Children's Home run by Bay View Child Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children's home: 2590522 1 Registered provider: Bay View Child Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home was registered in July 2020. The home provides care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection there was a manager in post who was not yet registered. This manager has completed the registration process and was awaiting sign off through Ofsted’s administrative processes.

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Information about this children’s home

There were four children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2590522 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2590522 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

C hildren live in a spacious home which is decorated and furnished to a very high standard. Children take pride in their bedrooms and have been supported to personalise them to reflect their own tastes and personalities. This gives children a sense of belonging, as well as a space of their own.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are nurturing in their approach and care for children with kindness. This has led to warm and trusting relationships. Staff take time to listen to children and understand them, which supports children’s good progress and emotional well- being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and their families speak highly of the home and staff. One child said, ‘This home is definitely a YAY!’ and a grandparent described how their grandchild had grown in confidence and appeared happier since he moved to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education and closely support and encourage children’s progress. All the children attend school on a full-time basis and are doing well. Staff were observed supporting one child who is in his final year at high school to plan visits to local colleges.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good opportunities to learn and have fun. Staff have a good understanding of children’s likes and ensure that they have access to a wide variety of activities in line with their interests. One child has recently joined the Scouts and another has joined a boxing club.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain important relationships. A social worker described how staff were proactive in supporting family time and travelled a significant distance to enable this. A child who recently left the home was able to return to the care of his parents following positive work with him and his family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children are supported to visit the home prior to moving in. However, one child did not visit the home or meet staff before he arrived. This child was admitted to the home in an emergency, however earlier opportunity to introduce the child has been missed. In addition, he was given a children’s guide that was not suitable for his needs. Staff supported the child to settle in well, but his experience of moving into the home could have been more positive.

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improvement to be good

Children live in a safe home and are supported by staff who understand their needs. However, risk management is not consistent, and some shortfalls were identified in children’s safety plans. For example, guidance around one child travelling in vehicles Inspection report for children's home: 2590522 4 and around another child accessing the internet was not sufficient. This means that children’s safety and well-being may not always be protected.

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improvement to be good

All staff are provided with safeguarding training and are clear about their responsibility to protect children. Recently, a safeguarding concern was not managed in line with the home’s safeguarding procedures. This did not lead to a child being exposed to additional risk, but it did result in a delay in the matter being reported to the appropriate agencies.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand children and why they may behave in certain ways. They support children’s behaviours in a positive manner, which children generally respond to well. In the case of one child who needs support to understand personal boundaries, support could be more consistent and focused.

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improvement to be good

Physical restraint is only used to protect children or those around them. All incidents are carefully recorded and reviewed by the manager. However, records do not show that sufficient efforts are made to seek and understand the views of children following restraints.

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improvement to be good

None of the children who currently live at the home go missing but this was a concern for a child who recently left the home. At times when this child did go missing, there was a well-coordinated response and staff took swift and appropriate action to safeguard him.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work well with outside professionals to ensure that children receive the right support in areas such as health and education. The manager challenges external services appropriately if they fall short.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak highly of the manager, describing her as supportive and approachable. Staff also say that they receive plenty of good-quality training to help them carry out their roles effectively. Records show that the learning programme is adapted in accordance with children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff turnover is low. This means that children benefit from consistency and stability. Staff are supervised regularly and value this as a time to reflect on practice. Team meetings also take place on a regular basis, at which staff are encouraged to share their views and ideas.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal monitoring is not yet sufficiently effective in highlighting all shortfalls. For example, some shortfalls in risk management and safeguarding practice were found during this inspection which had not been previously identified. More effective use of internal monitoring will help to support the home’s continuous development. Inspection report for children's home: 2590522 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 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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vii)) 25 November

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard requires the registered person to—

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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 (2)(h)) 25 November

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide is age appropriate, provided in an accessible format and explained to each child to make sure they understand it. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.21)  The registered person should ensure that children have the opportunity to visit the home and meet staff prior to moving into the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.8) Inspection report for children's home: 2590522 6  The registered person should ensure that expectations of standards of behaviour are high for all staff and children in the home, that these standards are clear and unambiguous, that children are supported to develop understanding and empathy towards other people, that positive behaviour and relationships are reinforced, praised and encouraged and that poor behaviour is challenged and discussed.

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Recommendations

(‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11)  The registered person should ensure that any child who has been restrained is given the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. In some cases, children may need longer to work through their feelings. Children should be encouraged to add their views and comments to the record of restraint. Children should be offered the opportunity to access advocacy support to help them with this (regulation 7(2)(b)(iii)). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)

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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: 2590522 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bay View Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Core Assets, Malvern View, Saxon Business Park, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove B60 4AD

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Thompson

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Inspector

Marie Cordingley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2590522 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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