Children's home run by Birtenshaw in Bolton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC373044 1 SC373044 Registered provider: Birtenshaw Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company and is registered to provide care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection since the home reopened in January 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2023.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC373044 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 29/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/12/2018 Full Good 21/11/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC373044 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children were living in the home at the time of this inspection. One child has moved out of the home. Staff supported the child to be involved in the planning for his move by using photos and a social story. This enabled the child to be involved in decisions about his own care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children live in a spacious home with modern furnishings throughout. Photos of the children adorn the walls in communal areas. This helps to make the home welcoming for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff know the children well. Staff use children’s preferred methods of communication, which enables the children to participate in choices about their daily lives. Children’s views are understood and acted on by the manager. For example, one child asked to see his previous foster carers, and the manager acted on this and arranged for the foster carers to visit the home the same day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff promote children’s relationships with their families and connected persons. This includes sending photos to parents and facilitating children’s time with those individuals who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend health appointments and understand their own health needs. Some staff are not trained in administering medication. When needed, a staff member from another home within the company attends the home to administer medication. This is an interim arrangement until staff have completed the required training.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children attend school and are making progress. Staff celebrate children’s achievements and help them understand the progress that they have made. Staff support children to pursue a range of activities. This is developing their self-esteem and friendships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff complete good-quality direct work with children, which supports them to understand their own experiences. Staff support children to learn independence skills in line with their abilities, which helps them to prepare for adulthood.

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

Staff understand their roles and responsibilities in protecting children. Children’s known risks have reduced since living in the home. Children’s plans give staff clear guidance on how to keep children safe. Staff promote children’s positive behaviour through the use of rewards and individualised goals. This enables children to understand what is expected of them and teaches them how to manage their feelings safely. Inspection report for children’s home: SC373044 4 Physical intervention is rarely used. When physical intervention is used, the manager carries out a debrief with the staff and the child involved. This helps the manager to evaluate each incident and prevent further reoccurrences.

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

Staff support children to take age-appropriate risks in line with their abilities, which builds children’s confidence. For example, the children attend swimming, and one child enjoys cooking activities.

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

One child has recently displayed behaviours that increase the risk of fire in the home. The manager has made some changes to the interior of the home to reduce risks to the children. Despite this, the risk assessment related to this concern has not been updated to reflect the strategies in place to manage this.

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

The manager has not updated the safe area risk assessment. This means that the risks in the community are not fully understood.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager promotes a culture in which there is ambition and high expectations for all of the children. The manager has a clear understanding of the quality of care that the children receive, and he has effective monitoring systems in place and acts when shortfalls are identified. The manager implements clear development plans that improve the experiences of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the manager and enjoy working in the home. They take part in regular supervision sessions and team meetings. Staff access a range of training, which ensures that they have the knowledge and skills to meet the children’s needs. The manager ensures that there is sufficient staff in place to meet the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works in partnership with external agencies to ensure that children are supported to reach their potential. This has included working with the paediatric health team to support one child who has a fear of needles, to enable necessary health checks to be completed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has external monitoring systems in place and responds to feedback to improve the children’s experience, including monthly visits by an independent person. However, the manager has not identified that the independent person gathers children’s views through staff or direct work completed by staff. This means that children are not consistently given the opportunity to speak to an independent person about the care they receive. Inspection report for children’s home: SC373044 5

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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 review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person assessing the suitability of the location of the premises. 3 October 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the independent person offers each child the opportunity to speak to them at least monthly to inform an understanding of children’s experiences and the care provided to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)  The registered person must update the fire risk assessments to detail known risks in the home and how these will be managed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC373044 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Birtenshaw Darwen Road, Bromley Cross, Bolton BL7 9AB

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Inspector

Sally Griffiths, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC373044 7 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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