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

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC033502 1 SC033502

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Registered provider: City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority owns and operates this home. It provides care for up to four children aged between 12 and 18 years. The children may have social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered at this home since September 2021. However, they were not available for this visit.

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This monitoring visit

At an interim inspection on 14 December 2021, the inspectors found serious and widespread concerns in relation to the matching of children and the checks completed on agency staff. These concerns were about children being exposed to harm.

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This monitoring visit

Ofsted issued two compliance notices under section 22 of the Care Standards Act 2000. These were in relation to regulation 14, the care planning standard, and regulation 32, the fitness of workers. The purpose of this visit was to assess the progress made to meet the compliance notices.

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This monitoring visit

The provider’s own referral procedures have been reviewed and the responsibility to admit children to the home is now clearly delegated to the manager, as set out by the Children’s Homes Regulations. The amended procedure provides clarity about what actions the manager must take before admitting a child to ensure that they are effectively matched to the other children already in residence.

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This monitoring visit

Regular support from the service manager is helping the manager to develop the matching risk assessment. The form is now more structured and enables the Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC033502 2 manager to consider all aspects of the children’s needs so a fuller evaluation can be made before agreeing to admit a child. Children’s revised risk assessments now provide a strong focus on the known risks to children and provide strategies that can enable staff to keep the children safe. However, only two out of the four children’s risk assessments have been reviewed and updated. This has an impact on the manager’s ability to evaluate whether all of the children are suitably matched and safe to live together. As a result, some of the steps linked to this compliance notice are not met and will be reissued.

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This monitoring visit

Some progress has been made with regards to the provider accessing appropriate recruitment checks about agency workers. However, there are still gaps in the checks that are essential in keeping children safe. For example, insufficient references are sought before the agency staff start work at the home. Furthermore, the provider is not exploring whether the workers have the required knowledge, skills and experience to work with children and to keep them safe. This does not provide encouragement that children are supported by staff who have the ability to manage their complex needs. Therefore, this aspect of the compliance notice will be reissued.

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This monitoring visit

The additional requirements raised at the last inspection have not been reviewed at this visit. These will be explored at the next inspection. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC033502 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/12/2021 Interim Declined in effectiveness 20/04/2021 Full Good 12/03/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 21/05/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC033502 4

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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

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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iv)) 23 January 2022

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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

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— 23 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC033502 5 feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(g)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that lessons are learnt from the children’s experiences of living at the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that records are organised when safeguarding procedures have been used with regards to staff practice. The registered person must also ensure that children receive feedback about the complaints they have made.

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Requirement Due date

* The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the known risks for the children currently living in the home to inform the manager’s evaluation, when assessing the suitability of children referred to the home. 20 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

* The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, 20 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC033502 6 if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must review all agency staff recruitment files, to ensure that they have followed safer recruitment practice as outlined in the regulation. A record of the findings must be made, and any identified actions undertaken.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that when recruiting agency staff, they have recruitment systems in place which are underpinned by safer recruitment practice.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide evidence to demonstrate how they are satisfied that agency staff have the knowledge, skills, and experience to keep children safe.

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that, as some children in residential care may be worried about being stigmatised or bullied by their peers for being "different" because of where they live, the external front fencing and games area are designed to take account of this. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.13)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC033502 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 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 - monitoring visit: SC033502 8 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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