Children's Home run by Birtenshaw in Bolton

Inspection report children’s home: SC484789 1 SC484789 Registered provider: Birtenshaw – company number 02978546

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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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 who have learning disabilities and/or a sensory impairment.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC484789 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is outstanding because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people have benefited significantly from stable and permanent placements, which enable them to make exceptional progress across all areas of their lives.  The manager and staff understand young people’s individual needs implicitly. They advocate for young people remarkably well and ensure that they receive the support and services that they require extremely quickly.  Parents and professionals are highly complimentary about the care and support that young people receive. In particular, extremely positive feedback was received with regard to transition arrangements for young people. One parent said, ‘The manager listened to me and did as I asked. It is absolutely marvellous. I can tell that [name of young person] really enjoyed spending time in the home. He was calm, relaxed and it went brilliantly. Everything is really positive. It could not have gone any better.’  Staff provide excellent day-to-day experiences. There is a strong emphasis on

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Key findings from this inspection

providing a wide range of fun and exciting activities. These fully engage young people and help them to thrive socially.  The manager supports staff tremendously well. She keeps staff up to date through regular team meetings and supervision. The manager ensures that staff access the relevant and bespoke training they need to ensure that they are well equipped to meet the individual needs of the young people.  Staff are managed exceptionally well by a passionate, dedicated and inspirational leader. She is extremely committed to ensuring that the home continually improves for the benefit of 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

 Some minor attention to one of the bedrooms and the kitchen is required to improve the living environment for young people.  Flexible support team staff, learning support assistants and agency workers who cover the shortfalls in staffing arrangements do not all hold the required childcare qualification. Inspection report children’s home: SC484789 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 26/07/2016 Full Outstanding 07/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 17/09/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC484789 4

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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, 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 registered person may only employ an individual to work at the children’s home if the individual has the appropriate qualifications and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. An individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualifications if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England). The relevant date is in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32(2)(3)(b)(4)(a)(5)(b)) 31/01/2018

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Recommendations

 Provide a homely environment. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9). In particular, ensure that the home is well maintained and decorated and that the stain on the ceiling in the kitchen and the ceiling in the young person’s bedroom are replastered and painted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people receive exceptional care and support, and are safe, happy and well cared for in this home. Young people flourish as they receive high levels of close care, support and supervision from the staff. This enables the young people to build positive and trusting relationships with the staff, who are acutely aware of each young person’s individual needs and areas of vulnerability. This dedicated care and support enables the young people to make exceptional progress in relation to their health, education and emotional, social and psychological well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The manager and staff are committed to working collaboratively with parents, placing authorities, specialist health advisers, the speech and language therapist and education Inspection report children’s home: SC484789 5 colleagues in care planning for young people. These positive and effective working relationships with parents and partner agencies ensure that young people consistently receive a high level of exceptional care and promptly receive the services that they require. Consequently, young people benefit greatly from improved health, education attainment and in their social and emotional development as a result of living in this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people make significant progress with their education as staff support them exceptionally well. The manager and staff are committed to supporting and enabling young people to grow and flourish and offer a wide range of opportunities and experiences to supplement their formal learning opportunities well. The manager and staff work effectively with young people, education staff and private providers to ensure that young people can increase their skills, abilities and confidence in line with the targets and goals identified within the education setting. The manager and staff understand young people’s education plans implicitly and they work hard to ensure that young people are given every opportunity to continue with their learning in school. An example of this is that in order to support one young person with their literacy target of creating a horror story, a trip to ‘Secret Stories’ at Tatton Park has been facilitated. This

