Children's Home run by Birtenshaw in Bolton

Inspection report children’s home: SC470797 1 SC470797 Registered provider: Birtenshaw Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and is registered to provide care for up to four children. Children may have an autism spectrum disorder, physical disabilities, learning disabilities and/or sensory impairment. The home also accommodates a young adult who turned 18 shortly before this inspection took place. This means that the home can currently only accommodate three children so that it complies with its conditions of registration.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a manager in post who has not yet registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we sus- pended 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 8 December 2020 to carry out an assurance 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 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

Date of last inspection: 12 February 2020

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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: SC470797 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/02/2020 Full Good 14/11/2018 Full Good 04/09/2017 Full Outstanding 09/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC470797 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of children’s daily experiences is good. The inspector observed happy, smiling and comfortable children in a homely atmosphere.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is significant progress for some children, and the beginnings of progress for others, from their starting points. One child can settle and sit down at a table for a meal, which he could not do before he came to the home. Another child has been able to have some of his medications reduced and has stopped needing to use absorbent pads. There are predictable routines in place in the home which enable the children to feel safe, stable and supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most parents and professionals spoken to are pleased with the care and progression of the children, and with the communication they have about their child from the manager and staff at the home. One parent felt that the communication from the home could be better and that they had not been consulted about some important decisions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are included in the decision-making in the home. They have weekly meetings where they are supported to express an opinion on activities they can participate in and their menu for that week.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s participation in education is good. Most children have 100% attendance at school and attendance for others is high.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are detailed written guidelines for the staff which describe each child, their routine and their needs. Staff follow these guidelines, which ensures that they understand the children’s care and respond to their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff care for children of different ages and needs. One child has reached adulthood but does not yet have a plan to transition from the children’s home. Children who are due to transition from the home need clear plans to support them to prepare for that change and to ensure that the home is continuing to meet everybody’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has been short of permanent staff and staff have been used to cover tasks in other homes operated by the same provider. Staff told inspectors that some planned activities for the children had to be cancelled due to staff shortages.

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

Children are kept safe. They each have detailed risk assessments, which are updated regularly, and plans in place to reduce risk. There are no incidents of children going missing from this home. Inspection report children’s home: SC470797 4 There is a clear system of understanding and analysing children’s behaviours. Lessons are learned and changes are implemented from this analysis. Children are observed to be comfortable and happy when spending time together and with staff.

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

The manager has a good understanding of the children’s health needs. There are clear records and safe storage of children’s medication. Collaborative working with social workers and health colleagues and the introduction of consistent routines has led to some children’s medications being reduced.

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

Staff noticed that one child was becoming distressed during some of his intimate care routines. They have helped to resolve this by putting together a simple sequence of care that all staff can follow. This preserves his dignity, helps him feel safe and prevents him becoming upset.

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

The outside areas of the home are not accessible to all children. Following advice from the occupational therapist, a ramp needs to be constructed.

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

To promote children’s safety, external doors are kept locked when children are in the home. Parents and social workers are aware of the practice and the home has a policy which demonstrates how risks are considered that make the practice necessary. However, this policy must be regularly reviewed as it may not always be necessary for the whole group of children to be prevented from leaving the home.

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good

In the last 12 months there have been frequent changes of staff and management. There is a core group of contracted staff who know the children well, and half of each shift team is made up of these contracted staff. The home employs a lot of agency staff. This means that children are regularly looked after by people who they are not familiar with. At times, staff have been required to provide cover at other homes which has affected the children being able to participate in some activities. Children benefit from a consistent group of staff to look after them to ensure that their day-to-day life is predictable and stable.

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good

The manager should ensure that she is engaging appropriately and in a timely way with partner agencies when there are shortfalls and demonstrate active challenge. This might include escalating concerns to senior managers when necessary.

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good

Most staff receive regular supervision, however, this is not consistent across the whole staff group. This can limit the learning from this process as well as the progress staff make and the support they may need.

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good

The manager is passionate about the children in the home being offered opportunities and experiences to enable them to reach their full potential. Inspection report children’s home: SC470797 5 The manager knows the children well and has a clear knowledge of their needs and what should be in place to allow them to progress.

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good

The independent visitor attends monthly. The visitor provides an account of progress and identifies any shortfalls in the home. The manager acts to address any issues raised.

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good

Permanent staff are either qualified to the appropriate level, currently undertaking the relevant course or are new to the service. This means that children receive support from suitably qualified staff. Inspection report children’s home: SC470797 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 registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was set previously but has not been met. 15 December

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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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that the home has enough staff to ensure that children’s participation in activities is not affected by staff covering other tasks. 15 December

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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 homes overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; 15 December Inspection report children’s home: SC470797 7 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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this is in relation to ensuring that children have access to all areas of the home and garden.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the policy of locking the external doors is subject to regular review to ensure that it meets the needs of the children in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.62)  The registered person should ensure that any child leaving the home has a detailed and appropriate transition plan to help them prepare both emotionally and practically for leaving the home. (‘Guide the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.9)

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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: SC470797 8

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC470797 9 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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