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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 1 SC061005 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 owned and managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to six children who have a range of social and emotional behavioural needs. The manager has been registered since July 2020. However, he is not currently working at the home.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A full inspection was undertaken on 18 May 2021. The findings from that inspection confirmed that serious shortfalls were identified relating to safeguarding practice and management oversight. Children were receiving inadequate care and having poor experiences. This led to an emergency suspension notice being issued. The registered provider was issued with compliance notices and requirements to improve.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit was undertaken on 22 June 2021. The registered provider met most of the actions outlined in the compliance notices issued. However, the staff had not completed sufficient training to ensure that they had the necessary skills, Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 2 knowledge and understanding to keep children safe. A further compliance notice was raised in respect of staff training.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A second monitoring visit was undertaken on 5 August 2021. The registered provider had addressed the concerns that resulted in the home being suspended. The inspector found that all of the compliance actions had been met and the suspension was lifted on 10 August 2021. Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/05/2021 Full Inadequate 25/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 02/07/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children experience care from a nurturing staff team. They have developed trusted and secure relationships with the adults who care for them. The quality of these relationships has contributed to helping the children to feel safe after moving to this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a structured morning routine which helps them prepare for their day. A home learning program is in place for one child who does not attend a formal education provision. The other children attend and engage with their learning at school. To support this, staff have regular conversations with teachers about the children’s educational needs. These open lines of communication enable staff and teachers to keep informed about how the children have been at home and/or at school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend their health appointments and are being helped by staff to adopt healthier habits. Regular conversations occur which focus on the children’s individual health needs. Improvements have been made in areas such as personal hygiene and taking prescribed medication. Because of the perseverance of staff and the support from specialist nurses, the health of children is improving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children’s hobbies and interests and help them to take part in a variety of activities. The children have been to the cinema and to trampoline parks. They enjoy riding their bikes, or simply staying at home playing on the games console. One child, who loves football, has joined a local football team, and has had the opportunity to watch his favourite team play at their home stadium. This demonstrates that staff ensure that the children have access to fun experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are able to share their wishes and feelings during regular chats with staff. Topics of discussion include food and activity choices. Staff also speak with the children about what is needed to enable them to live together happily. Children can speak with the manager or staff if they are unhappy with something at this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has recently been refurbished and is well decorated. However, it lacks personalisation and there are no photos of children. The children’s bedrooms do have personal touches, and comfort items have been purchased to make their environment feel cosier and more relaxed. The acting manager is consulting with the children about what improvements can be made to make the environment homelier.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff continue to lock internal doors, which does not make it feel like home. However, during the inspection the acting manager removed the locks. The team culture is yet to be embedded to ensure that this type of practice does not occur, or impact on the children’s experience while living at this home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 5

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

The children say they feel safe and protected at this home. This is because the relationships that staff have developed with them provide the children with a sense of comfort and safety.

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

Incidents of children going missing from home have been well managed. Children’s missing from home protocols provide staff with the direction they need to manage an incident should it occur. The reasons for children going missing are explored by staff so arrangements can be put in place to reduce the risk of future missing incidents.

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

Staff have used restraint to protect one child from harmful situations. As the child has learned to manage their emotions better, the need for physical interventions has reduced. The connections that staff have developed with the child have helped them to regulate their emotions.

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

The children’s risk assessments provide the staff with direction about how to keep them safe. However, information on behaviour management lacks the guidance required to advise staff on how to manage individual incidents. This does not help staff to respond consistently to the children’s behaviours.

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

Staff have not yet completed any work with the children on social media and internet safety. This limits their ability to understand what help the children need to stay safe online so that more focused conversations can occur.

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

Children have not taken part in fire evacuation drills when they were first admitted to the home. This could result in children becoming confused and not following the fire evacuation plan in the event of the fire alarm sounding. Therefore, children are at an increased risk of harm in the event of a fire.

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good

The acting manager is focused on creating a positive culture and improving the effectiveness of the team. The improvements made have yet to be embedded as the staff continue to develop the skills needed to provide consistent, good-quality care to children.

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good

Managers do not have a sufficient plan that is focused on making continued progress at this home. The current plan lacks clarity and ambition about what is needed to support the staff to further enhance their knowledge and skills. This may limit the team’s development and impact on the progress that children can make living at this home.

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good

When staff were unable to manage the children’s behaviour at bedtime, they called police for assistance. The staff members involved were not sufficiently debriefed Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 6 about the incident. Managers did not explore if their actions were proportionate in relation to the children’s behaviour. On another occasion, when a child was held by staff, managers were not curious enough to seek reassurance that the techniques the staff used were aligned to their training on the use of physical intervention. This does not demonstrate that there is an established process in place for reviewing the effectiveness of staff practice. This limits the staff’s ability to learn from such incidents and could result in a child being harmed.

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good

The correct independent oversight was not in place because the designated officer from the local authority was not informed about a concern raised regarding a staff member’s practice. This demonstrates that the local safeguarding procedures are not always followed by the managers.

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good

Staff have completed training on a variety of safeguarding subjects, such as child exploitation and county lines. They are also knowledgeable about their model of care, which has helped them to have a better understanding of the children’s emotional well-being. Also, more specialist training has been delivered by health professionals, which has supported staff to safely manage the children’s individual health needs.

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good

Staff say they feel supported in their roles and value their managers’ leadership and guidance. They are positive about the improvements that have been made since the last inspection, and they recognise the impact that managers have had on them. One staff member said, ‘We feel more respected now. Our opinions are listened to, and we have a say in how we care for the children.’

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good

There is a positive atmosphere in the home which is representative of the way staff feel about being at work. This positivity is having a positive impact on the children, who say they enjoy living at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 7

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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

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)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that when there are allegations made about a staff member’s practice, local safeguarding procedures are followed, and the local authority designated officer is informed about the concern raised in order to ensure that there is independent scrutiny and management of the allegation made. 27 February 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—

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Requirement Due date

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; 27 February 2021 Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 8 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (Regulation 13(a)(b)(2)(a)(c)(f)(g)(i)(ii)

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they:

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Requirement Due date

 have oversight of behavioural incidents that occur in order to ensure that staff are provided with the support to develop the skills needed to provide effective care for children  have a plan in place that is focused on developing the quality of care provided to children to help ensure that the progress that has been made can be sustained  effectively challenge and manage poor childcare practice to ensure that the care staff provide for children is not detrimental to the children’s physical and emotional welfare, for example the locking of doors.

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25(1)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children participate in fire evacuation drills as soon as practically possible after being admitted to the home. Also, children should practice fire evacuation from the building during the day and at night at agreed intervals to ensure that children know how to respond in the event of a fire. 27 February 2021 Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 9

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are helped to understand the risks associated with the internet and social media. Staff should help children to recognise the signs of abuse and unsafe situations online. The registered person should also seek to have a better understanding of the child’s needs so that risk strategies can be agreed to reduce the risk of harm to children when using the internet and social media. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.16)  The registered person should review the children’s behaviour support plans to ensure that they include the children’s current behaviours, and they should provide the staff with clear actions about how to effectively manage a child’s behaviour to reduce the risk of harm. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)

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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 for children’s home: SC061005 10

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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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Inspector

Aaron Mcloughlin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 11 regulates and inspects 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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