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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC369857 1 SC369857 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 home is run by a local authority. The home provides short-break care for up to five children at any one time and is part of an outreach programme that is designed to support children and families who may be experiencing a period of difficulty or crisis. The primary aim of the service is to help children who are on the edge of care to remain living at home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were accessing the 12-week short- breaks programme.

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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: SC369857 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/03/2023 Full Good 01/12/2021 Full Good 28/05/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/09/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC369857 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children accessing the short-breaks service are also supported with outreach support. As a result, children and their families receive ongoing support, advice and advocacy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s participation is promoted, and they are encouraged to share their views on all aspects of their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build positive relationships with children and provide them with a lot of recreational opportunities when they visit the home. Children have enjoyed a variety of experiences, such as visiting the fire station and a local farm, and going to the cinema and skating. These happy experiences are documented with photos on the walls of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff focus on making sure that children have fun during their short-break stays. Careful planning gives children a chance to stay at the home with other children who have similar interests. This enhances children’s social skills and helps them to form positive peer relationships. One child told the inspector, ‘It’s nice to spend time with people who are just like me and know that others feel the same as me.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are passionate about supporting children and their families. Their knowledge and application of the model of care helps them to develop effective personalised support programmes. This helps children to build relationships with their families. Parents and carers spoke positively about the parenting support they receive from the service and the positive difference this makes to their family life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a warm and welcoming space for children to enjoy their stays. Bedrooms are decorated and furnished to a good standard. However, some areas of the garden are in need of repair, including a broken fence, and bedroom windows do not have sufficient coverings to ensure that children’s privacy is maintained.

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

Staff support children to develop their understanding of their vulnerabilities and to make positive choices. Staff are not complacent and understand the children’s risks and vulnerabilities. However, children’s risks are not always fully considered alongside the needs of other children, prior to them moving into the home for their short-break stays. Children’s risk plans lack detail and do not include clear strategies for staff to follow to keep children safe.

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

Staff are skilled at using de-escalation techniques and support children to manage their frustrations and anxieties. Consequently, it has not been necessary to hold children to keep them safe. Inspection report for children’s home: SC369857 4 Incidents of children going missing from the home are infrequent. When incidents do occur, staff know how to respond. They are proactive in searching for children and following children’s individual plans. Children have the opportunity to engage in return home interviews to help safeguard them and to identify potential concerns.

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

The safe area report has been reviewed following the last inspection and clearly identifies areas of risk within the locality. The manager has consulted with a number of professionals to support a multi-agency collaboration in assessing risks in the local area. This helps to reduce risks for children when they are out in the community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A child-centred manager leads the home. She is supported by an experienced and motivated staff team. The manager and staff understand the children’s individual needs well and work together to achieve positive outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are suitable systems in place that provide insight into the impact that the service is having on children’s lives. The manager evaluates children’s progress monthly, highlighting any areas in need of additional, targeted support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Consultation with children and their families is a key strength of the service. Parents and family members expressed a high degree of confidence in the staff and manager. This is echoed by children’s social workers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a strong learning culture across the team and staff have completed an array of training to support their professional development and improve the care provided to children. However, the manager had not identified that some staff have not completed training specific to all children’s individual needs. Training to support staff’s understanding of eating disorders and sexualised behaviour had not been completed. This does not ensure that children are supported by staff who are knowledgeable in these areas.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision arrangements are well established and provide good opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice. The manager uses this time effectively to reflect on children’s needs and to further develop staff performance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are gaps in the management oversight of records. The manager had not identified that monthly evaluations had not been completed for all children or that there were factual inaccuracies throughout some records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s review of the quality of care lacks analysis and evaluation and does not easily identify actions to develop the service. This limits opportunities for leaders to learn and take action to improve the quality of care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC369857 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 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s risk assessments clearly identify all risks for children and contain clear strategies for staff to follow in order to reduce the risks to children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that there is clear evidence that the service takes into consideration all risks to children, and that children’s vulnerabilities have been considered prior to them accessing the service. 27 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

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

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;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each 27 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC369857 6 child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(c)(f)(g)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that:  there are robust monitoring systems in place to ensure effective oversight of recording in the home and that children’s records contain current, factual information  staff undertake training specific to the risks and vulnerabilities of children  they use monitoring and review systems to improve the quality of care in the home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the quality-of-care review is evaluative and provides a clear, task-specific action plan. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 5.2)  The registered manager should ensure that fencing is repaired and that bedroom windows have sufficient coverings to ensure that children’s privacy is maintained. (‘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: SC369857 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council

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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

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC369857 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 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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