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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC033628 1 SC033628 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 operated by the local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to six children with physical or learning disabilities and/or a sensory impairment.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since January 2018.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 21 September 2021

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC033628 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/09/2021 Full Good 06/01/2020 Full Good 02/10/2018 Full Good 26/09/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC033628 3

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inadequate

There are significant shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home and in the safety and protection of children. Consequently, despite some progress for some children, their overall experiences are inadequate.

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inadequate

Staffing ratios are not in line with children’s identified needs and behaviours. Since the last inspection, staffing levels have reduced due to staff sickness, planned leave and vacancies. Consequently, children do not benefit from consistent care.

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inadequate

Children are not benefiting from additional experiences, such as community activities, as a result of the staffing capacity. To address this, the managers are working shifts and extra hours to support the needs of the service. However, this means that managers’ oversight is poor, and children’s needs are not prioritised because of this.

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inadequate

Children have good relationships with their key workers and the inspector observed laughter and positive interactions between them. It is evident that staff are in tune with the children’s individual communication needs, which helps them to respond to the children’s wishes.

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inadequate

Managers have taken steps to improve the physical environment of the home, including the fitting of a new wet room. There is adequate space available for children with physical disabilities both inside the home and in the gardens. This supports children to develop independence skills through exploring their environment and having accessible play equipment.

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

The manager does not ensure that the staff take effective action when there are serious concerns about a child’s welfare. On at least one occasion, managers failed to investigate safeguarding concerns arising from a child having sustained injuries while under the supervision of staff. The managers failed to appropriately identify this poor practice and, therefore, no action was taken. These failures expose the children to the risk of harm.

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

Investigations into safeguarding concerns are not managed effectively. In one example, the manager did not notify the local authority designated officer of the safeguarding incident. Furthermore, the manager did not notify HMCI within the required timescales. This prevents independent scrutiny of safeguarding practice in the home.

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

The recording of some physical interventions is poor. These records are not consistently completed by staff, and the manager’s oversight is poor. Staff do not Inspection report for children’s home: SC033628 4 consistently receive debriefs following a physical intervention. As a result, the incidents do not have a quality evaluation of practice to ensure that the intervention is safe, proportionate and necessary.

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

Safer recruitment practice is not robust. One member of staff has been working on shift in the home prior to references being reviewed by the manager. Recruitment records have missing information including employment references, gaps in employment and reasons for leaving previous employment. This does not ensure that staff are suitable or safe to be working with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are significant shortfalls with the leadership and management of the home. The manager does not have effective systems in place to ensure that staff work as a cohesive team. This means that children frequently experience inconsistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home’s manager is experienced in working with children with disabilities. However, he does not hold a suitable qualification in leadership and management. There is no clear plan to evidence when this will be completed. This has not been robustly monitored by the provider.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Not all staff have adequate training to meet the needs of the children accessing short breaks. On occasion, the home has not had a member of staff qualified in first aid caring for children. This means that the manager does not have adequate oversight to ensure staff have the necessary skills and experience to meet the needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Appraisals are not undertaken within timescale. Therefore, managers have missed an opportunity to develop the practice of some of their long-standing members of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has been an increase in medication errors. Staff have identified these errors quickly and taken action to ensure that children are not harmed. However, the manager has not taken robust action to reduce the risk of reoccurrence. As a result, there has been no impact on practice and similar errors continue.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not respond to recommendations made by the independent visitor in a timely way. The provider identified this shortfall in January 2022. However, no action has been taken to rectify this. As a result, this shortfall has led to delay in improving practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has failed to ensure effective management oversight and scrutiny of the children’s records and practice. The manager’s report into the quality of care does not take account of children’s views. Furthermore, the report does not identify actions relevant to the review period. This poor-quality management oversight means that children’s experiences are not analysed, and poor practice is not addressed. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033628 5 The home has an up-to-date statement of purpose. However, the manager has not sent updates to HMCI within the required timescales. This has the potential to hinder the regulator’s oversight. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033628 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, 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

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

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)) 13 November

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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 13 November Inspection report for children’s home: SC033628 7 promotes their welfare.

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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 work as a team where appropriate;

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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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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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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; and

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Requirement Due date

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)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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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 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 13 November Inspection report for children’s home: SC033628 8 individual to work at the home, 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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the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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

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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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*The registered person must ensure that—

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

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

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a description of the measure and its duration;

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details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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

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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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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”)— 13 November Inspection report for children’s home: SC033628 9 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)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child. (Regulation 23 (1)(2)(b)) 13 November

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

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there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 13 November

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Requirement Due date

A person may only manage a children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

having regard to the size of the home, its statement of purpose, and the number and needs (including any needs arising from any disability) of the children—

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the person has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills to manage the home effectively and lead the care of children; and

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For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b)(i), a person has the appropriate experience and qualification if the person has—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 5 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered provider considers to be equivalent to the Level 5 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

The relevant date is— 13 November Inspection report for children’s home: SC033628 10 in the case of a person who starts managing a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 3 years after the date on which that person started managing a home. (Regulation 28 (1)(b)(i) (2)(c)(i)(ii) (3)(a))

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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

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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the quality of care provided for children;

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the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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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 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5)) 13 November

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

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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)) 13 November

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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) Inspection report for children’s home: SC033628 11 Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033628 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: City Hall, Centenary Square, Bradford BD1 1HY

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Picklu Roychoudhury

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Inspector

Sadie Mulkeen, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC033628 13 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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