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

Unique reference number SC061005 Inspector Parveen Hussain Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

p.1

Registered person City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council Registered person address City Hall Centenary Square BRADFORD West Yorkshire BD1 1HY Responsible individual Julie Jenkins Registered manager Gillian Ann Martin Date of last inspection 28/05/2014 2 of 7 Inspection date 21/01/2015

p.1

Previous inspection good Enforcement action since last inspection none

p.2

This inspection

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

p.2

This inspection

The last full inspection in May 2014 identified the home as a good service. No requirements were made but three recommendations were raised. One has been addressed; this related to the need for learning and development plans being annually evaluated. The other two have only been partially met. These relate to the home being comfortable and well maintained and staff promoting the wellbeing of children, in particular around their smoking.

p.2

This inspection

The overall ability of the home to improve the quality of care and outcomes for young people has declined since the last inspection.

p.2

This inspection

Some admissions to the home are progressed without the Registered Manager’s approval and without any suitable matching taking place. These have negatively impacted on the Registered Manager and team’s ability to safeguard young people. The Registered Manager has made several attempts to challenge these decisions however these have not always been successful.

p.2

This inspection

Young people report they are not happy living here. This is reflected through some young people spending most of their time at home in their bedroom. Others report they engage in risk taking behaviours and that they do not always feel safe.

p.2

This inspection

An example of this is when a young person disclosed being assaulted by a co-resident but staff did not intervene to help. The young person later raised the issue again with another staff member who made a record of the discussion. However safeguarding procedures were not followed and there is no record of action taken to formally investigate the allegation. This compromises young people’s safety and exposes them to further harm.

p.2

This inspection

Some young people are abusive, challenging and threatening towards staff. This is 3 of 7 not always effectively addressed. Young people smoke in their bedrooms, bathrooms and onsite despite the rules of the home not permitting this. Staff are not adequately managing such situations.

p.2

This inspection

Young people say there is a lack of fair and effective challenge of individuals. For example, some young people do not clean the kitchen following making a meal. This often results in the kitchen door being locked and access being prevented to all young people. On other occasions the bathrooms are left unclean. This means some young people have to tidy up prior to using them. This leaves some young people feeling unfairly treated as a result of the behaviour of others.

p.3

This inspection

Some young people continue to engage in risk taking behaviours and say they regularly go missing from the home. Missing from home records indicate young people are often associating with older and unsafe people.

p.3

This inspection

Staff appropriately adhere to the missing from care protocols and record factual details. However, there are shortfalls with implementing return home interviews. These are not consistently carried out although some are undertaken by the police.

p.3

This inspection

The manager’s monitoring of records is not sufficiently robust to identify patterns of poor practice. Records do not effectively reflect matters of concern. Risk assessments are not always detailed and accurate. Some records are not specific to named individuals and refer to other young people. This means young people are not provided with an accurate account of their care.

p.3

This inspection

Supervision is not delivered in a timely way. The lack of formal support impacts on the staff teams ability to effectively undertake their duties and manage the challenging behaviours of young people. As a result, young people’s safety and welfare is not prioritised and the support needs of staff are not met.

p.3

This inspection

Despite these concerns being identified in the independent visitors monitoring report, they have not been addressed by the Registered Manager. This raises questions about the reliability and robustness of the homes systems for monitoring the quality of care and outcomes for young people.

p.3

This inspection

The home does not offer a warm, homely and well maintained environment for young people. Following repair work to the walls a more recent coat of paint has been applied. It is clear this does not match the original shade. Some bedrooms require decorating and new carpets. One young person stated the carpet was ordered prior to their admission several months ago. One bedroom has a desk but no chair; the young person reports having to sit on the floor to do homework.

p.3

This inspection

The home has reviewed its staffing levels. It has increased the numbers of carers to promote one-to-one care for some young people in accordance with their individual needs. The Registered Manager takes action to pursue additional support for young people and keenly ensures that discharge and transition planning takes place. She 4 of 7 visits potential placements to ensure young people are placed with carers that are able to meet their assessed needs.

p.3

This inspection

Young people’s views are sought and they are afforded choices relating to their hobbies and interests. This is reflected through their participation in activities and sports. One young person has commenced training in mixed martial arts, others enjoy playing rugby, going to the gym, attending youth clubs and going swimming. This enables young people to experience new opportunities and benefit from taking part in positive activities with their peers.

p.4

This inspection

Young people continue to develop healthy lifestyles by eating a good diet and taking regular exercise. Some young people are making good progress at school and receive extra support to help them meet their potential. However, outcomes are mixed as some young people do not embrace the support available to them therefore do not achieve as well as expected. 5 of 7

p.4

Information about this children’s home

This children's home is owned by a local authority and provides accommodation for up to eight young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

p.5

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/05/2014 Full good 14/01/2014 Interim satisfactory progress 11/09/2013 Full good 24/01/2013 Interim good progress

p.5

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.

p.5

Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) make proper provision for the welfare of children accommodated there with particular attention being given to admissions, matching and the impact on others already accommodated at the home (Regulation 11 (1)(a)) 13/02/2015

p.5

Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure the prompt referral to the local authority of any allegations of abuse or neglect affecting any child living at the home (Regulation 16 (2) (b)) 13/02/2015

p.5

Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure written records are kept of any allegation of abuse or neglect and of the action taken in response (Regulation 16 (2)(d)) 13/02/2015

p.5

Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure consideration is given to the measures which may be necessary to protect children in the home following allegations of abuse or neglect (Regulation 16 (2)(e)) 13/02/2015

p.5

Reg. Requirement Due date

17 ensure no unreasonable measures shall be used 13/02/2015 6 of 7 (2001) which involve the punishment of a group of children for the behaviours of individuals (Regulation 17 (2)(j)(ii))

p.5

Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that all persons employed shall receive appropriate training, supervision and appraisal (Regulation 27 (4)(a)) 13/02/2015

p.6

Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that all parts of the children's home used by children are kept clean, reasonably decorated and maintained (Regulation 31 (2)(e)) 13/02/2015

p.6

Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) establish and maintain a system for improving the quality of care provided in the children's home with specific oversight on records and supervisions (Regulation 34 (1)(b)) 13/02/2015

p.6

Recommendations

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

p.6

Recommendations

 ensure written records are kept when a child goes missing detail action taken by staff, the circumstances of the return, reasons given by the child for running away and any actions taken in light of those reasons. This is with specific reference to return home interviews (NMS 5.10) Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

p.6

Recommendations

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.

p.7

What inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspections 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.

p.7

Information 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.

p.7

Information 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 framework of inspection for children's homes.

p.7