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

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has declined in effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the previous inspection, the registered manager and service manager have both retired. During the period of the registered manager leaving in June 2015 and the current manager being appointed in October 2015, the home was overseen by the service manager. The new manager is intending to apply for registration. He has previously been registered and has many years experience in providing residential care to young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Progress for young people at the home is variable and for some there is little or no engagement with staff. Those that do take up the opportunities offered, continue to make progress in education and value the advice and time that they receive from staff. One young person commented, ‘I missed a lot of school. But I realise I’m not going to get anywhere in life without education.’ One young person who has not attended school for some time, is now enthused with the prospect of returning back to her former school. Some young people however struggle to engage at all with education or training and some who do attend are consistently late.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Routines for the minority of young people are well established and they appreciate the trusting relationships that staff offer. One young person said of the staff, ‘I like them and can discuss anything. I feel safe here and like it here. I see this as my home.’ Another, commenting about the relationship with her keyworker said, ‘I like her. She is bubbly and easy to talk to and I get on well with her and she listens and gives me advice.’ For others however, there is minimal engagement with staff and they spend long periods away from the home with their whereabouts being unknown. For some of these young people, drug use is a persistent feature of their lives, and intervention work that has been offered has not been successful. This has detrimental implications for their emotional and physical health. Staff do not offer consistent challenge to young people as to their whereabouts or, the expectations to remain in contact and share information about their associates.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the previous inspection, seven requirements and two recommendations were made. Some of these requirements have been met, such as relationships between staff and young people have improved. One young person commented, ‘It was really unsettled before. No one went to school, everyone was taking drugs. Loads of havoc. It is now a lot calmer. Young people now get on better with staff.’ Another young person said, ‘Since X (the manager) came here it has got better and more positive. He has changed how things work and we communicate better with staff. Staff spend more time with us and he has changed things so we can go on more activities. We feel listened to.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has also been redecorated and young people’s bedrooms now reflect their tastes and interests. There has been new furniture, carpeting and facilities such as a new television and Xbox. Young people appreciate these changes and comment on how much this has improved the feel of the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

As a result of these changes, incidents of missing from home have reduced. One young person commented, ‘I used to go missing quite a lot. I was high risk. But I’ve stopped hanging around the same people.’ Although these incidents have reduced, the amount of time some young people spend away from the home is significant. During this time, their propensity to use drugs continues and their associates remain of concern. As a result, individual care plans require reviewing and consideration offered as to whether further services and interventions are required.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

One requirement relating to risk assessments has only partially been met. Since the previous inspection, paperwork relating to risk has been streamlined and amalgamated. However, assessments relating to the risk of missing from home are poorly completed with insufficient detail, which redirect staff to other documents. These other documents however are not regularly updated with intelligence or known contacts. This reduces their effectiveness and could be confusing to staff who are not as familiar with the young people.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A further requirement relating to young people’s identity needs has also been addressed. Their religious and cultural needs are now met and they feel that staff respect their individual backgrounds. Concerns relating to fire safety, resulting in a requirement have been addressed through specialised door-release mechanisms. The manager has developed young people’s guides to this aspect of safety. In addition, a requirement relating to the locality risk assessment has also been completed.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A requirement relating to management systems to review the quality of care provided remains weak. There is no established process to gather stakeholders or young people’s views about the quality of care. The most recent management review of quality of care report was not submitted in a timely manner and contained inaccuracies.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager feels that he needs to audit documents on a regular basis in order to work with staff on improving records and addressing their lack of challenge to young people. Although considered a priority in order to drive up standards, this level of oversight consumes time taken from other management tasks. Other restrictions upon the current manager also include delayed training in the electronic recording system and, having no access to a working computer for a prolonged period of time.

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Information about this children's home

This home is owned and run by a local authority. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to eight children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

04/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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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 (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

12 The protection of children standard (2) In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to assessments being robust and thorough in their consideration of missing from home incidents and effective liaison with other agencies when young people are involved in exploitative relationships, the registered person must ensure (a) that staff- (i) 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; (vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare. 30/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating - the feedback and opinions of children about the children's home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it: and any actions the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (2)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45(4)(a)) 30/06/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is any other serious incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 31/03/2016

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Requirement Due date

8: The education standard (2)In order to meet the education standard, with particular reference to staff having knowledge and skills to understand each child's education and training targets and their next steps for 31/05/2016 learning, the registered person must ensure – (a) that staff- (iii) understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help each child to overcome any such barriers; (iv) help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment

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Requirement Due date

11 The positive relationships standard (2) In order to meet the positive relationship standard, with particular reference to some young people's lack of engagement with staff and services and the time spent away from the home, the registered person to ensure – (a) that staff: (v) Communicate to each child expectations about behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child's age and understanding; (vi) help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child's age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful; (Vii) help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship 30/04/2016

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure staff, 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 (Regulation 5(c)). 30/04/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role they play in training and development of staff in the home. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 53 paragraph 10.11) In particular, that managers should access in a timely way training on internal electronic record keeping and other essential training to assist smooth induction.

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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

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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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