Children's home run by Birtenshaw in Bolton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC467796 1 SC467796 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 operated by a private organisation and provides care for up to three children who may have physical disabilities, learning disabilities and/or sensory impairment. At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home, and one child had previously moved out.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 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: 29 November 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: SC467796 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/11/2022 Full Good 16/11/2021 Full Good 09/10/2019 Full Good 11/12/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC467796 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is maintained to an excellent standard. Children have access to a wide range of toys and play equipment. Bedroom furnishings and decoration are carefully planned around children’s individual needs. This includes sensory toys throughout the home and garden. As a result, the home environment is nurturing and safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are resourceful and creative. They have developed imaginative, sensory-based activities to engage and stimulate children. They actively seek opportunities for children to engage in important childhood activities, such as reading stories, playing games and sensory play. Additionally, staff have created photo books that capture important experiences, such as birthday celebrations, going on holiday, and learning new skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to spend time with people who are important to them. The manager advocates for children and supports increased time spent with loved ones. This ensures that children maintain important relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff frequently monitor and review children’s individual targets. This ensures that staff support children to make progress and keep children’s individual goals under regular review. Staff celebrate children’s progress and achievements with their parents and other professionals. An education officer said, ‘The progress [name of children] have made, thanks to the exceptional care and support provided by the staff in the children’s home, is amazing.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children attend school regularly with support from the staff. The staff team works in partnership with school teachers to support children to achieve their educational goals. For instance, one child is learning to form sentences, which is supported at home as the staff create a positive learning environment. As a result, the child’s communication skills and social interactions are noticeably improving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff provide good support to young people moving out of the home. They use a well-planned, collaborative approach tailored to each young person’s needs. This includes focusing on skill development, continuity of care and emotional support to empower them to be as independent as possible in their adulthood. These strategies increase the likelihood of long-term success in adult life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s internal care plans reflect the aims and objectives of the placing authority. However, plans have not been updated to reflect the progress that children have made or changes in their health and routines.

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

Staff understand each child’s different methods of communication. Each child has a communication passport. Staff know the children well and are attuned to their Inspection report for children’s home: SC467796 4 individual communication styles. One child in the home is non-verbal and has developed their own sign language and will point and lead staff to items of choice. Staff are attuned to the child’s facial cues and pointing, and they use these to support the child to make choices in their daily life.

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

Staff have a thorough knowledge of the potential risks in the children’s lives. Detailed strategies are in place to support children to keep themselves and others safe. The strategies are tailored to meet the needs of individual children. This approach reduces the risks in children’s lives and helps them when they are struggling with their emotions.

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

Staff support children and respond extremely well to any behaviours that challenge. They demonstrate a commitment to finding different and innovative ways to manage situations that children may find difficult to cope with. This approach reduces children’s anxieties and helps to minimise incidents.

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

Staff only hold children as a last resort, to keep everyone safe. The staff are trained to safely intervene, and they follow good practice and record incidents in detail. The manager and staff caring for the children are curious about children’s triggers and try to identify any themes. However, risk plans do not include the agreed interventions that best support children in times of distress to ensure consistent care through difficult times.

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

Restrictions are in place at the home, including the locking of front and back doors to prevent children from leaving and encountering potential harm. These measures are based on comprehensive assessments of each child’s unique needs and are carefully documented. However, the manager has not carried out regular reviews of these assessments to consider their continued relevance and effectiveness in ensuring the safety of the children.

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

Staff are competent and understand the importance of meeting children’s health needs. There is an effective system for safely administering children’s medication. Staff robustly support children’s individual needs. For example, when one child expressed discomfort and required dental support, the actions taken by staff were excellent. The team escalated its concerns with healthcare professionals to ensure that the child received appropriate care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is registered, suitably experienced and supported by her seniors and staff, who know the children very well. They model good practice and communicate well with families and external professionals. Managers and staff are strong advocates for children. One social worker said, ‘The managers are really proactive. I couldn’t ask for anything more.’ This ensures that good relationships are maintained with children’s families and external professionals to provide a consistent approach to children’s care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC467796 5 There have been some changes in the staff team. However, the staff team is now consistent and stable. When there have been vacancies, these have been covered by the existing staff team or staff known to children from the agency. Staff say the manager is approachable and they feel valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager offers regular supervision sessions to staff, and team meetings are well attended by all. Staff say that they find managers supportive and helpful. Staff say they received a detailed induction that included working with more experienced staff who helped with their learning. New staff are provided with additional support through their probationary period, which helps them fully understand their roles and responsibilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a great knowledge of events in the children’s lives. Following any incidents, the manager evaluates the event well. The evaluation focuses on practice to establish if children’s plans have been followed by the adults caring for them. There is also a curiosity about why the children are struggling. This practice enables the managers to direct the team to consistently improve the care of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager carries out annual appraisals with staff, during which staff reflect on their work and establish targets for the upcoming year. However, these appraisals do not take into account the perspectives of children or other essential individuals. This limits the manager’s understanding of the children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager follows up and escalates concerns if responses from agencies are not satisfactory. This helps to ensure that children receive the right support and their needs are met. The manager has addressed the requirement made at the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC467796 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 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

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s relevant plans are consistently updated to reflect changes in the child’s care, such as medication changes and changes in routines. 20 December 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Children’s placement plans should include clear details of the steps the staff will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that decisions around having locks on the home’s front and back doors are informed by a rigorous assessment of children’s individual needs, are properly recorded and are kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  The registered person should ensure that appraisals for staff include the views of children and other professionals who have worked with staff over the year. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’,

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Recommendations

page 61, paragraph 13.5) Inspection report for children’s home: SC467796 7

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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: SC467796 8

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Jennifer Quest, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC467796 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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