Children's Home run by Bristol City Council in Bristol

Inspection report for children's home: SC067151 1 SC067151 Registered provider: Bristol City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a local authority and provides short breaks for up to five children with learning disabilities and/or complex health needs.

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Information about this children’s home

This home is managed by two managers who job share. One registered with Ofsted in April 2018. The second has been in post for six months and has applied to Ofsted for joint registration.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC067151 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/03/2023 Full Good 12/01/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 11/08/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/06/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC067151 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported and cared for by experienced, sensitive and knowledgeable staff who know them well. Preparations for the arrival of children after school or for weekend stays are meticulous, including laying out the home and individual bedrooms in a way that is both welcoming and sensitive to the particular needs of each child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel that this is a home from home. They have fun and make active choices about the things they want to do. They are also encouraged to try new things and are introduced to new foods. They have the choice to relax, to make a calm transition from busy days at home or school. Staff work hard to focus on emotions and behaviours that are linked to age rather than disability and to treat the children as individuals with their own personalities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When new children start coming for short breaks at the home, they are matched well. The introduction of new children is well managed and sensitive to the needs of the other children who have been coming for longer. Staffing is adjusted in line with identified needs. Safety planning with risk assessments is completed for all potentially risky activities, considering children’s emotional as well as physical health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Comprehensive information about how to communicate with each child and good links with schools, home and other professionals ensure that children do things that they are comfortable with. When they are in the right frame of mind, they are supported to be more adventurous. Many of the children call between their visits to say hello and to share what they have been doing, demonstrating that they see the home as part of their whole life rather than a separate activity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are flexible and are happy to get wet and foamy if that is where the day goes, or to take children out to swim, walk, play, ride bikes or use the trampoline. Children are encouraged to make choices within the boundaries of their own world and make progress. However, the mapping of this progress is disjointed, with several children having goals that go on for several visits without review, meaning that achievements are not always celebrated.

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

The safety of the children is prioritised by the staff and managers. Risk assessments with clear actions for staff to follow are personalised for each child and updated regularly. When, on occasion, children display new behaviours in response to stress or changes in their routine, these are handled sensitively. A whole team approach, including nursing staff and input from specialists, results in cohesive and consistent responses from staff. Inspection report for children's home: SC067151 4 Managers have established regular oversight of any physical interventions with children, to intervene quickly with effective disruption and deflection and to allow them to identify potential trends. This extends to identifying what are regular and known behaviours and separating those out from what might be different and new, allowing for a more sophisticated analysis of how best to keep children safe.

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

When physical restrictions, such as specialist seatbelts or removal of furniture, are required to keep children safe, these are used for the shortest possible time and done in conjunction with parents and carers. Staff implement learning from regular safeguarding training, including the use of positive interventions. Body maps are regularly completed, with an increasing level of analysis and detail. These are routinely forwarded to professionals who know the dynamics within families and have sensitive conversations with carers, helping them to understand why the mapping takes place.

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

Staff are fully involved in the wider professional network for families, especially when they need additional support. This ensures that they are fully appraised of any changes or stressors for the children but also ensures that parents and carers do not have to repeat difficult conversations unnecessarily.

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

Recruitment of new staff is managed well and safely, with a clear process in place to check the suitability of candidates before they work on their own with children.

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

The oversight of medicines and specialist equipment is well established and effective. The experienced nursing team has also worked with other homes run by the local authority to offer training and support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Two managers share the role very effectively. Over the last six months, the established registered manager and the new manager have developed a positive and secure approach to overseeing and quality assuring staff practice. They are well organised and have a strong grip on practice, increasingly leading by example in terms of safeguarding, restriction of liberty and multi-agency cohesion in care planning. Between them, they have made sure that the requirement and recommendations from the last inspection have been fully met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

After some careful thought and planning, a comprehensive training plan linked to the specific needs of the children is due to be implemented, and staff speak highly of how they are encouraged to learn and develop their skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular supervision, including clinical supervision for nursing staff. The managers both continue to encourage reflective practice. Staff speak thoughtfully about the children and their developing identities, which reflects strong leadership. With the new round of training opportunities, supervision could be enhanced further by linking training to the impact it has made on practice. Inspection report for children's home: SC067151 5 The management team has focused on maintaining the good service that children, parents and carers have come to expect. Feedback from parents and external professionals is wholly positive. The development plan is based on responding to demand and includes good use of the feedback from the independent person’s monthly visits. Building on these secure foundations, the managers are well placed to be more ambitious in the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

While the staff group is stable, established and confident it does not fully reflect the diversity of the children who are cared for at the home. Managers, including the responsible individual, are aware of this but a more dynamic approach to recruitment would enhance children’s experiences. Inspection report for children's home: SC067151 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should record more effectively the progress children have made against goals in their care plan. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.7)  The registered person should seek to establish a diverse staff team with a range of interests, skills and experiences. They should lead staff to share those interests, skills and experiences with children to enrich the children’s lives. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.6)

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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: SC067151 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bristol City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: City Hall, College Green, Bristol BS1 5TR

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Inspector

Steve Lowe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC067151 8 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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