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

enables and enhances young people’s experiences and opportunities and supports their ongoing progression. One headteacher validated this and wrote, ‘What an incredible year [name] has had… his confidence has grown and he is taking part in more whole-school activities, such as dance and drama with enthusiasm.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The health and well-being of young people are central priorities to the manager and staff. The manager ensures that there are clear, detailed and up-to-date healthcare plans available. These plans enable the staff to fully understand young people’s health needs so that these can be consistently met to a high standard. The manager is committed to further maintaining young people’s health and safety in the home as she ensures that the arrangements for the storage and recording of controlled medication are carried out consistently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The manager is passionate about keeping young people central to their care planning. The manager and staff ensure that young people’s wishes and views are valued, listened to and consistently acted upon. Staff support young people sensitively and give them the opportunity to identify the things that they would like to do and things that they would like to eat regularly. Young people feel at ease in identifying their hobbies and interests, likes and dislikes and the staff work hard to ensure that these preferences are acknowledged and carried out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Transition planning for young people is a real strength of the home. The manager is extremely committed to supporting young people exceptionally well during significant points in their lives. She and her team work tirelessly with young people, their families, social workers and other providers to ensure that young people move into and out of the home in an assessed and planned way. Regular meetings with other providers and social workers ensure that the manager has access to all the required information to support young people with the planned move. Regular visits to their new home and good information about their new home support young people in positive and successful Inspection report children’s home: SC484789 6 moves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff provide exceptional opportunities for young people to experience a wide range of interesting and age-appropriate community-based activities. These activities fully engage young people and help them to thrive socially. Young people are supported sensitively by staff to take part in activities and opportunities that they have been reluctant to do previously so that they can explore the world that they live in. Consequently, young people now take part in out-of-school activities with their peers, and enjoy holidays away from the home. This clearly demonstrates that young people’s complex needs do not hinder their opportunities and that young people benefit greatly from living in this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people’s all-round independence skills have increased. Staff focus their attention on supporting young people to develop and enhance their skills and abilities in line with their individual targets and goals. Young people progress as staff promote a variety of experiences that enhance social, emotional and physical development. These experiences are linked into Assessment and Qualifications Alliance Awards and enable the young people to not only gain lifelong skills but also further qualifications. These are important aspects of learning, which prepare and support young people to cope successfully with transition to adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home environment has improved and a new kitchen and bathroom have been fitted. Although the home provides young people with a safe place to relax and unwind, some areas of the home require attention. For example, the ceiling of a bedroom that has been identified for a new young person needs to be replastered and repainted and the stain, which is evident in the kitchen/dining room, requires attention. This will ensure that young people continue to be provided with a well-kept home.

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

The manager ensures that young people’s safety is given the highest priority. Risk assessments are detailed, insightful and individualised. The manager updates these regularly to reflect the complex and diverse needs of young people. Staff have a comprehensive understanding of the risks to individual young people associated with their disabilities, level of understanding and communication, and health conditions. They are vigilant in their supervision and observation, which significantly reduces known risks and potential hazards.

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

The manager ensures that young people receive safe and suitable care from their point of admission to the home. Risk assessments are completed prior to the young people staying overnight and cover all individual risks and vulnerabilities. These assessments inform staff of the risks that they must be aware of, and how they must respond in order to keep young people safe, both inside and outside the home. The manager ensures that staff are kept up to date with the most relevant information, as the risk assessments include online links to specific research-based practice. This excellent practice promotes the safety and well-being of young people in this home.

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

Physical interventions are only used as a last resort to safeguard young people and staff Inspection report children’s home: SC484789 7 when all other avenues have been explored. Staff understand young people’s needs and mannerisms and make good attempts to defuse any potential situations as they arise. When this is not possible, and young people need the support of staff to manage their emotional responses safely and appropriately, staff who are suitably trained respond well. The manager maintains effective oversight of any significant incident or physical intervention and provides young people and the staff with an opportunity to reflect on incidents using proven theories, such as Gibbs Reflective Cycle. This effective use of research-based practice enables young people and the staff to reflect on these events, so that more strategies that are appropriate can be adopted. Consequently, young people are better equipped to manage their feelings and behaviours and, consequently,

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

the use of physical interventions has reduced in this home.

