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

Inspection report children’s home: SC486606 1 SC486606 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 home is owned and managed by a local authority. It provides care and accommodation for up to four children aged between 10 and 18 years who may have emotional, social and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides emergency, short-term or medium-term placements.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2020.

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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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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded, and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor, and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC486606 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/03/2020 Full Good 20/11/2018 Full Good 04/07/2017 Full Good 09/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC486606 3

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inadequate

Children’s recent experiences of moving into and out of this home are extremely poor. Recent decisions to move children were made by the responsible individual without any consideration of the children’s needs or reference to their care plans. Children who have recently moved out of the home were not emotionally prepared. One child moved into a temporary placement. This has a significantly detrimental impact on the children’s experiences of living in the home and their progress.

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inadequate

Children are not always prepared for their move to the home and staff are not always able to meet children’s needs. On a recent occasion, the responsible individual decided to admit a child despite being informed that the staff do not have the specialist skills or knowledge to meet this child’s needs. Furthermore, the lack of education and structure, and poor routines further compounded the child’s extreme distress and periods of highly distraught behaviour.

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inadequate

The physical environment of the home is not suitable for all children. For example, large glass windows, unsuitable flooring and unsuitable garden fencing expose some children to the risk of harm, which is detrimental to their day-to-day experiences.

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inadequate

Children who previously lived in this home, but have since left, built positive and trusting relationships with staff. Some of these children benefited from multi-agency working that helped them to take their next steps. For example, children who were not previously in education were supported to attend school and they made good progress. The registered manager accepts that not all children who live in the home have this positive experience.

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inadequate

Staff work collaboratively with a range of professionals to assess some children’s needs and to formulate plans to meet these needs. However, this positive approach is not replicated for all children admitted to this home.

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

Children’s risk assessments are ineffective. These documents lack sufficient detail and guidance to support staff to manage and reduce risks to children’s safety. When strategies are put in place by managers, these are not consistently shared with staff. This places children at risk of significant harm.

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

There are occasions when children’s behaviours are physically challenging. Staff do not have the skills to manage these behaviours or support children effectively in these situations. Staff contact the local police for assistance, which has led to some children being arrested. This approach criminalises children. Inspection report children’s home: SC486606 4 Staff do not receive the specialist or necessary training to meet the needs of children and keep them safe. For example, the registered manager does not ensure that staff have access to training in relation to autism spectrum disorder or children’s specific health needs. Without this knowledge, staff are unable to keep all children safe.

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

Children’s medication records are not always of good quality. For some children, these records are incomplete and do not include clear details of their medication or health needs. For example, necessary medical equipment to keep a child living in the home safe was not transferred with the child on their admission, and the need for this equipment was not referenced in their health records. This lack of coordination and understanding of children’s health needs leaves them at risk of harm.

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

The condition of the home is unacceptable. Leaders and managers do not ensure that the environment is safe or that essential repairs are quickly addressed. There is a strong and unpleasant smell throughout the home. The building risk assessments do not adequately account for metal bars across the windows and metal spikes around the single-storey aspect. These issues are a hazard to children's health and well-being and create an uninviting and unattractive home for children to live in.

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

Staff only use physical restraint when necessary to protect children or others from immediate harm. Incidents are well recorded, and the registered manager reviews these records to identify any practice issues or further action required. Team meetings provide a reflective space for staff to learn lessons for the future. Consequently, the registered manager is able to scrutinise the use of physical restraint to ensure that this is necessary and proportionate. This helps to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not ensure that children receive high-quality care at this home. Decisions to move children into and out of this home are influenced by a lack of local suitable placements for children rather than according to children’s needs. Children are experiencing huge levels of instability, which is undermining their relationships and is compounding and exacerbating existing difficulties.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

On one occasion, the responsible individual instructed the registered manager to admit a child to the home ‘on paper’ without intending for the child to live at the home. Despite being responsible for this child, the registered manager does not oversee their care to ensure their safety and well-being. This is poor practice and may leave the child at risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager does not quickly arrange training for staff to equip them with the skills that they need to meet children’s complex needs. The lack of effective internal monitoring systems means that the registered manager does not adequately oversee the training needs of staff and is unable to confirm what training staff complete and when. Inspection report children’s home: SC486606 5 External monitoring does not occur in line with regulation. All independent visits to the home occur virtually. This is despite the removal of the regulatory provision for this approach in September 2020. The independent person does not consult widely with other professionals, staff or children, and the quality of the reports is poor. Furthermore, the independent person does not submit these reports to Ofsted in a timely manner. This prevents Ofsted from regularly reviewing children’s safety and the quality of care that they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Inspection report children’s home: SC486606 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(b)) 5 September 2021

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d)) 5 September 2021

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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— 5 September 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC486606 7 lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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)(a)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

*The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, asset out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)) 5 September 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that— 5 September 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC486606 8 medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires; and

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)(b)) 5 September 2021

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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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’. Inspection report children’s home: SC486606 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: City of Bradford Metropolitan 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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Inspectors

Deb Duffy, Social Care Inspector Brian Wood, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC486606 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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