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

Unique reference number SC063978 Inspection date 21/01/2014 Inspector Angela Whiteley Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 19/09/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This local authority children's home provides care and accommodation for eight young people who may be experiencing a range of social, emotional and behavioural problems.

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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 satisfactory progress .

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Progress

At the last full inspection in September 2013 the overall judgement on the home was adequate. Since then, the service has maintained the quality of care and outcomes for young people. Three requirements and two recommendations were made at the last inspection. A further requirement was made during an investigation visit in December 2013. The Registered Manager has made satisfactory progress in addressing all these issues.

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Progress

The home has appointed a permanent Registered Manager and has had approval to recruit to the existing vacancies. A committed and highly qualified staff team provide good quality care for young people. Recently some staff were deployed from another children’s home to cover staff absence in order to provide some stability for the young people at this home. This was an effective short-term measure and allowed young people to settle in their placement. Staff rotas have been reviewed to ensure young people’s current and emerging needs continue to be met by the staff team. New staff rotas will be implemented from February 2014. Staff provide personalised and well-planned care through detailed risk assessments and care plans to meet young people’s individual needs. Documents are reviewed regularly to keep young people safe in a supportive environment. However, young people’s pathway plans are not up to date and personal education plans for young

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Progress

people who have completed their statutory education are not on file. This hinders their understanding of their care journey and means they are unsure about what progress they are making. They are unable to contribute fully to their reviews as the placing authority has not shared the relevant documents with the home. The Registered Manager is addressing this issue with the placing authority. Young people confirm they feel safe in this home and have good relationships with staff.

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Progress

There is a strong commitment to staff training and development within the home. Staff have access to regular training opportunities and routinely undertake refresher training. The Registered Manager is arranging specialised training on child sexual exploitation and sexual health matters to improve the skills, knowledge and understanding of staff and promote and protect young people’s welfare. Additionally annual appraisals are planned for completion by April 2014.

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Progress

The Statement of Purpose is a working document which the organisation has recently reviewed to provide up-to-date staffing details. A further review of the document is due to take place to ensure it contains accurate information in respect of the current staff team. A review of the children’s guide has taken place ensuring it includes all the relevant information that young people need. There is also a guide that contains photographs of the staff team.

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Progress

Since the last inspection the home has made progress in other areas which have had a positive impact on young people. For example, some young people have benefited from improved contact arrangements, better engagement with education and more positive engagement with the home and the staff. Young people’s views and wishes are consistently gathered by staff; these have been used to influence the home’s operation. In particular, young people have been influential in establishing new house rules and behaviour management incentives. Young people are learning to take some responsibility for their behaviours. As a result, incidents requiring sanctions have reduced and physical restraint is rarely used. The historic practice of turning off electricity in young people’s bedrooms at night as part of their bedtime routine has ceased. However, it continues to be used as a measure of control during school hours when some young people refuse to attend education. The Registered

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Progress

Manager is addressing this matter immediately with staff and in future alternative behaviour management strategies will be used. The home has recently been redecorated following extensive damage by young people. Young people were involved in choosing paint colours and furnishings. The home now provides a clean, comfortable and homely environment that young people are proud of.

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Progress

The staff have developed strong links with external agencies. They have a proactive working relationship with the police and other professionals who offer effective support to young people who become involved in risk-taking behaviours. As a consequence, missing from home incidents and anti-social behaviour have reduced significantly. The Registered Manager is taking an organised and proactive approach to managing the home. This ensures young people are protected through a number of measures, including risk assessments, regular monitoring and frequent communication with a range of statutory and other agencies. Any area of weakness identified are dealt with promptly by the Registered Manager, which ensures the standards within the home are continuing to improve.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that no measure of control which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) is used at any time on children accommodated in the home. In particular, avoid punishing the rest of the group for the behaviour of an individual child, for example by switching off the electricity in all of the bedrooms during school hours (Regulation 17(1)) 11/02/2014

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure a personal education plan (PEP) is maintained for all young people above school age (Children Act 1989, Guidance and Regulations, Volume 5: Children’s Homes, paragraph 2.126)  ensure there is an up-to-date pathway plan in place for 'eligible' care leavers and that the home works collaboratively with the young person's social worker in implementing the plan (NMS 12.2)  ensure young people understand, within their level of understanding, the purpose and content of their plan and the reasoning behind any decisions about their care. (NMS 25.1)

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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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