Children's home run by Bradford Children’s and Families Trust

Inspection report for children’s home: 2729749 1 Registered provider: Bradford Children and Families Trust Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home transferred from local authority ownership to Bradford Children and Families Trust on 1 April 2023. The home provides a short-breaks service and long- term care for up to 10 children with physical or learning disabilities and/or sensory impairment. At the time of the inspection, children were receiving short breaks and four children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has not been working in the home since April 2023. The interim manager has been in post since 12 April 2023 and has recently taken steps to commence the registration process.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first full inspection since it transferred to the trust. A monitoring visit was carried out on 27 April 2023 following the provider raising significant concerns with Ofsted about the running of the home.

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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 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: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2729749 2

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences of living at or visiting this home are inconsistent. While their care and the quality of their experiences have recently improved, further work is needed to ensure that all children have consistently positive experiences.

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improvement to be good

The short-breaks service remains on reduced capacity while the widespread concerns that leaders and managers identified are being addressed. High levels of staff sickness also impact on how many children receive short breaks. Several children and their families continue to have a lengthy wait to access this much needed support.

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improvement to be good

There have been improvements to the internal decor of the home. Paintwork in most areas has been refreshed. There is a homely feel. However, the music room is routinely locked, which means that children are unable to access this freely. This does not support them having free access around the home.

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improvement to be good

The vast gardens outside are in a very poor state. Inaccessible play equipment and overgrown grass, brambles and weeds prevent children’s enjoyment. This is a missed opportunity for children to experience increased freedom.

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improvement to be good

Opportunities for children to engage in stimulating activities in the home and community have not always been available. However, more recently, children are benefiting from an increased range of activities. Some children who live at the home have had their first holiday.

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improvement to be good

Observations of children and staff during the inspection have been consistently positive. Children have good relationships with staff, who demonstrate high levels of nurture and care. One child approached staff and shared that they felt unwell. Staff responded immediately to reassure the child and make them feel better. Role play and friendly banter observed with another child make the child feel happy.

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improvement to be good

Staff know individual children well. The children who stay at this home use many different forms of communication, including pictures and signs. Staff were observed using children’s preferred communication methods to understand their wishes and feelings.

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improvement to be good

Children are generally well safeguarded and protected from harm. In most cases, they are only held when they may be at risk of harm to themselves or others. However, on one occasion, while a child was distressed, the staff caring for the child did not manage this well. Other staff present recognised this as poor practice but Inspection report for children’s home: 2729749 3 failed to intervene. The staff failed to escalate their concerns despite a manager being present in the home. This child had a poor experience.

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improvement to be good

Issues relating to staff practice have not always been acted on quickly. However, since the interim manager has been in post, practice concerns have been dealt with swiftly. The interim manager and the senior staff take action to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

The quality of records is inconsistent. Most incident records demonstrate actions, and lines of accountability are made clear. However, there are no records relating to one incident, and there are gaps in the records maintained by the previous manager. This hinders the manager’s oversight and ability to fully understand children’s experiences.

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improvement to be good

Children’s medication is not always administered as prescribed. However, the interim manager has responded to medication errors, which has led to improved awareness and refresher training being delivered. Improved management systems are now in place that monitor medication administration, and staff have received training from qualified nurses and are therefore clearer on what to do should a mistake occur.

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improvement to be good

The lack of attention given to external areas of the home means that children are not always safe when playing out. Hazards including uneven floor surfaces and loose brickwork could cause children injury.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are individualised and capture the children’s risks and vulnerabilities. They provide clarity on what staff must do to help children be safe. Staff can describe children’s needs and risks in detail.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children and help them to learn and develop. Staff talk to children and are creative in their approach. This means that children are well supported to understand complex issues, including bereavement. Children’s feelings are acknowledged, and they are supported to have positive memories of those close to them who they have lost.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leaders and acting manager identified significant and widespread concerns in April 2023. The current manager has worked hard to gain a detailed understanding of the shortfalls and risks. It has been a turbulent time for the staff and the interim manager. Several members of staff are off work due to long-term sickness but the core team of staff, including the deputy managers, are working hard to maintain consistency for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The interim manager demonstrates drive and is ambitious to get things right for children. While she has addressed several practice issues with staff and is working on improving morale at the home effectively, there has not yet been enough time for her to embed the plans she has for the improvements. While some changes have been impactful, other action is yet to be realised. For example, workshops to Inspection report for children’s home: 2729749 4 increase staff’s knowledge and help them to better understand their roles and responsibilities have yet to be undertaken.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A significant number of long-standing staff do not have the required qualifications. There are significant gaps in staff completing mandatory training, including safeguarding training. The interim manager identified this quickly on her arrival at the home and has put plans in place to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager takes complaints seriously. Parents are listened to and investigations around their concerns are thoroughly explored. Parents are now being kept up to date and informed of the outcome of their complaint. One parent told the inspector that when they complained to the interim manager, they felt reassured that their concerns were heard, and action was taken. The parent felt confident that their child would have more positive experiences when visiting this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands what good care for children looks like. She escalates concerns to senior leaders when she identifies drift and delay for individual children. She is tenacious in her approach to challenging leaders when she identifies poor decision-making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported. They have confidence in the interim manager and her decision-making. Staff also say that she models good practice and embodies the ethos of what a good home should look like. Staff feel positive and inspired.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When practice concerns arise, managers have discussions with staff in a timely manner, they do not wait for supervision. These discussions help staff to understand what needs to change. Staff say they have regular supervision meetings, which they find helpful. However, there are significant gaps in written records of supervision. This hinders the interim manager’s ability to better understand individual staff needs and be reassured that supervisors are addressing these effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Ofsted is not always notified when serious events occur, such as when a child protection enquiry was started and concluded for one child. This does not help the regulator to be informed or understand what the managers are doing to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2729749 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, 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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the garden is well maintained and accessible to children. 1 December 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

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

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)(a)(v)(vi)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff understand what they must do if they have concerns about the practice of others or the welfare of a child. 1 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2729749 6 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)) 1 December 2023

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 1 December 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 1 December 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

is instigated; or 1 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2729749 7 concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry). (Regulation 40 (4)(d)(i)(ii))

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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: 2729749 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sir Henry Mitchell House (5th Floor), 4 Manchester Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD5 0QL

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Tereasa Denby-Wallis

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Inspectors

Rachel Walker, Social Care Inspector Louise Walker, His Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2729749 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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