Children's Home run by BFG Together Limited in Nottingham

Inspection report children’s home: 2591033 1 Registered provider: Bfg Together Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to four children/young people aged between 10 and 17 years with emotional, behavioural and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since November 2020. However, a manager is in post and has applied to be registered. Two children are living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 27 January 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2591033 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in this home. Staff track children’s progression. Children engage in education, college and part-time employment. These accomplishments support children to enjoy improved life chances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy very good day-to-day care. Staff nurture children. The routines of the home reflect family life. The atmosphere within the home is comfortable and relaxed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between children and staff are positive. Children choose their own key workers. This empowers children to exercise active choices in their care planning. One child said, ‘To be honest, the staff are what makes the home great.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say staff listen to their views, worries and concerns. This supports children to learn about their emotions and helps them to develop strategies to manage their behaviours better going forward.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and children celebrate diversity and difference. Children can express their individual identity with openness. This means they feel accepted and valued for who they are in this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning has a focus on children’s individual needs. Staff support children to reach their goals. These include rehabilitation back home to family and working to semi-independence. Care and placement plans are child focused and clear which provide clarity to staff and children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious, clean and welcoming. The house looks like a modern family home. Children choose to have their bedrooms as they wish. However, bedrooms do not have secure lockable cabinets for personal and private possessions.

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

Safeguarding practice is steadfast. Children who have a history of going missing from care have not been missing from the home. This is because they are motivated to earn the trust of staff through managing their time away from the home well. This means they are rewarded with increased levels of independence.

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

One social worker said, ‘Staff understand sexual exploitation risks. They [staff] are in tune with children.’ The police also commend the safeguarding skills of the staff team.

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

Behaviour management methods are effective. Restraints are infrequent and undertaken only by trained staff. Restraint is proportionate and only used to Inspection report children’s home: 2591033 3 prevent harm. Records are clear, and debriefs are undertaken with staff and children.

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

Recruitment practice is rigorous, and records are clear. The safe recruitment of staff ensures children are protected from unsafe adults.

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

The locality risk assessment is reviewed. However, the assessment does not include consultation with relevant agencies. This means localised risks may not be understood.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been changes in the management team since the home’s registration. A new manager is now in position and brings experience to the post and is qualified. She has applied for registration with Ofsted. A deputy manager provides management support. They are an effective management team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management arrangements have secured improvements since the monitoring visit in January 2021. The manager has addressed the shortfalls from the monitoring visit. This shows a capacity to drive improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a clear vision and a defined sense of purpose. She is a good role model and leads by example. Staff confirm they feel supported and motivated under her management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The provider has ensured that all staff undertake the relevant qualification. The manager monitors their progression. Training arrangements are robust with excellent management oversight. This means children enjoy high standards of care provided by the skilled staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External quality assurance provides a detailed analysis of care provision. The independent person’s visits highlight the home’s strengths and weaknesses. This enables the manager to promote improvement. Internal monitoring is broad in scope but fails to capture the key themes of the operation of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working is strong. Social workers are positive about the quality of care, the management and the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The exterior of the home has closed-circuit television (CCTV) to check the security of the home. The use of CCTV requires the consent of the placing authority. Inspection report children’s home: 2591033 4

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure children are provided with appropriate furniture, including a lockable cabinet or drawers to securely store personal items, including any personal information. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.19)  The registered person should ensure the placing authority consent is in writing at the time of placing any monitoring or surveillance. The use of CCTV is regulated by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 and the Surveillance Camera Code of Conduct (Home Office 2013). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  The registered person must ensure they refer to the non-statutory advice about the location assessment process: Children’s homes regulation amendments 2014: Advice for children’s homes providers on new duties under regulations that came into effect in January and April 2014. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations

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Recommendations

including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)  The registered person is responsible for deciding what each review should focus on, based on the specific circumstances of the home at that time and any areas of high risk to the children that the home is designed to care for, such as missing or exploitation. They will also consider what information or data recorded in the home will form part of the evidence base for their analysis and conclusions. There is no expectation that the registered person will review the home against every part of the Quality Standards every six months – registered persons should use their professional judgement to decide which factors to focus on. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next six months of

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Recommendations

delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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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: 2591033 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bfg Together Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Castle Cavendish Enterprise Centre, 63-67 St Peters Street, Nottingham NG7 3EN

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Inspector

Amanda Ellis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2591033 6 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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