Children's Home run by Birtenshaw in Bolton

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people live in a caring and supportive home. They settle quickly in a warm, nurturing environment. They form good relationships with a stable staff team, who provide opportunities for them to develop and progress and encourage them to make positive choices.  Staff work with young people, their families and professionals in a coordinated manner to ensure young people’s holistic needs are fully met. Consequently, young people make good progress in many aspects of their lives including managing their behaviour, education and preparation for independence.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff understand how each young person communicates and use nonverbal techniques such as pictures effectively, to gain young people’s views and help them have a say in the decisions affecting their lives.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 High staffing levels, and caring staff who understand young people’s risks and vulnerabilities, mean that the right action is taken to keep young people safe from harm.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Care practice is underpinned by good safeguarding procedures and well thought out risk management strategies. Challenging behaviour is patiently and effectively managed to young people to find improved ways of dealing with their anxieties and frustrations.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The manager promotes a child-centred approach and has high expectations of her staff team. She aspires to achieve the best outcomes for young people and demonstrates a strong commitment to the home’s development plans. This is evidenced in the progress the home has made since it was registered in January 2015.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The manager has a detailed understanding of the progress young people make in relation to their individual plans. These comprehensive plans address young people’s complex needs and experiences and are consistently put into practice.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff are well-supported and guided by a competent manager. They are suitably trained to ensure that they have the necessary skills to meet the existing and developing needs of the young people in the home.

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Information about this children's home

The home is part of a charitable organisation. It provides care and accommodation for up to three young people with learning disabilities and sensory impairment.

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good

This is the home’s first inspection since it was registered in January 2015. The home environment is warm, welcoming and well-equipped and is personalised throughout with photographs of the young people who live there. Staff support and encourage young people to choose the décor for their bedrooms, making it homely and to their own taste. This promotes a sense of belonging and helps them to settle into the home.

p.5

good

Young people are making good progress from their starting points in many aspects of their development. This is because staff know young people well and use individual behaviour management plans and rewards effectively. This helps to improve young people’s behaviour and to strengthen their emotional and psychological well-being. Staff are notably patient in helping young people manage their frustrations, which has resulted in positive attachments and improved behaviour for most young people.

p.5

good

Young people benefit from detailed health assessments and are well supported in accessing routine and specialist healthcare services. Staff follow robust procedures for the administration and recording of medication. They know when young people need urgent medical assistance and stay with them if they need to remain in hospital. A social worker said: ‘X has recently been poorly and the staff have worked hard to ensure his ailments have been attended to and have kept his health and wellbeing at the centre of their practice.’ Admission procedures are well-planned and the manager works with families and placing authorities to ensure a successful transition. She has developed a book for young people to read prior to their admission, which helps familiarisation with the home and staff. This has been effective in helping young people settle into their home and to make positive relationships with staff and other young people living

p.5

good

there. A social worker commented: ‘The staff worked closely with parents, social worker and school to ensure the transition for X was as smooth as possible. They attended meetings and sought information regarding X and have managed the transition successfully and professionally.’ Staff have high aspirations for young people and value their education. They work closely with education staff and communication between the two disciplines is effective. They regularly discuss strategies and approaches, which help develop consistent responses to meeting young people’s educational needs and managing their behaviour. This was confirmed by education staff who said, ‘the manager and staff work on AQA units to support X’s interests in school and communicate with us to ensure consistency of care. X has excelled since moving to the home and he has handled a transition to the 6 th form which I didn’t think possible earlier in the year.’

p.5

good

Young people are provided with good opportunities to develop basic life skills and increase their levels of independence. They learn a variety of life skills including, cleaning, cooking and self-care. The nature of the young people’s complex needs means that they will continue to require a great deal of support throughout their lives. However, staff are dedicated to supporting and encouraging young people to gain skills which will assist them in their long term placements. A social worker commented: ‘X is making good progress in terms of the life skills he is gaining which are accredited and will maximise his independence skills and reach his full potential.’ Young people have carefully assessed,well supported and meaningful contact with their families. Staff work in a coordinated way with young people and their families to foster and encourage positive relationships and overcome the barriers to contact. They help parents understand their child’s behaviour and develop ways of

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good

managing this effectively. One parent said: ‘We are so grateful to the staff for all they do for X. We visit and take him out every weekend and he is obviously happy at the home.’

