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

Inspection report children’s home: SC063978 1 SC063978 Registered provider: City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by the local authority. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for six children or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC063978 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young people have strong relationships with the staff and this enables them to feel safer.  The young people benefit greatly from an individualised and nurturing care approach that has a clear focus and includes monitoring of their progress.  Risk-taking behaviour reduces over time due to the clear rules and boundaries that are consistently provided for the young people.  The young people receive dependable care from a stable and experienced staff team.  The staff work extensively with other agencies and professionals to provide good care and support for the young people.  Thorough monitoring of the service assists in maintaining good-quality care for the young people.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young people’s pathway plans are not kept up to date with specific details of the plans for their future.  All serious incidents, including those where the police are called, should be reported to Ofsted in line with the regulations.  The environment should be kept in good condition throughout.  All of the staff should receive formal supervision regularly.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/11/2016 Full Good 02/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/07/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC063978 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The 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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who –

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aim and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; and use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to –

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purpose of the home are designed and furnished so as to –

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of the child; and enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, repair and/or replace the lounge settee, dining-room curtains and the shower. 02/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if –

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; or there is any other incident relating to a child, which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 40(4)(b) and (e)) 02/12/2017

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Recommendations

Inspection report children’s home: SC063978 4  As well as long-term support for children to move on from the home effectively (regulation 6(2)(b)(vi)), the home has an important role in supporting each child leaving the home in the period immediately before their departure. The registered person should work with the placing authority to ensure that each child’s transition is planned and help each child to prepare for leaving both practically and emotionally (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.9). In particular, make sure the pathway/transition plans are up to date and include details of the independence skills, accommodation and future support required and the timescales to achieve.  The registered person is responsible for leading a team which provides a high quality of care for all children living in the home. They must lead and manage the

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Recommendations

home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4). In particular, ensure that all staff receive formal supervision consistently at regular intervals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people’s comments included: ‘It’s good here, the staff care about us’; and, ‘I’ve had my ups and downs, but I’m doing well now’; and, ‘I get on with all staff and my key worker. The manager is good.’ This reveals that the young people feel well cared for, and are able to establish positive and trusting relationships with the staff who care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people benefit greatly from an individualised and nurturing care approach. The ethos ensures that the young people are involved in decision- making that forms part of everyday life in the home. For example, they make decisions about their meals, weekly activities and appointments alongside the staff, influencing how they are to be cared for now and in the future. This happens naturally through daily discussions and young people’s meetings, including outcome star meetings, and through young people attending their own statutory reviews. Young people receive consistent daily care routines that help them to feel cared for, safe and secure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people receive routine health checks, including having access to professionals to support their emotional well-being. They take part in regularly planning a well-balanced diet. This promotes a healthy lifestyle for young people and improves their long-term health and well-being. However, some young people continue to smoke cigarettes and, in recent months, a few young people have participated in taking illegal substances. The staff have taken prompt action to make the young people aware of the dangers of participating in such activities, and have involved specialist agencies to provide additional support. This is starting to Inspection report children’s home: SC063978 5 have a positive effect, with a reduction in the frequency of these incidents, which will improve the young people’s health outcomes further.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work tirelessly in order to engage the young people in education and to enable them to understand the importance of education. To achieve this, staff have worked closely with education professionals to provide guidance and support to help the young people to manage their emotions. This in turn enables each young person to adhere to rules and boundaries that support them in education settings. Consequently, the young people improve or sustain their school attendance. This will increase their opportunities to access training and/or employment going forward into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people plan how they wish to spend their time on social and leisure activities with the encouragement and support of the staff. Going to the cinema, swimming, playing pool or spending time with friends are activities that they regularly enjoy. A young person said: ‘I had a great holiday this summer’, and, ‘I’m going away to Bosnia with school and can’t wait.’ This enables the young people to develop good social skills and friendships and increase their life experiences, which builds self-esteem and confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people gain valuable independence skills. These include undertaking chores and learning how to cook. This provides them with age-appropriate and essential self-care skills that prepare them for adulthood. However, the young people’s formal pathway plans are not up to date, and do not include all of the relevant information.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people enjoy regular contact with those who are important to them. The staff support the young people to rebuild and maintain strong and positive relationships with family members and friends. This ensures that the young people have a strong sense of identity and a feeling of belonging, and maintain important support networks.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The staff understand the vulnerabilities and specific risks that relate to each of the young people in their care. The staff quickly implement and undertake a review of individual strategies, clear rules and structured boundaries. The young people respond well to the methods used, which include the frequent use of de-escalation techniques, talking to young people and listening to them. As a result, physical restraints and sanctions are rare occurrences. In addition, having a strong restorative approach to dealing with the young people’s negative behaviour brings positive outcomes.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The good and consistent support that the young people receive from the staff aids the reduction in their anxieties and gives them the ability to manage their own behaviour more positively. Young people say there is no bullying in the home. This Inspection report children’s home: SC063978 6 results in the frequency and intensity of their challenging and risk-taking behaviours reducing over time. There have been no incidents of child sexual exploitation and missing-from-home incidents remain low in number. This keeps young people safer. A young person said: ‘I feel safe. Staff look after us all.’

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The young people live in a comfortable and, overall, well-maintained environment that is safe because fire, medication and health and safety checks are regularly undertaken. However, deficits have been found that require attention. These include a damaged settee, missing dining-room curtains and a broken shower. These detract from an attractively decorated and furnished home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been registered for this service since May 2017. She has a wealth of experience in working with children and young people, and holds a level 4 diploma qualification in management. Currently she is undertaking the level 5 diploma in leadership and management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The young people benefit from being cared for by a committed, stable and experienced staff team. The staff say that they receive good support from the manager and the senior team, with regular staff meetings and daily shift handovers. However, staff are not all routinely receiving regular formal supervision. This could negatively affect their ability to provide consistent care for the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work extensively with other agencies and professionals. These include social workers, mental health workers, the police, the looked after children’s nurse and the missing persons coordinator. This close partnership working allows the staff to improve the outcomes for the young people in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The thorough monitoring systems include the external monthly independent visitor’s report and internal auditing. This supports the continual development of, and improvement in, the quality of care provided. However, one omission is noted. A serious incident has not been reported to Ofsted, as required by the regulations.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. 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 Inspection report children’s home: SC063978 7 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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’. Inspection report children’s home: SC063978 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: City of Bradford District Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: City Hall, Centenary Square, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD1 1HY

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Inspector

Debbie Foster: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC063978 9 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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