Children's Home run by Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council in Bolton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 1 SC040723 Registered provider: Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home is registered to care for up to four children. The home provides support for children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 2018. She also manages another home that is in close proximity to this 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 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

Dates of last inspection: 4 and 5 January 2023

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/01/2023 Full Good 10/11/2021 Full Good 26/06/2019 Full Good 18/09/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 3

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improvement to be good

The progress and experiences of children living in the home is varied. Staff are committed to developing positive relationships with children. However, this has not always been possible. Staff have been unable to support one child to make progress. They have not been able to meet the child’s needs or to keep him safe. At times, this has impacted on the experiences of other children living in the home.

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improvement to be good

One child who lived in the home for several years has recently moved on to live in his own accommodation. He is in full-time employment and continues to receive support from staff. The child’s independent reviewing officer said: ‘He regards the staff as part of his family. They have been there with him every step of the way to his goal towards independence.’ The quality and consistency of care the child has received during his teenage years has provided him with the skills and resilience to move successfully into adulthood.

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improvement to be good

Children have differing experiences of education. One child is making good progress. The child now has almost full-time attendance at school, having previously attended sporadically. She is engaging with an increasing number of activities at school. These provide her with new skills and broaden her educational experience. The child’s teacher is very complimentary about the support the child receives and the impact that this has had on the progress she has made. The teacher said, ‘[The child’s keyworker is] absolutely fantastic. The child would not have made the progress she has without her care, understanding and support.’

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improvement to be good

One child in the home is receiving minimal educational input. Although a school place is available to him, he does not attend. As a result, he is provided with a limited programme of one-to-one tutoring within the home. Staff struggle to get him to engage and his progress in education is limited.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to attend health appointments. They have access to all relevant primary and specialist health service. Both children smoke cigarettes or e- cigarettes and staff are proactive in removing smoking equipment when seen. However, opportunities to further support children to access smoking cessation or to educate them about the dangers of smoking have been missed.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to maintain relationships with their families and with previous carers where it is helpful and safe for them to do so. Staff understand the importance of these relationships. They encourage children to retain their identity and understand their life history.

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improvement to be good

Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 4 Children’s plans are detailed and provide staff with comprehensive information to inform their care of children. However, there have been shortfalls in the responses by some staff when managing complex and challenging behaviours displayed by one child living in the home. On occasion, some staff have chosen to lock themselves in the office to avoid the child’s behaviour. This leaves the child, other children living in the home and the staff at further risk of harm. The police have also been called regularly to manage the child’s behaviour. This is not only distressing for all children, but it also leaves the child at risk of being criminalised due to staff not being able to meet his needs.

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improvement to be good

When serious incidents occur, there is timely and effective information-sharing with relevant agencies in order to safeguard children from further harm. Concerns about the practice of staff are shared with the local authority designated officer and suitable action is taken. This ensures that staff remain suitable to work with children.

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improvement to be good

Children’s statutory care plans and placement plans are received from children’s social workers. However, staff do not have completed delegated authority agreements for children, signed by the designated manager from the local authority. This reduces opportunities to ensure that staff decision-making is in line with their agreed responsibilities.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing from this home, staff follow clear written guidance. Staff are proactive in their efforts to locate children and to ensure their safe return. There is timely information-sharing with the police and other agencies and children have access to independent return home interviews. These established practices help to reduce risks for children.

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improvement to be good

When children receive consequences for negative behaviours the rationale for their use is clearly recorded. There is management oversight and evaluation of these decisions. However, consequences used are predominantly financial, with limited evidence of a restorative approach. This limits opportunities for children to reflect and learn from their behaviours.

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improvement to be good

When it is deemed necessary to search children’s rooms, written records provide evidence if items have been removed and what has happened to this property. However, records do not routinely show if children were present when the search took place or the rationale for undertaking a search when the child is not present. This means there is a lack of transparency about this practice and the impact it has on children’s privacy.

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improvement to be good

Children do not have access to the kitchen and dining room at night as the internal doors are locked. Although there are risk assessments in place to evidence the decision to lock doors, this has become an ongoing, rather than a time-limited practice. Children cannot independently access the back garden as the door from the kitchen is locked with a key. These practices are restrictive and do not provide children with a positive home environment. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 5 Closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras are in operation externally. These cover the front, side and back garden of the home. There is no external signage to inform visitors to the home that this surveillance is in place. The home’s CCTV policy states that images from the cameras can be used to watch the behaviour of children and staff. This is not an acceptable use of surveillance in or around a children’s home.

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good

The registered manager is supported by a deputy manager. Together, they bring a wealth of experience to the leadership and management of the home. They have well-established relationships within the local authority and with external agencies. This helps children to get the help and support they need to progress their care plans.

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good

The registered manager and deputy manager are also responsible for another local authority children’s home. They describe these dual responsibilities as ‘the biggest challenge’. The management team’s time spent at the home is not recorded on the staffing rota. As a result, there is a lack of accountability and the manager’s capacity to have effective oversight of two homes is unclear.

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good

The stability and consistency of the staff team is a key strength of the home. Many staff are longstanding members of the team and other staff have moved to the team from elsewhere within the local authority’s residential service. Agency and bank staff are not used. This means that children are only cared for by staff who know them, and the home, well.

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good

Staff receive good-quality individual supervision from their line managers. Staff also benefit from group supervision. These meetings are used effectively in order to reflect on the progress and experience of children. When necessary, managers use one-to-one meetings to challenge staff practice and decision-making. This helps promote consistency in staff practice and to address any shortfalls in the quality of the care provided to children.

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good

Staff have access to a range of training. They have recently completed specialist, face-to-face training in relation to substance misuse. Following the diagnosis of autism spectrum condition for one child, staff have completed further online training to support their understanding of her needs. Staff are up to date with all mandatory training.

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good

The registered manager’s review of the quality of care lacks reflection and evaluation. There is little evidence of how the views of children, families, staff or external professionals have been used to inform practice. Many of the actions identified are continuations of existing practice, rather than targeted time-specific tasks needed to help children to make progress. This is a missed opportunity to use this process as a meaningful tool to drive improvements. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 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 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(v))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff understand their role in supporting children to reduce risks associated with smoking, and in responding to children’s individual behaviours to reduce unnecessary police involvement in managing behaviours in the home. 30 November 2023

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority; 30 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 7 that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iii)(e)(i))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— + 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))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the back door of the home has a lock which allows children to independently access the back garden. In addition, that the use of internal door locks is reviewed and any restriction of access for children to communal areas is time limited, follows a written assessment of risk and is regularly reviewed. 30 November 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance; 30 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 8 so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the home’s CCTV policy is individual to the home, the criteria for the use of CCTV meets regulation and the need for the ongoing use of CCTV is subject to regular review.

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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 signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that there is an up-to-date delegated authority agreement signed by a representative of the local authority with the authority to delegate these decisions. 30 November 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a restorative approach is taken when children receive sanctions for their behaviours. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that records of room searches record if the child was present when the search was undertaken and if the child was not present, give the reason for this. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.20)  The registered person should ensure that the registered manager’s and deputy manager’s presence at the home and their working hours are clearly recorded on the staffing rota for the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that the quality-of-care review is evaluative; includes the views of children, families, staff and external stakeholders, and

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Recommendations

provides a clear, task-specific action plan. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 5.2) Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 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: SC040723 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Victoria Square, PO Box 29, BOLTON BL1 1RU

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Inspector

Dawn Parton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 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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