff have worked collaboratively with families and professionals to enable one young person to go live with their family in America and another to return home to live with their grandparents. Admissions have been sensitively managed to ensure the needs of young people already living at the home are not significantly affected when a new young person arrives. Staff are good at establishing positive relationships with young people and help them to settle quickly into the routines, structures and boundaries of the home. As a result, young people find stability, often in the midst of chaos, and begin to engage positively in achieving their individual targets and goals.

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Progress

The majority of young people attend school every day and make good progress relative to their individual needs and circumstances. Staff are genuinely interested in young people’s education and regularly attend parents evening, meetings and proudly celebrate young people's academic achievements. One staff member spoke proudly about one young person who recently received a looked after children education award for improvements in education. Staff work closely with teachers to promote consistent support for young people. For example, when young people are struggling, staff will liaise with education staff and help them identify appropriate support strategies. This is proving effective in ensuring the barriers to participation are overcome, enabling young people to remain in school rather than face exclusion.

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Progress

The home continues to be managed effectively and in the best interest of young people. Managers and staff demonstrate a strong commitment to maintaining an outstanding quality of care that is conducive to helping young people achieve their full potential. Highly effective monitoring systems are used to routinely scrutinise care planning, care practice and young people's development and progress. Shortfalls are identified and expediently addressed. Good progress has been made in addressing the two recommendations from the last inspection. Staff have, or are in the process of, completing training in working with young people who display sexualised behaviour. This means staff are better informed and able to provide emotional support to help young people understand and modify their behaviour. Following restraint, young people's views are routinely sought by a person who is not involved in the incident. This ensures young people have the opportunity to raise

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Progress

concern or complaint following all restraints. These actions further improve the quality of care for young people.

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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 progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection.

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