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

Inspection report children’s home: SC063978 1 SC063978 Registered provider: City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a local authority. It provides care for up to six children who have a range of social and/emotional difficulties. There are currently four children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no manager registered with Ofsted. The assistant manager has been appointed as the manager and is in the process of applying for registration.

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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

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC063978 2

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judged that it has declined in effectiveness. This is due to there being no registered manager in the day-to-day running of the home since June 2021. This has also led to a period of instability at the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The acting manager provides a positive role model for the staff team and children. He is ably supported by the acting deputy manager and the staff team.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Three children have moved out of the home since the last inspection. Two of the children returned to their families and one child has moved into semi-independence. Careful planning, coordination and support from the staff have enabled the children to move on positively. One child has moved into the home in recent months. The poor matching with the needs of the existing children has adversely affected the group dynamic.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children express positive, negative and indifferent opinions about their experiences at the home. One child’s concerns have been shared with the manager to ensure that the child is safeguarded, feels listened to and receives the specialist support that they need.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The requirements from the previous inspection have been met, which supports the home’s capacity to improve. The children are better protected from harm. The staff understand the children’s individual vulnerabilities. They are guided by the children’s risk assessments, safety plans and the strategies to mitigate the risks.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The children’s engagement in the regular key-work discussions with the staff help children to understand the potential impact of the risks to themselves. This is reinforced by the direct work that the police and specialist safeguarding agencies do with the children, which helps them to understand the risk of exploitation and harm. This also includes the times when the children have gone missing from home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff follow the children’s missing-from-care protocol to ensure that children who go missing are found and return home safely. Strategy discussions are held in relation to specific concerns surrounding missing-from-home incidents. This ensures that all professionals have a shared understanding of the identified risks and work together, which has led to some safer outcomes for children.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff talk to the children about the serious health and safety implications of smoking cigarettes and substances at the home. They act accordingly when smoking is detected. The regular checks on the fire alarm system and fire drills ensure that the alarms will alert staff in the event of a fire. Inspection report children’s home: SC063978 3 Children can gain access to communal areas of the house, including the kitchen, because the locks have been removed. This promotes the children’s independence and creates a homely environment.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The independent visitor’s reports indicate that they consult with children and staff, and they record their attempts to speak to professionals and families. However, the independent visitor reports are not sent to the regulator in a consistently timely manner. This has not been acted on by the provider. This delays the regulator from reviewing how the home is caring for children and complying with the regulations.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Managers continue to embed the monitoring systems. The manager has plans to address issues regarding team morale and practice matters, as identified in the home’s current improvement plan. This ensures that the expectations are agreed and understood, and that the staff are supported to bond as a cohesive team.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager does not consult with staff and parents and evaluate their feedback when completing the quality of care review. This provides a lack of clarity as to how the manager considers their views to inform service developments. Ofsted has not been notified about serious incidents without delay. This has hindered Ofsted from monitoring the home’s safeguarding practices. One of the action points that is included in a safeguarding notification that has been sent to Ofsted has not been fulfilled. This questions the reliability of the actions that the provider has taken to minimise similar incidents of concern.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The statement of purpose has not been updated to accurately reflect the details of the new responsible individual.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Professionals and families express their satisfaction with the quality of the communication with the staff team and the care of the children. Inspection report children’s home: SC063978 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/08/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 10/09/2019 Full Good 19/02/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC063978 5

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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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii) 6 May 2022

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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— 6 May 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC063978 6 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

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 6 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must notify HMCI of serious events without delay and implement the measures identified in the notification to prevent further incidents. 6 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they consult with the independent visitor to ensure that they provide the report in a timely manner to HMCI. 6 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (5)) 6 May 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC063978 7

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Information about this inspection

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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: SC063978 8

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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

Jacqueline Malcolm, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC063978 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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