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

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 2022.

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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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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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: 11 and 12 October 2022

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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 have personalised their bedrooms and the communal areas. This gives children a sense of belonging, as well as a space of their own. A new reading area has been created and staff have donated books for the children. The home provides a calm and welcoming environment. There are a number of pets and the home’s environment helps children to feel safe and secure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Inspectors spoke to all of the children living in the home. Each child has lived there since before the last inspection in October 2022. Warm and nurturing interactions between the children and staff were observed throughout the inspection. The children said that they can talk to staff if they have any concerns, and the staff will listen and help them.

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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. Staff work effectively with education providers. Staff communicate with one child’s special educational needs coordinator every school day. All the children attend school and receive additional tutoring support if needed. The children are making educational progress. Staff have supported one child, who is in his final year at high school, to visit and apply for local colleges.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family time is supported in line with relevant plans, which ensures that it meets the individual needs of the children and ensures that they can maintain relationships that are important to them. The manager and staff work with the family and placing authority to promote meaningful time, and they share any concerns about family time with the relevant professionals.

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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 the staff’s communication as ‘fantastic’ and stated that the team had ‘worked well with the child’s family and have a clear child-centred approach to their work’. However, placing authorities do not always agree with the decisions made by the provider. One placing authority stated that the decision to end a child’s placement at the home was not in the child’s best interests and felt that the staff were meeting his needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff help children to attend all routine health appointments. They support the children to learn the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle. Staff support children to engage in physical activities such as swimming and football. However, the manager should ensure that a broader range of opportunities for the children to learn and have fun are in place and planned in advance, particularly during the school holidays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care and that they can see the results of their views being listened Inspection report for children’s home: 2590522 4 to and acted on. The home does not hold children’s meetings and would benefit from a more structured approach to ensure that children views are captured regularly.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s needs and vulnerabilities. Children’s risk assessments contain pertinent information and clear strategies for staff to implement in order to reduce risk and support children. When children face risks, staff support and educate children through engaging in meaningful conversations to help them to understand and reduce these risks. As a result, risk-taking behaviours have reduced and children are able to talk openly about their feelings and emotions.

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

Some risk assessments do not capture all of the current risks the children face. However, there was evidence of direct work taking place with the children to manage and reduce all risks. The manager should ensure that risk assessments are updated promptly after a new risk has been identified to ensure that all risks are known and understood by the staff team.

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

The positive relationships that staff have with children enable them to de-escalate most challenging situations in an easy and non-confrontational way. Behaviour management plans are in place for each child. They are enhanced by information provided by the children’s social workers. This helps the staff to identify issues that may trigger a reaction from children as well as the most appropriate way to manage this.

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

Staff focus on the use of incentives to promote and reward positive behaviour. However, one child had not received a reward for six months. The manager should ensure that all children have positive behaviour rewarded.

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

Consequences are used sparingly and for restorative reasons. However, one child is currently in a repayment arrangement, which is scheduled to last forty weeks. The manager should review the impact of this arrangement, which has resulted in him receiving reduced amounts of pocket money for many weeks.

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

Physical restraint is only used to protect children or those around them. All incidents of restraint are recorded, but they are not always signed and dated by the manager. Meetings are held with all children who have been restrained, but the recording does not make clear when children were spoken to. The manager must ensure that the recording of physical interventions and subsequent meetings with staff and children are undertaken and recorded in line with Children’s Homes Regulations.

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

Children who go missing from care experience a coordinated response that reduces the risk of harm. There are clear individual missing-from-care plans. Staff ensure that parents and relevant partner agencies are made aware when children are missing from care. Staff search for children when they are missing, and they work hard to ensure that they safely return to the home and are warmly welcomed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2590522 5 Safe and effective recruitment processes help to safeguard children. New staff members are well informed, and all staff receive regular supervision. Staff understand the safeguarding procedures. They are clear which partner agencies they need to collaborate with to ensure that children are kept safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and Managers: good

The manager is passionate and shows an ambitious vision, with high expectations for what all children can achieve. Professionals stated that ‘the management of the home is fantastic’ and the manager was ‘child-focused’ and ‘goes above and beyond for [Child’s Name].’

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The effectiveness of leaders and Managers: good

The manager demonstrates a commitment to improving outcomes for children and sets a positive example for the team. For example, she accompanied a child to a school examination and sat with him throughout it, to provide a reassuring presence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and Managers: good

There has been a high turnover of staff in the home since the last inspection. The manager has reviewed the home’s induction process and has introduced a comprehensive ‘Staff Introduction Book’ for new staff to complete during their first month. This helps staff prepare effectively for their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and Managers: good

Staff spoken to during the inspection said that they enjoy working at the home and feel supported by the management team. The manager and staff collaborate 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. Communication with the children’s family members is effective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and Managers: good

Supervisions are held regularly, which staff find supportive. In these sessions, they talk about the children and their progress and reflect on their own practice, learning and development. Team meetings are held regularly, in which staff are encouraged to share their views and ideas and discuss the progress and experiences of children. Not all of the training records for staff were up to date. The manager should ensure that they are accurate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and Managers: good

The manager should ensure that all relevant information is recorded and passed on to staff when they start a daily work shift at the home. A child slipped on the patio and hurt themselves when their feet were wet after playing with water in the garden. This was not recorded in the ‘Communication’ book or ‘Handover Log.’ Therefore, risk reduction methods, to prevent a similar occurrence, may not have been shared or implemented by staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and Managers: good

There are systems in place for effective monitoring and review of the home. These ensure that the manager has good oversight of the home, which means that she can identify and address any issues. Inspection report for children’s home: 2590522 6 The home is visited by an independent person each month. They write a report with recommendations for improvements in the home. When the report provides suggestions for improvement, managers act on these promptly. Good-quality internal monitoring reports are prepared by the manager on a six-monthly basis. These clearly demonstrate the progress children are making and identify areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and Managers: good

The home operates in a manner that is responsive to children’s needs. Appropriate action has been taken to address the requirements and recommendations raised at the previous inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2590522 7

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

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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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

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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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

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; 8 Sep 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2590522 8 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)(a)(b) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they have spoken to the user within 48 hours of the restraint and have signed and dated a record of this discussion.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they, or an authorised person, have spoken to all children who have been restrained within five days of the measure, and a record of this is signed and dated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that all staff are trained to use restraint appropriately.

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Recommendations

 Children must be consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person should ensure that children are offered a wide range of activities both inside and outside of the home (where appropriate) and are encouraged to participate in those activities. Staff should support children to take part in school trips, out of school and other clubs, volunteering and leisure activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.5)

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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, Inspection report for children’s home: 2590522 9 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 10

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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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Inspectors

Jessica Higginson, Social Care Inspector Steve James, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2590522 11 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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