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

Inspection report children's home: SC061005 1 SC061005 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 five children with a range of social and emotional difficulties. There were five children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 3 May 2022.

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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: 11 January 2022

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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: SC061005 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/01/2022 Full Good 18/05/2021 Full Inadequate 25/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 02/07/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 3

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inadequate

Children have made progress however significant shortfalls in leadership and management and in ensuring the safety and protection of the children means that overall experiences are judged inadequate.

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inadequate

A full complement of staff means that children receive stability from the staff caring for them, this encourages positive relationships to develop as children know the adults who are looking after them.

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inadequate

All staff have been trained in the local authority’s chosen therapeutic model of care. However, this is not embedded across the whole team. One professional and one staff member commented that some staff are not working with the model. This means that children experience inconsistent care.

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inadequate

Staff support children to access education and attend school. Staff have supported children to move to schools that suit their needs better. One of the children has achieved good exam results. Staff advocate on children’s behalves if a service is not meeting their needs. Children are supported to develop independent living skills at their own pace. One of the children was proud of the work that they have been completing in preparation for moving on.

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inadequate

Children enjoy a wide range of hobbies and activities that reflect their interests. Children’s views about where they live are largely positive. Most of the children are happy living in the home. The registered manager is reviewing how the children’s opinions can best be captured, as the current children’s meetings are not productive and do not contribute to improvements in the home.

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inadequate

Children’s health needs are met. Children are encouraged to take age-appropriate responsibility for their health. Children are supported to develop emotional resilience and discussions with staff and specialists take place to help children understand their feelings.

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inadequate

Children spend time with people who are important to them. The children’s rooms have been recently redecorated and furnished to their tastes.

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

Staff have not ensured that children are protected. Potential ligature hazards have not been removed from the home despite the manager being aware of the known risk to several of the children. The inspectorate was notified of two incidents of children threatening self-harm with ligatures, and on both occasions, Ofsted was assured that the home had been made safe. Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 4 Some staff have demonstrated a poor understanding of their responsibilities to safely manage and to respond consistently to children’s behaviour. Staff’s failure to follow a child’s individual plan led to a child being harmed. Staff did not apply the principles of the home’s model of care and this resulted in a child’s behaviour escalating in response to being held. The continuation of the incident in an unsafe place, at the top of the stairs, resulted in both a staff member and the child being

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

injured. The records and discussions in response to the incident show an inappropriate element of blame.

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

Inaccuracies and inconsistencies in the body map completed by staff do not clarify the size and appearance of the marks on the child or the location of the incident. No medical advice was sought for the child, despite them having marks on their body as a result of the injury. This does not ensure children are safeguarded effectively.

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

The staff involved did not recognise the incident as one of physical intervention. In addition, the refresher restraint training for one of the staff involved had lapsed. Inconsistencies in the accounts of the staff involved and of the child do not promote clarity and good safeguarding practice.

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

The quality of children’s plans is not consistent. When risk assessments are updated the information is not always readily available to staff. The manager cannot be assured that staff are familiar with changes to children’s plans. This means that information about the steps staff should take in response to concerns may not be known to them.

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

There has been a reduction in children going missing. For most children, there are clear plans for staff to follow when children’s locations are unknown. However, for one child, their separate missing safety plan was not in their file. There was also confusion as to whether it was current, with one staff member confirming it was not up to date. This means that staff do not always have the most recent information needed to help children to be located quickly.

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

The manager has taken steps to improve the response to allegations, using an internal investigation to speed up the process. Relevant agencies, including the local authority designated officer were informed of an allegation against a member of staff. However, there was an initial delay in accurate information being shared with the manager. This does not provide assurances that children are adequately safeguarded in a timely way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home is managed by a qualified and experienced manager. The management team is aspirational for the children. Professionals acknowledge that there are strengths within the staff team. However, the manager has not ensured that all staff use the therapeutic model of care well. This means that children do not experience a predictable and consistent response from the adults around them. Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 5 The manager has taken steps to reduce the number of changes within the staff team. This includes shift patterns being altered to increase consistency for children. Staff spoken to were positive about the support that they receive. Staff are not consistent in the care they provide to children. Staff receive regular supervision, and team meetings take place on a frequent basis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has not consistently evaluated practice to ensure that intervention was safe, proportionate and necessary. Although the manager was aware of the incident of restraint, she had not ensured that staff made a record of this in line with the provider’s model of physical intervention. This was a missed opportunity to address some of the shortfalls in practice as well as the importance of addressing inconsistent recording with staff through supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has not ensured that there are systems in place to ensure that the training of all staff, particularly in relation to restraint, is up to date. This makes it difficult for the manager to check the status of staff training and to have an overview of which staff require refresher training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are shortfalls in the system that the manager uses for monitoring the quality of children’s records and if staff have read updated information. The manager had not identified that one child’s plan contained out-of-date information. The safety plan for another child, following its update in November, had been moved to a separate file for staff to read and sign. However, only three staff signed to confirm they had read the plan since that date. This means that some staff do not have a full and current understanding of the steps that they are to take to help and protect children. The provider has been slow in their response to addressing weaknesses and confusion in paper files as this shortfall was also identified by the independent visitor in November 2022. Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 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’ 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(xi))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the actions of staff are consistent with children’s plans and do not result in situations becoming unsafe to either children or staff. 19 March 2023

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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; 19 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 7 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;

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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 premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all staff recognise unsafe practice. The registered person must ensure that injuries are accurately recorded and that medical assistance is offered to a child as needed. The registered person must ensure that children’s risk assessments include all the information that staff need to support children to be safe. The registered person must ensure that children cannot access items that present a hazard due to children’s known risks.

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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

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; 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)(b) (2)(a)(c)(h)) 19 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 8 The registered person must ensure that they have a system in place to identify and address shortfalls in practice. This includes whether staff are completing documents in a detailed and accurate way.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the training of all staff is current and that staff deliver care that is consistent with the home’s model of care.

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing—

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Requirement Due date

injury to any person (including the child);

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Requirement Due date

serious damage to the property of any person (including the child); or

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (1)(a)(b)(2))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff only use physical intervention when it is in accordance with a child’s plan and is necessary and proportionate. 19 March 2023

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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 19 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 9 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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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 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities and recognise when they have used physical intervention. The registered person must ensure that any incident of restraint is correctly and accurately recorded so that it can be properly evaluated.

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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: SC061005 10

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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 Hall, Centenary Square, Bradford BD1 1HY

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Picklu Roychoudhury

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Inspector

Laura Grundy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC061005 11 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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