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

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC063978 1 SC063978 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

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

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager. There is an acting manager in post who is not yet registered with Ofsted .

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This monitoring visit

This children’s home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 29 and 30 June 2022. A compliance notice was issued on 8 July 2022 following the inspection. This monitoring visit found that the management team has taken appropriate steps to meet the compliance notice.

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This monitoring visit

An action plan was put in place following the compliance notice, with suitable actions identified to address the safeguarding weaknesses. Senior leaders have supported the improvement plan by agreeing to a 12-week period where no new children are admitted to the home. This is enabling the home to focus on training and development.

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This monitoring visit

The staffing team has been refined to a small number of capable and experienced staff. When poor practice issues have arisen, these have been dealt with promptly and robustly by managers, and staff have been moved on from the home appropriately.

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This monitoring visit

A comprehensive training plan has been put in place supported by a training needs analysis of the current staffing team. Staff have completed a variety of face-to-face training alongside some virtual training courses. Safeguarding scenarios and case Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC063978 2 studies have been developed to help staff embed their learning. This is helping them reflect on what went wrong previously and how to avoid a repeat of the previous poor responses to safeguarding incidents.

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This monitoring visit

Safeguarding has also been discussed individually with staff in their own supervisions, as well as group discussions in team meetings. This is helping staff to feel confident in their knowledge of protecting children, and to ensure they know what policies and procedures to follow. At the present time, this is largely untested in any real-life scenarios as there have been no incidents of concern or any missing episodes. Current risks for the one child in the home are well managed with consideration of their additional vulnerabilities.

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This monitoring visit

Additional management oversight is in place, including management calls over weekends, and ‘golden hour’ management checklists. Managers have a better grip on day-to-day practice issues and are more closely involved in decision-making.

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This monitoring visit

All staff are receiving regular management supervision and this includes identifying practice issues, workers’ strengths and their areas for development. Reflective discussions in supervision focus on the child. This is helping staff to think about their approach and ensuring the child’s needs are central. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC063978 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/06/2022 Full Inadequate 23/03/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness 24/08/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC063978 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff—

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Requirement Due date

who understand the children’s homes overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day to day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1)(a) (2)(b)(iv)(v)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that the children’s day- to-day care is aligned to their assessed needs.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that the day-to-day arrangements for care are set out clearly in plans and followed by staff, and that these arrangements promote the well-being and development of children. 28 August 2022

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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. 28 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC063978 5 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must review the behaviour support plans to ensure that they include the children’s current risks and behaviours and provide the staff with clear actions about how to reduce the risk of harm.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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 28 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC063978 6 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must have an effective system for monitoring the training needs of the staff team.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that staff have the support and training required to meet the needs of the children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must develop and implement an effective system to review children’s care plans to ensure that they remain current and effective, showing how children are helped to make progress.

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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

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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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)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 28 August 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that feedback gained as part of the quality- of-care review is used to inform how they plan to develop the care they provide to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 645 paragraph 15.4)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a homely, nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. In particular, they should consider how the building’s external doors can be secured using alternative methods. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC063978 7

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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: 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 of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, City Hall, Centenary Square, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD1 1HY

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Picklu Roychoudhury

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Inspector

Louise Hollick, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 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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