Children's Home run by Bristol City Council in Bristol

Inspection report children's home: SC034301 1 SC034301 Registered provider: Bristol City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a local authority. It provides care for up to five children who have had adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and presenting complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since January 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: Good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children's home: SC034301 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/08/2019 Full Good 20/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/12/2018 Full Good 29/07/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children's home: SC034301 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from good-quality relationships with the manager and the staff team. This home provides a calm and nurturing environment where children feel comfortable and safe. Staff hold the children at the centre of their practice. The love and warmth shines through as staff talk about the children. These positive relationships enable the children to successfully work through past traumas and begin to make progress in their social and emotional development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive COVID-19 tests led to staff absences the home needing to isolate over several weeks. Some staff remained in the home for over a week to ensure that the children had consistency of care. Despite the impact of the virus disrupting the availability of staff, meeting the needs of the children remained the priority. It is a testament to the commitment of the team that children remained safe without any deterioration in their behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped with their education, with the majority maintaining regular attendance. When children need additional support, regular multi-professional meetings occur to provide bespoke programmes of learning, at the child’s pace.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s wishes and feelings are sought daily through discussion and observations. Activities have been restricted due to the pandemic, with an increased amount of time spent on video games. With restrictions easing, children are now returning to activities such as football, golf and youth club, with plans to join cadets. Children are choosing what new facilities to have in the garden ‘shed’, a communal space in the garden where table tennis and pool can be played.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans are detailed, supported by risk assessments to explain how the staff should best meet the individual care needs of each child. Some care review documents written by the local authority are inaccurate. Leaders and managers have failed to challenge these errors that require amendment.

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

Children say that they feel safe in this home. Social workers and family members report that this home does a great job to safely meet the needs of the children. This level of security is reflected in the absence of any incidents of children going missing or engaging with anti-social behaviour in the community. In fact, the manager and staff team are keen to encourage children to go out more to contribute to their growth and development, in addition to making friends.

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

The registered manager and staff team know the children well and identify potential risks and triggers to their behaviour. Staff do well in achieving a balance of allowing the children to take risks and learn from any mistakes, while keeping them safe. Risks are well known and understood by the staff team, however, one omission was Inspection report children's home: SC034301 4 noted in a written risk management document. Staff are alert to the risk, though the document does not fully reflect this.

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

Incidents of behaviour requiring physical intervention are rare. One isolated incident occurred over six months ago, resulting in injuries to staff, the use of restraint and the police being called. The manager was working at another home during this time and the provider failed to ensure that alternative management reviewed the physical intervention records. A staff meeting with the support of a clinical psychologist provided an opportunity for reflection on this incident. Since this event, physical intervention has been used once. This was appropriate to prevent a child from harming themselves. Comprehensive records reflect how staff used their positive relationships to good effect to prevent the incident escalating.

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

Staff are suitably trained in the protection of children and, at the time of the inspection, some staff had started a training module on contextualised safeguarding. Safe use of mobile phones and the internet is regularly discussed at team meetings. Suitable restrictions are imposed on the use of the Wi-Fi and video games. This is being further enhanced through the provider’s IT strategy.

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good

The registered manager is experienced in working with children and is studying for a management qualification. He is committed to ensuring that the children receive high-quality care and support and leads by example. Staff and professionals report very positively on the management of this home.

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good

The impact on the manager and staff team from the COVID-19 virus has led to some management tasks not being completed, such as staff training and monthly supervision, as required at the previous inspection. In addition, the children’s register has not been maintained, as required by regulations. These management shortfalls have not yet had a detrimental effect on the care and protection of children. The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and has a development plan to address them.

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good

Some areas of improvement have already been implemented, such as:

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good

 a guide to support staff on the completion of physical intervention records  a revised complaints procedure and child-friendly version distributed  the designated officer attended a meeting to inform staff on how to report any safeguarding concerns or allegations  a staff training audit that led to staff completing their required training  all but one member of staff has recently had their performance appraised.

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good

The lack of available training on fire safety means many staff need a refresher, however, they undertake routine checks on the fire detection system in the home Inspection report children's home: SC034301 5 and take part in practice evacuations with the children. Inspection report children's home: SC034301 6

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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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the monitoring of records such as risk assessments and statutory review documents. 1 June 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development; and

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff training in fire safety and regular supervision for all staff. 30 June 2021

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)) 1 June 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC034301 7 Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must maintain a register of children. 1 June 2021

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bristol City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Bristol City Council, Director of Legal Services, City Hall, College Green, Bristol, Gloucestershire BS1 5TR

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Inspector

Clare Davies, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC034301 8 to 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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