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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC416318 1 SC416318 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 is a privately operated children’s home. It provides care for up to four children who have a variety of complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector spoke with all three children who live in the home during this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2022 and is appropriately qualified.

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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 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: SC416318 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/03/2022 Full Good 01/10/2019 Full Good 19/07/2018 Full Outstanding 25/09/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC416318 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy living in this home. Children benefit from a stable and consistent staff team. The children have formed strong relationships with staff which are built on trust and affection. Staff demonstrate a good knowledge and understanding of the individual support needs of the children. This has helped the children to make good progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to attend medical appointments. Staff ensure that the appropriate support is accessed, and make the appropriate referrals when necessary. This includes specialist services, such as the child and adolescent mental health service. This has helped children to make considerable progress towards their health goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good overall attendance at school taking into account their starting points. When children are facing difficulties with attendance and attainment, managers advocate on behalf of children with a sense of urgency. As a result, children make good progress and have aspirations for their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the children to maintain their identity, and to enjoy time with their families. The staff plan and arrange this time so that the children maintain their relationships, and have a positive experience of seeing their families. The staff are skilled at talking with the children about their relationships and their individual anxieties. Family members said that the staff communicate well with them, which further promotes family inclusion.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager assesses the suitability of admissions into the home. This includes seeking the input of children already living in the home. Introductions for children moving into the home help them to understand the expectations and boundaries. Routines are established to help children to experience stability, which assists them to settle quickly into the home. The staff continue to maintain positive relationships with the children, even after they have moved on. This provides children with an extended support network.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to access a wide range of activities and experiences, such as trips abroad, go-karting and involvement in music groups. This helps the children to develop their self-esteem and confidence. However, the staff could capture the children’s special moments better, which would help them to reflect on their experiences while living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with comfortable places to spend time and play. However, a locked door to a communal area prevents children from accessing all areas of their home. Furthermore, areas of the home are showing signs of wear and tear. Children’s bedrooms are not yet personalised to their individual taste, and children’s Inspection report for children’s home: SC416318 4 furniture needs replacing. Leaders acknowledged this and shared their plans to make the necessary improvements.

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

Children quickly develop trusting bonds with the adults who care for them. Children are well cared for by staff who they can turn to for guidance, which helps them to feel safe and secure.

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

The staff know the children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities. Children’s individual risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated following any significant events. The staff work well with the children so that the children understand behaviour that may present a risk to them, and the triggers that may cause them upset. This work has supported children to become increasingly safe.

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

Children are helped to stay safe online. Children receive an awareness from staff around internet safety. Suitable measures are in place to control the children’s access to the internet. This helps to promote good routines for children, which has had a positive effect on children’s sleep patterns and attendance at school.

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

When children are unkind to each other, the staff identify and address this immediately. Children are supported to learn to be kind to each other, and helped to understand why bullying behaviour is not acceptable. This helps the children to develop socially acceptable behaviours.

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

Supportive discussions take place regularly and focus on the children’s needs. The staff are sensitive to the children’s experiences and have an empathic, nurturing approach, which helps the children to feel supported and understood. Staff use a range of tools to provide the children with targeted work to promote their safety. Subsequently, there has been a significant reduction in risk-taking behaviours.

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

Recruitment procedures follow safer recruitment guidelines. This gives assurance that adults are suitably vetted prior to caring for the children.

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

The staff reinforce positive behaviour using rewards and praise. However, when consequences are used, they are not always recorded as a measure of discipline. There is no assurance that children are offered reparation or that measures are restorative in nature. Children’s views are not captured and the absence of records prevents the manager from evaluating if the measures have been necessary and proportionate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. He is supported by two experienced deputy managers. They work together to support one another and complement each other’s skills, which has a positive effect on the staff and the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC416318 5 The responsible individual works closely with the managers. Collaboratively, they have a good understanding of the children’s progress and of the home’s strengths and areas for development. Robust monitoring systems are in place that identify any patterns to children’s behaviour, allowing for early intervention and preventing escalation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision from the management team. Staff are provided with opportunities and a safe space to reflect on their practice in their supervision. This helps the manager to identify and monitor the development needs of the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have completed the organisation’s mandatory training. The manager has also sourced bespoke training, which the staff have completed, including a course on autism spectrum disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and foetal alcohol spectrum disorder. This helps staff to increase their knowledge and understanding of how to respond to children with these needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides senior staff with tasks and responsibilities to help them to develop and learn in their senior role. The manager assigns aspects of the auditing processes to the deputy managers so that there is a joint effort to monitor and scrutinise the care that the children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is reflective in his thinking and he values the importance of continued professional development for the staff. He encourages the staff to look for learning opportunities from any events that occur at the home. This promotes a positive learning culture for the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively of the support they receive from management. However, the inspector identified that, on occasions, the children’s day-to-day care is inconsistent and communication could be improved. This practice gives children mixed messages about expectations of behaviour. Inconsistent practice effects the overall experiences of children in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC416318 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 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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children personal items that are appropriate for their age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a) (2)(vii)(viii)(c)(i)(ii)) 31 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

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; 31 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC416318 7 ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a) (2)(a)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

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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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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")—

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Requirement Due date

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 (1)(b) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 31 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC416318 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children can access all shared areas of their home, unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  The registered person should ensure that the staff understand the importance of carrying out life-story work or other direct work with the children. Life-story work should be kept up to date and treated with respect. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, pages 16, paragraph 3.14)

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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: SC416318 9

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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

Claire Webster, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC416318 10 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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