Children's Home run by Building Bridges Care Homes Ltd in St Helens

Inspection report for children's home: 1250035 1 Registered provider: Building Bridges Care Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care for up to five children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. The home is privately owned and managed.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 9 November 2021

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1250035 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/11/2021 Full Good 21/01/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 09/05/2019 Full Good 30/01/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 1250035 3

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improvement to be good

Three children live in the home. The staff build good relationships with the children. Children say that they feel listened to, and staff spend time with them. One child said that the staff have helped them grow as a person.

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improvement to be good

Some children are making progress with their education and aspire for their future careers. However, not all children are fully engaging in education, and this has delayed their learning and outcomes. The staff do not always ensure there is a daily routine in place for children when they are not in school or provide them with educational activities.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the children to maintain good physical health. Children are encouraged to eat healthily and attend all their health appointments.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to see their family and maintain regular communication with them. Family members and friends are welcome to visit the children at home. This helps the children to maintain their identity and continue to see the people who are important to them.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to engage in activities such as baking, going to the cinema and bowling. The staff arrange meals out and themed events in the home. This is helping children develop their social skills and resilience.

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improvement to be good

Direct work is carried out with children on important issues, such as school, inappropriate language, family time and incidents. However, direct work regarding the use of social media and the internet is not consistently undertaken with children. This means that children are not fully aware of the risks and how to stay safe online as they get older.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to develop some daily life skills. Two children travel independently on public transport. However, staff do not always support the children to develop independent living skills specific to their individual needs. This limits the children’s growth in confidence and preparation for adult life.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not have current copies of all the children’s relevant plans, including the pathway plan, personal education plan, the health assessment, and the education, health and care plan (EHC plan). Therefore, staff do not have access to up-to-date information about the children. This restricts the staff’s ability to support the children and their development and to measure the children’s progress accurately from when they moved in. Inspection report for children's home: 1250035 4 The home environment is homely, and the children’s bedrooms are personalised. However, parts of the home are unkempt, and the decoration needs to be refreshed in some areas.

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improvement to be good

Children living in the home say that they feel safe. Children say that they can talk to staff about any worries they have.

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improvement to be good

Children receive help and support to manage their behaviour and feelings safely. Staff provide the children with clear boundaries. Staff use effective de-escalation techniques, and there have not been any incidents of physical interventions.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments and behaviour management plans are in place. These are updated following significant incidents. However, staff do not always follow children’s plans consistently. For example, on one occasion, a staff member went to sleep during a waking night shift, which left the children at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

The staff do not always follow the statutory guidance for children who are missing from home. Staff do not routinely look for children when they are missing. This does not help to minimise the risks to the children.

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improvement to be good

Records of incidents are in place. However, body maps are not always completed when children have sustained a physical injury and there is limited information about de-briefs conducted with staff. In addition, managers have not informed Ofsted of all serious incidents, including when emergency services have attended the home.

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improvement to be good

Pre-admission planning is not always robust. The manager did not liaise with all relevant professionals prior to a child moving into the home. This meant that the manager moved a child into the home without fully understanding how the staff needed to keep all the children safe. This led to one child moving out of the home in an unplanned way.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to make a complaint. They are kept fully informed throughout the process and understand the actions taken because of their complaint. Their complaints are treated seriously and learning reviews take place to help improve practice.

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improvement to be good

There is CCTV on the outside of the home. This is used to support the safety and well-being of the children and staff. However, the manager has not gained consent to any monitoring or surveillance by the placing authority in writing.

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good

There have been several staff changes since the last inspection and vacancies remain. The registered manager post is currently vacant; however, an experienced Inspection report for children's home: 1250035 5 acting manager has recently joined the home for an interim period. Staff work hard to cover the gaps in staff rosters. Nevertheless, agency workers are used to cover the shortfalls which does not ensure that children receive continuity of care.

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good

Effective monitoring and review systems are not in place for all children. This means that the manager and staff cannot always identify and act on shortfalls to improve the quality of care that all children receive. However, the acting manager has a good understanding of what needs to be improved and has already started to implement positive changes.

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good

Staff say that they feel well supported by the managers. Team meetings take place each month and staff attend reflective practice sessions led by a clinical psychologist. However, staff do not always receive regular supervision. This means that managers do not have a clear oversight of all staff’s strengths and areas for development.

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good

Safer recruitment is followed and new staff coming into the home receive an appropriate induction. Staff receive training to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to understand and meet the children’s individual needs. For example, staff have completed training in restorative justice and behaviour management. Inspection report for children's home: 1250035 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child's education and training targets, as recorded in the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child's learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child's relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(viii)(x))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered person ensuring that the staff support children to attend school as detailed in 12 April 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1250035 7 their relevant plans. When a child is not attending school, the staff must support them to engage in home learning, independent study and provide them with educational activities.

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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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered person ensuring that children's safety plans and the missing child policy are always followed consistently by staff. 29 March 2023

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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

promotes their welfare. 12 April 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1250035 8 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to staff receiving regular supervision as set out in the statement of purpose.

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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 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

This relates specifically to the registered manager ensuring that pre-admission planning robustly considers the needs of any new child and those of all children already living in the home, and how any risks can be managed. 12 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered person having up- to-date copies of the children's plans prepared by the placing authority. This includes the children's care plan or pathway plan, EHC plan, personal education plan, placement plan and the minutes of any review of the placing authority's plan for the care of the children, or of the children's placement plan. 12 April 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1250035 9 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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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

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)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the registered person ensuring that regulation 40 notifications are sent to Ofsted without delay. 12 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children's home's 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

understand and apply the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation (6) (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(vi)) 12 April 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1250035 10 This relates specifically to the registered manager ensuring that staff help children to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or to live independently. This includes supporting the child to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope without the home's support and, where the child is moving to live independently, practical skills, such as cooking, housework, budgeting and personal self-care.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should obtain written consent to any monitoring or surveillance from the placing authority in writing at the time of placement. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page16, paragraph 3.16)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children and staff have a debrief following a significant incident and that this takes place in a timely way. The de- brief should be carried out by someone who is not involved in the incident. Evidence of the de-briefs should be detailed within the records. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 43, paragraph 9.10)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children live in a home that is clean, tidy, and decorated to a good standard throughout. This needs to be consistently maintained. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should make sure that the home's records of any incidents include a completed body map if a physical injury has been sustained. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including quality standards', page 63, paragraph 14.14)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there are robust monitoring and review systems in place to ensure continuous improvement. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including quality standards', page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: 1250035 11

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Building Bridges Care Homes Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Mill Farm, Bull Bridge Lane, Liverpool L10 6LZ

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Inspector

Dawn Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1250035 12 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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