Children's Home run by Building Bridges Care Homes Ltd in St Helens

Inspection report children’s home: 1250035 1 Registered provider: Building Bridges Care Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. The home provides care for up to four children. The provider specialises in caring for children who may have social, emotional and mental health needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 2 September 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 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: 21 January 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1250035 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/01/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 09/05/2019 Full Good 30/01/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/03/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: 1250035 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress through the support and care that they receive from their team. One child said, ‘Every single person here cares about us.’ Children are supported to feel comfortable in their own skin, which has improved their self- esteem and empowered them to achieve their goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have overcome a number of challenges to engage in education. Some children now have more life opportunities due to their educational achievements. However, the team does not have a thorough understanding of children’s educational targets and their current attainment from other sources such as education, health and care plans and personal education plans. This reduces the opportunity for the team to complete further work with children at home to close any attainment gaps.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made significant progress with their social and emotional development. They are given opportunities to enjoy life through activities, spending meaningful time with people who are important to them and going on holidays. Some children have recently started to capture their memories in personalised books, and they are proud of their journey. This work has not yet started with all children. It is important that children have time to reflect about significant milestones, both positive and negative, to develop their emotional resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and the team talk about the life skills that children have developed. However, there is not a framework to celebrate the life skills that children have developed and the skills that they need to gain in the future. This reduces the chances of children being fully prepared for adult life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children confidently express their views, and the team acts on them. The team encourages children to have a voice. Children highlight if they are unhappy with something in their plans, or if they want something to change in their home. This positive culture results in children being the driving force of their own lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is personalised, and children have designed how they want their home to look. However, locks on internal doors mean that children do not have access to all areas of their home.

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

The risk in children’s lives since moving into the home has reduced. The team has a good understanding of the risks in children’s lives and the individual plans to keep them safe. Further guidance is required for some safety plans; however, this is not having an impact on children’s safety. Risk assessments and plans are current, and they only contain relevant information to ensure that children are not stigmatised. Inspection report children’s home: 1250035 4 There is a robust response to allegations and complaints. The managers proactively investigate all allegations and complaints in a timely manner. This approach ensures that children are listened to and are safeguarded.

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

If a risk arises in a child’s life, for example concerns relating to child exploitation, a child going missing or substance misuse, the team consistently follows an individualised plan to ensure that children are safeguarded. The team supports children to understand risks in their lives through education, boundaries and consistency. Children are central to these plans, which results in them taking ownership and reducing risk as a result.

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

Physical intervention is rarely used as a strategy to safeguard children. There has been one physical intervention in this period that was not in line with regulation. The managers recognised the need for learning from this incident and new procedures have been put in place as a result.

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

The location of the home is evaluated by the managers in line with risks in children’s lives before children move into the home. If the location of the home has presented as a risk to children, the managers have put in plans to safeguard children and ensured that their views are taken on board.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff feel well supported by their managers. One team member said, ‘We are like a family and I am proud of the team.’ The managers have developed a team that is aspirational for children and both the team and children are thriving.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The team receives regular supervision and regular team meetings. The managers focus on the children’s progress and team development. The team has the opportunity to engage with a therapeutic lead through reflective sessions. The sessions, however, are not transferring into measurable goals for the team or the children. Additionally, the team members have completed some training to meet the children’s individual needs, which is having a positive impact on their practice. However, there are some training gaps to ensure that the team can provide care to all individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers have good oversight of the children’s needs, plans and significant events in their lives. The managers evaluate practice; however, this is not consistently done. This can reduce the opportunity to identify trends and any learning that needs to take place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers have developed a culture that is open, transparent and child focused. Children actively review their plans with their team, and they express their views confidently. The children’s records, however, can at times contain language that is institutionalised. This can result in the children’s records not always being accessible to them and can create barriers to their engagement. Inspection report children’s home: 1250035 5 The managers and the team act as very good advocates for children. They recognise when practice is poor and they challenge this on behalf of children, just like a good parent would. The managers persist until there is an outcome for the children in their care. This practice enables children to recognise that they matter and that they deserve the best care. Inspection report children’s home: 1250035 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, the 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

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to children being able to access rooms in their home. Any rooms that children cannot access must be risk assessed and reviewed regularly. 10 December

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration; 10 December Inspection report children’s home: 1250035 7 details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (‘the user’), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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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

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the recording of physical interventions. The recording needs to include the length of time of an intervention and a description of the intervention. Debriefs need to take place with adults and children who are involved in physical interventions, and the manager needs to evaluate the incident.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— 3 December 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 1250035 8 supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (3) (4)(a))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. This specifically relates to the team receiving training to meet all of the children’s individual needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that the team helps each child to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or to live independently. This includes supporting the child to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope without the home’s support and, where the child is moving to live independently, practical skills such as cooking, housework, budgeting and personal self-care. (‘Guide to the children’s

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Recommendations

homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)  The registered person should ensure that the team is recording information about the child in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the team has the knowledge and skills to understand each child’s education and training targets and their next steps for learning. This understanding will inform the child’s day-to-day care and help to reduce any attainment gaps for the child. If a child’s progress is not in line with their agreed targets or next steps, the team should seek expert advice from education professionals, such as the virtual school head, SENCO, learning mentor or teacher. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 27, paragraph 5.11)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that an evaluation of missing from home incidents is undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff, or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.31) Inspection report children’s home: 1250035 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: 1250035 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Building Bridges Care Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Mill Farm, Bull Bridge Lane, Liverpool L10 6LZ

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Inspector

Carly Quinn, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1250035 11 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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