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

Because of the complex and diverse needs of the young people in the home, young people receive a high level of close support and supervision by suitably trained staff who demonstrate a good understanding of their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. Staff take their safeguarding roles and responsibilities extremely seriously to ensure that the safety of young people is maintained at all times. The manager ensures that the staff are fully aware of the provider’s safeguarding policy; they use this quickly and effectively when young people share any worries and concerns with them. The manager ensures that all agencies, such as social workers, schools, the designated officer and Ofsted are informed when young people raise concerns about the professionals who work with them. This ensures that young people’s safety is given the highest priority and that they are kept safe, as the manager and staff follow all safeguarding procedures quickly and

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

Staff who have been recruited using safe recruitment practice provide fantastic care and support to young people. The manager makes good use of effective probation systems and supports staff well through their early employment. She undertakes regular supervision, offers a high level of support, and provides sufficient and bespoke training to meet the individual needs of each young person in the home. This ensures that young people receive exceptionally safe care and support from a committed, trained and supported staff team.

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

The home provides a safe living environment for young people. All necessary health and safety risk assessments are completed. Fire equipment and electrical and gas appliances in the home are checked for safety within the required timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

An experienced and aspirational manager, who has been registered with Ofsted since January 2015, leads the home effectively. The manager is suitably qualified. The management team works extremely effectively together to provide visible and confident leadership based on professional respect, autonomy, fairness and transparency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has successfully created a culture in which staff undeniably place the needs of young people at the heart of their practice. The manager demonstrates real care and ambition, and is passionate about young people achieving and doing well. The Inspection report children’s home: SC484789 8 manager invests in her team, and her enthusiasm and commitment have helped to inspire staff and shape the overall ethos of the service. This ensures that young people continue to benefit from positive and enjoyable experiences in this home and that they continue to progress exceptionally well in all areas of their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Young people are provided with a wealth of information about their stay at this home as the manager has prepared an ‘Information for young people’ guide. This detailed, colourful and pictorial guide ensures that young people are provided with a wealth of useful knowledge and information about what they can expect to receive from the manager and staff when they live at this home. The children’s guide is included in this information and explains to young people what they can expect and whom they can contact if they have any issues or worries. Pictures, photos and Picture Exchange Communication Systems are also used well within this document to alert and identify the people, such as the independent visitor, maintenance team, local police and the Ofsted inspector, who visit their home. This ensures that young people manage these visits safely and well as they are fully prepared and supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff demonstrate expertise in supporting young people who have learning disabilities. Staff make sure that young people receive an excellent level of good-quality personalised care. They know each young person very well and are extremely intuitive and attuned to their needs. They strive to understand young people’s views and staff take time to understand what young people are saying. They expertly support and encourage every young person, including those who do not communicate verbally, as they make good use of a range of aids that are child-friendly and visually attractive to assist communication. This enables young people to feel valued, listened to and involved in the decisions that affect their lives, so they remain central to their care planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is clearly aware of the strengths of her service and she is committed to making continuous improvements. She listens to, takes seriously and addresses promptly any issues or concerns as soon as these are highlighted. The manager learns from research-based practice, her monitoring and inspection activities, and she has a realistic and suitable development plan in place to promote and aid her with the continual improvements. The manager has recently strengthened and improved her monitoring systems. This, and the thorough external scrutiny that the independent person provides regularly, ensures that young people continue to receive an exceptional standard of care and support in this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff from the provider’s flexible support team and learning support assistants supplement the core staff team. These additional members bring extra skills and dimensions to the team, which are valued and acknowledged by the manager. The staff work very closely together and share positive and supportive relationships with each other and young people. Staff provide child-focused care and support to enable young people to achieve positive outcomes. Staff are enthusiastic, skilled and knowledgeable, and have high aspirations for each individual young person. The ethos of the home is to provide a warm, welcoming environment that supports and promotes positive outcomes, and this is something that the whole team embraces and achieves well. Inspection report children’s home: SC484789 9 Staff feel valued and equipped to carry out their roles well. They confirm that they receive sufficient support, training, supervision and appraisals to carry out their work

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

safely and to a high standard. This enables staff to care for young people well. Although the majority of the core staff team have the required childcare qualification, others, such as the flexible support team and learning support assistants, have yet to achieve this within the required timeframe.

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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 and 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 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: SC484789 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Birtenshaw – company number 02978546

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Birtenshaw, Darwen Road, Bromley Cross, Bolton BL7 9AB

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Inspector

Janine Shortman-Thomas, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC484789 11 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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