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

Inspection report children's home: SC431696 1 SC431696 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

The home is operated by the local authority. It is registered to provide care and accommodation under short-break arrangements for up to ten children who have learning and/or physical disabilities, some of whom have complex and/or life-limiting conditions.

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Information about this children’s home

An application was made to vary the home’s registration on 19 July 2021 in order to provide permanent placements for up to three children who need full-time care and support.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in 2011. She has significant experience and knowledge of working with children with complex health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 24 September 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Recent inspection history

Inspection report children's home: SC431696 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/09/2019 Full Good 19/06/2018 Full Good 17/10/2017 Full Outstanding 01/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC431696 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s day-to-day experiences vary. However, despite this, some children are enjoying positive experiences and forging trusting relationships with staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the children in their care. Most children are non-verbal and have extremely complex needs. Staff are attuned to children’s needs and can easily identify the small signs that indicate how children are feeling. Should children become distressed, staff pick up on this immediately and respond appropriately. This was confirmed by professionals and observations throughout the inspection.

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improvement to be good

There is a lack of planning in relation to activities for children, and they are not being supported to take part in a range of activities. Children are not given many opportunities to undertake activities outside of the home, and fun activities within the home are also limited. This hinders the children’s abilities to try new things and experience the world around them.

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improvement to be good

Care plans are easy to read and follow. However, they do not contain all the relevant information within them. There are some details missing, for example advice from occupational therapists and health professionals about the children’s needs. To date this has not impacted on the quality of the care children receive. However, this is not best practice and could result in children receiving inconsistent care.

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improvement to be good

Children have made some positive progress from their starting points. Health, weight and presentation have improved dramatically for one child, and behaviour has improved for others. This does demonstrate that some children are settled and are making progress.

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improvement to be good

The environment does not have a particularly homely presentation. There is evidence of some damage and disrepair. Maintenance of the outdoor area is a particular concern. Some areas are overgrown and general care and upkeep are required. This does not provide children with an environment where they can feel valued and have a sense of belonging.

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improvement to be good

Parents and professionals were positive about the service. They reported that the care and support provided at the home are child focused and that there are good levels of communication. This indicates that partnership working is a key strength of the home.

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improvement to be good

Inspection report children's home: SC431696 4 The manager and staff ensure that, overall, the children’s complex needs are met. Children are cared for by experienced staff who do work to ensure that children are protected.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are not up to date and do not contain all known risks. Risk ratings do not accurately reflect the risk level. This means that staff do not have clear guidance within risk assessments in order to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

The manager does ensure that regular health and safety checks are completed in the home. However, general risk assessments relating to the home and activities have not been reviewed or updated for two years. Prior to this they were reviewed annually. This means that staff do not have all the necessary up to date information and strategies to keep the children safe in the home.

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improvement to be good

There have not been any missing incidents. However, some children do not have up to date missing protocols and guidance for staff is not clear. This lack of clear guidance has the potential to hinder staff responses if children go missing.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour management plans are not up to date and do not fully reflect all of the children’s behaviours. A lack of clarity in relation to behaviour management does not ensure a consistent approach from staff.

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improvement to be good

Physical intervention reports lack detail. The attempts made by staff to de-escalate behaviour are not clearly recorded. Debriefs and reflections are not routinely completed with all staff. In addition, one physical intervention was undertaken by a member of staff who had not received the necessary training. The manager was aware of these shortfalls and has begun to make improvements. Nevertheless, this lack of oversight and reflection means that the manager is not able to identify patterns, trends or triggers leading up to the intervention.

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improvement to be good

Some children were placed in an emergency and matching risk assessments were not completed. In addition, the initial planning meetings have not taken place for all of the children. This does not ensure that all risks are identified and safety measures are put in place to address children’s needs.

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improvement to be good

Medication for one child was not administered by staff in line with guidance from the prescribing medical professional. The manager was unaware of this. However, she took immediate action to ensure that this was rectified.

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good

The manager is very experienced, child-focused, competent and committed. The manager has extensive experience of working with disabled children who have complex health and medical needs. The staff team is motivated and feels well supported by the manager. Staff have a wide range of skills and qualifications relevant to their role. They are committed to providing the best care and experience for the children. Inspection report children's home: SC431696 5 The support available to the manager is not consistent. This means that she has not benefited from regular supervision. This impacts on the manager’s ability to ensure the home delivers continuous improvement.

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good

The overall quality of record-keeping is poor. For example, children’s files contain old information, and some risk assessments were considerably out of date. Other records, such as staff development and training files, are outdated and difficult to follow. This shortfall hinders the manager’s oversight of the running of the home.

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good

Some staff training events have been impacted by COVID-19. However, in order to supplement learning, online training has been undertaken. The training undertaken includes specialist matters such as tube feeding and manual handling. This ensures that staff are well equipped to meet the individual needs of the children placed at the home.

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good

Staff meetings are not taking place at structured times and at regular intervals. This does not assist with the development of practice.

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good

Supervisions take place. However, the recording of these differs in quality. For example, safeguarding is not included to ensure that individual staff have the opportunity to share any concerns. There is no inclusion of opportunities to reflect on practice-related issues for staff. These shortfalls do not promote reflective practice.

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good

External monitoring has not taken place in line with regulation. Many independent visits to the home have been completed virtually. The visitor has not routinely consulted with other professionals, staff or children and the quality of the reports is not of a good standard. The reports are not submitted in a timely way, which inhibits the regulator’s ability to have oversight and monitor the safety and well- being of children effectively.

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good

Safer recruitment processes are followed when staff are appointed. Some issues were found in relation to information provided about some agency staff, for example details about their experience. The manager provided assurances that these issues were addressed before agency staff worked with children in the home. This means that as much as possible is done to ensure that staff are suitably vetted to look after the children in their care. Inspection report children's home: SC431696 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 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 aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

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 purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii)) 29 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills.

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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

develop the child’s interests and hobbies;

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Requirement Due date

participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences; and

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Requirement Due date

make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and 29 October 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC431696 7 that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii) (b))

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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— that staff—

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi) (vii)) 29 October 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

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)) 29 October 2021

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Recommendations

Inspection report children's home: SC431696 8  The registered person must ensure that prescribed medicines are only administered to the individual for whom they are prescribed. Medicines must be administered in line with a medically approved protocol. Records must be kept of the administration of all medication. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make 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: SC431696 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, City Hall, Centenary Square, BRADFORD, West Yorkshire BD1 1HY

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Inspectors

Brian Wood, Social Care Inspector Ceri Evans, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC431696 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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