Children's Home run by Bristol City Council in Bristol

Inspection report for children’s home: SC067151 1 SC067151 Registered provider: Bristol City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a local authority and provides short breaks for up to five children with learning disabilities and/or complex health needs.

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Information about this children’s home

This home is managed by two managers who job share. Since the last inspection, one of the registered managers has resigned their registration. The current manager registered with Ofsted in April 2018. A second manager has been recruited, and following her induction, she will progress her application for joint registration with Ofsted.

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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

Date of last inspection: 12 January 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC067151 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/01/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 11/08/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/06/2019 Full Good 27/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC067151 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The introductions and endings of children’s short-break stays are carefully considered and individualised to meet each child’s needs. Parents are provided with valuable information and support when their child is visiting this home. Parents say they feel reassured that their child is cared for by staff who know their child well and who provide nurturing care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy their short-break stays, and they have fun and feel safe with the adults who care for them. When children arrive, staff greet them with genuine warmth and happiness to see them. Children were observed by the inspector to be happy and excited; they confidently enter the home, make themselves comfortable and decide what to play with first.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite the challenges of the building, the home provides children with an inviting environment to visit. The home is welcoming and well resourced to meet the needs of the children. Specialised equipment helps children with their personal care and life skills. Children’s personal interests are promoted well, and they enjoy a wide range of activities, both within the home and out in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff effectively respond to the support needs of the children and their families. Although the children’s education placements and healthcare needs are directly managed by parents, the staff help and attend education meetings and healthcare appointments when necessary.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Restrictions in place for one child are managed well, and these restrictions are kept under regular review by the registered manager, parents and health professionals. Despite this excellent management of risk, the child’s behaviour support plan does not provide sufficient guidance for new and experienced staff. This specifically relates to the timescales for when they need to guide and check on the child when he is distressed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents and professionals are positive about the quality of care and support their children receive. Parents feel able to contact carers for advice and have experienced a positive, helpful response to any concerns they have. The team works collaboratively with others in the best interests of children.

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

The manager and team prioritise children’s safety, health and well-being. Staff demonstrate a good awareness of safeguarding procedures and protocols, and they refresh their safeguarding training regularly. Parents say they value the quality of safe care that their child receives. Inspection report for children’s home: SC067151 4 Behaviour management is focused on encouragement and praise. Staff sometimes are required to physically guide one child to manage and mitigate risk. The use of this physical intervention is manged well and only used when there is a risk of harm. Care plans and risk assessments are regularly reviewed. The information in these plans provides staff with most of the guidance they need to meet the children’s needs, except for what to do on the rare occasions when high-risk incidents take place.

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

The registered manager has thorough oversight of incidents. She analyses incident reports to look for triggers and trends. Body maps are completed when staff identify unexplained injuries on children’s bodies. In the main, these records are completed to a good standard. However, some records do not always provide sufficient detail of the actions that have been taken in response. This limits the registered manager’s ability to track emerging trends or determine if the unexplained injuries need to be considered as a potential safeguarding concern.

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

The registered manager works closely with the nursing team to ensure that medicines are kept safely and administered effectively. Safe and effective systems are in place to regularly audit and monitor the management of medicines. Since the last inspection, there has been one reported medication error. In response, the registered manager took appropriate and robust action.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This home has been managed by two registered managers who job share. Since the last inspection, one of the registered managers has resigned, and a new manager has been recruited and is due to start employment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The current registered manager is child-focused, reflective and provides effective support to the team. Staff speak highly of the support and guidance that they receive. They are happy working at this home and are a stable and consistent team. The registered manager’s determination to provide children with safe, nurturing care is shared by the staff, who ensure that children’s visits are fun experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A strength of the registered manager is her drive to promote reflective practice. Team meetings and one-to-one supervision sessions provide helpful opportunities for staff to share practice and identify ways to better support children. These meetings are managed well, and the registered manager provides challenge in these meetings, helping staff to find creative solutions to complex situations. These meetings enable everyone to have a voice, and actions are set and followed up.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff have attended mandatory refresher training courses. Specialist training courses are available to staff that help them to understand and meet the children’s diagnosed needs. However, this does not current include training on safeguarding children with learning disabilities, sexually harmful behaviour or alternative communication systems. The registered manager acknowledges that the staff would benefit from these specialised training opportunities. Inspection report for children’s home: SC067151 5 Since the last inspection, an electronic recording system has been introduced. Staff have received training on how to use this system. Most of the staff team feel confident using it. However, a small number of staff are not as confident and are receiving additional support and training. Weaknesses identified at this inspection relate to the two current recording systems. The registered manager confirmed that

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

some written records have not been transferred onto the electronic system, which has impacted on her management monitoring.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s development plan is regularly reviewed. However, the plan currently focuses on regulatory requirements. The manager has not yet considered including development opportunities and feedback from stakeholders that will improve children’s opportunities and experiences. The workforce development plan is in place and regularly reviewed. Inspection report for children’s home: SC067151 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s risk assessments contain clear guidance and strategies for staff on how to mitigate and reduce risks.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that staff complete specialist training courses to meet the children’s complex needs. 26 May 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the written development plan is formalised to include ideas that the management team has to improve the quality of care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that body map records are consistently clear, identify what follow-up actions have been taken and are crossed-referenced with any associated documents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children’s home: SC067151 7

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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: SC067151 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bristol City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: City Hall, College Green, Bristol BS1 5TR

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Inspector

Sharron Escott, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC067151 9 regulates and inspects 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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