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good

Young people’s known vulnerabilities are considered and planned prior to their admission to the home. Relevant information is gathered about behavioural triggers from young people’s families and professionals. This information is used to formulate risk and behaviour management strategies and provide the right procedures to reduce young people’s levels of anxiety and challenging behaviour.

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good

Staff have an excellent knowledge of young people. They promote positive behaviour and use well thought out strategies to reduce negative behaviour. They talk to young people about how to manage their emotions and work hard to provide them with appropriate levels of support and a calm environment. Young people are aware that staff will use physical restraint to keep them safe because this is made clear in the children’s guide. Records confirm that on the sixteen occasions when restraint has been used, it has been used appropriately, for the minimum amount of time, to keep young people safe. Following each incident staff talk to young people to ensure they have the opportunity to reflect and understand their experiences, and raise any concerns they may have. All incidents are scrutinised by the manager to ensure the actions taken by staff are appropriate and in the best interests of young people.

p.6

good

Staff are effective in their care of a highly vulnerable group of young people. High staffing levels and their good understanding of each young person’s known risks and vulnerabilities ensure they are safe. Risk assessments are clear for staff to follow and identify young people’s individual known risks and are regularly updated when these needs change.

p.7

good

The home has effective links with the Local Safeguarding Children Board and the local authority where the home is located. Staff work in partnership with specialist agencies such as Greater Manchester Abuse Protection (G-map). This work is effective and behaviour of concern has not been noted since the young person came to live in the home.

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good

Staff keep young people safe because of the high levels of staff in the home. There are no young people living there who are at risk of sexual exploitation and they do not go missing from the home. Staff have a good awareness of the signs of sexual exploitation and will follow the organisation’s missing from home policies and procedures and liaise with safeguarding agencies if this becomes necessary.

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good

The Registered Manager is suitably experienced and qualified and has been in post since the home was registered in January 2015. The manager is child-focused and proactive in prioritising the needs of young people in the home. Her knowledge of the young people is excellent and she motivates her staff to provide high quality care.

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good

The home is well resourced with sufficient staff on duty to ensure young people’s individual needs are met. The staff team is stable and consistent which is important for the young people living in the home who rely on a strict routine. The home delivers the services and support which is outlined in the Statement of Purpose. This is regularly reviewed to ensure the needs of young people are consistently and safely met.

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good

The manager works hard to develop and maintain professional relationships with a variety of external services. This helps promote a multi-disciplinary approach to meeting young people’s needs. These links are also used to provide staff with information, training and support to meet young people’s needs, as well as providing direct support for young people. This has proved effective in helping young people make positive progress in terms of their individual goals including keeping themselves safe from harm. Care plans are highly individual and comprehensively reflect young people’s needs and experiences. The Registered Manager regularly monitors the quality of care provided in the home. She routinely learns from observation of staff practice and seeks regular feedback from young people with a view to improving their care experiences. She maintains good oversight of young people’s plans and ensures they are achievable and consistently put into practice by staff.

p.7

good

The Registered Manager and staff work proactively with other agencies and professionals. They have positive relationships with parents and placing social workers to secure good outcomes for young people. They work effectively with education staff, independent reviewing officers and healthcare agencies. This collaborative working supports young people to develop in all aspects of their care.

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good

Young people benefit from being cared for by well-trained staff who have a good understanding of how to meet their needs, including those associated with their complexities. All staff complete mandatory training, which is complemented by needs specific training such as understanding autism. These training opportunities ensure staff are well equipped to meet the diverse range of needs of the young people.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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