Children's Home run by Midas Manors Ltd in Bradford

Inspection report for children’s home: 2693113 1 Registered provider: Midas Manors Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. The home is registered to care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties. There are currently two children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager have been registered with Ofsted since 12 September 2022. At the time of this visit, the registered manager was absent from the home. There are temporary management arrangements in place to cover the absence.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Due to serious and widespread concerns identified at the full inspection on 19 and 20 April 2023, a case review was held. Ofsted issued two compliance notices under section 22 of the Care Standards Act 2000. These were in relation to regulation 12, the protection of children standard, and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. A monitoring visit on 13 June 2023 found the provider had not made sufficient progress with the compliance notices. As a result, the two notices were reissued. Inspection report for children’s home: 2693113 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/04/2023 Full Inadequate 03/01/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/11/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2693113 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences of living in this home are mixed. One child described their experience as positive; the other child expressed that they were less happy about their day-to-day care. There are signs that children do feel more comfortable in the company of staff. For example, children sit together more often during mealtimes and enjoy a variety of activities away from the home with staff.

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improvement to be good

Regular meetings with the children’s placing local authority help to manage problems as they arise. Open lines of communication with the children’s social workers also enable staff to share the children’s wishes and feelings about matters that are most important to them, such as agreeing plans to see friends and being happy at school.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the children to have family time in line with their care plans. The collaborative approach with the children’s social workers helps to manage the impact of complex family relationships.

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improvement to be good

The children’s health needs are not fully supported, because some of the actions set out in their health care plans are being overlooked. Children lack the level of help they need to manage their healthy eating and diet, sexual health and support to understand the dangers associated with vaping.

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improvement to be good

The children’s in-house care plans provide minimal guidance to staff about their individual needs. Regular conversations take place with children in response to incidents as they occur. However, the type and style of conversations are limited and do not focus on the children’s broader needs, such as helping them develop their independence and important life skills, including their understanding of identity and cultural differences.

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improvement to be good

The children’s educational progress varies and both children have experienced a period of absence. One child’s home tutoring programme helped them to have a positive learning experience prior to them enrolling at college. For the other child, alternative school arrangements are in process, but the manager does not have access to the children’s education care plans. This prevents them from knowing that they have everything in place to meet the children’s education needs.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy a variety of activities with staff and are helped to maintain important friendships. Children share their views about their wishes and feelings through conversations with the manager and staff. The increase in enjoyable and social experiences is helping to build stronger relationships for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2693113 4

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improvement to be good

Restraint and missing-from-care incidents are not a concern at this home. When incidents have occurred, they have been well managed in order to promote the children’s safety.

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improvement to be good

A newly amended safety plan provides staff with clear direction and guidance about the actions they must take when children are away from the home. This has helped to reduce the risks for one child when they stay overnight at a friend’s house.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are not consistent or streamlined and do not provide staff with clarity when making important decisions about children’s safety. Several areas of duplicated information may lead to inconsistent safeguarding practice. Behaviour support plans do not provide staff with good enough insight into the children’s behaviours. They lack the guidance required for staff to respond to individual incidents. Plans are not reviewed after incidents occur and children are not involved in writing their plan as described in the home’s statement of purpose.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment checks for new members of staff have improved, but gaps remain. For example, the qualifications certificates for two new starters have not been seen by managers. A reference from a person with suitable authority was not explored prior to a senior manager starting at the home. This is not aligned to the expectations set out in the Children’s Home Regulations (England) 2015.

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improvement to be good

Managers have followed procedures when concerns are raised about staff practice. However, during periods of investigation, staff have moved to the sister home without sufficient risk management and oversight. This potentially exposes children to unnecessary risk.

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improvement to be good

The acting manager has appropriately escalated concerns when the actions of others have fallen short of their safeguarding responsibilities. They have responded appropriately to ensure the safety of children.

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good

The acting manager has provided stability and guidance to the team. However, the temporary management arrangements place limitations on the amount of progress that can be made. The recent recruitment of a new responsible individual adds strength to the management team while the provider works towards a more permanent arrangement.

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good

Staff benefit from regular management oversight. They are positive about helping children to feel well cared for. However, further work is needed to develop the quality of the team’s care practice as staffing changes continue to occur. The recent addition of two new staff has bolstered the team’s morale. Inspection report for children’s home: 2693113 5 Not all staff have received practice-related supervision. The frequency of supervision for the new members of staff is not aligned to the providers supervision policy. This does not help staff to be effective in their roles.

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good

Records are disorganised and do not show how children make progress. Managers do not have access to the children’s care plans. Regular meetings with the children’s social workers provide some assurances that the children’s care is being delivered in line with the local authority’s expectations.

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good

The team’s training strategy does not help staff retain their learning after completing training courses or reading documentation relevant to their role. Some staff were unaware of the local authority designated officer or the details of a child’s safety plan. The consecutive completion of numerous e-learning courses does not allow for learning to be embedded.

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good

Managers respond to concerns about the continued suitability of staff to work with children. This helps to develop and maintain high standards of care for children.

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good

Certain areas of the home do not feel homely and lack a personal touch. In the children’s bedrooms, areas of damage are not repaired in a timely manner. Checks completed by staff overlook obvious signs that should lead to them being curious about the children’s welfare.

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good

Children’s complaints are appropriately managed. The recording system now shows how complaints are resolved and the actions managers take to reach their conclusion. Children are consulted about the outcome in order to help bring a satisfactory closure to the matter. However, the provider has not fulfilled the actions sufficiently in the 6 monthly report in relation to seeking feedback from others. Inspection report for children’s home: 2693113 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, 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 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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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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

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv) (c)(i)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that damage in the children’s bedrooms is repaired without delay, all areas of the home, including carpets are effectively cleaned, and staff’s day-to-day routines help to identify environmental concerns to explore the children’s welfare needs. 1 October 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

that staff— 1 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2693113 7 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; 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)(v)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that:

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Requirement Due date

the children’s behaviour support plans are up-to-date and provide staff with sufficient direction about how to help children; that

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Requirement Due date

the risk assessment system is reviewed to remove duplicated information; and that

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Requirement Due date

sufficient risk management is in place when decisions are made for staff to remain working with children following concerns being raised about their practice.

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they review the team’s learning strategy to ensure that staff are helped to benefit from the training they have. Managers must have a system that helps them to be reassured that staff retain the information from their learning. 1 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. 1 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2693113 8 The registered person may only—

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that staff receive practice-related supervision in line with the policy. 1 October 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

The registered person must ensure that they have the children’s up-to-date local authority care and education plans. 1 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2693113 9 The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (5))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the quality-of-care review includes feedback from staff. 1 October 2023

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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: 2693113 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 19 Poplars Park Road, Bradford, Bradford BD2 1DU

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Inspector

Aaron Mcloughlin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2693113 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 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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