Children's Home run by Bay View Child Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC416318 1 SC416318 Registered provider: Bay View Child Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately operated children’s home. The home is registered to provide care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, there were four children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2022 and is appropriately qualified.

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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: SC416318 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/03/2023 Full Good 16/03/2022 Full Good 01/10/2019 Full Good 19/07/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC416318 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans for children clearly set out what is needed to help them progress through their own journeys. Plans focus on actions and consider the barriers that might hinder children’s progress and ways to overcome them. Children are kept involved in reviewing their plans, including the completion of focused work with staff to meet the aims of the plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children attend school and college. One child is refusing to engage with school, and due to their age, there will be limited opportunities for education to have a positive impact on their future. Professionals involved are complimentary about the efforts that staff have gone to, with one staff member becoming an AQA assessor to help build the child’s confidence and self-esteem around learning. Another child who recently moved into the home has been supported by staff with travel so they can remain at their school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting relationships with staff, which helps them feel cared for. There is a strong focus on reflective practice in the home, which encourages children to share their feelings. Children are becoming more aware of their own behaviours and responses, which has led to a positive impact on their emotional development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children engage with therapeutic support either with the home’s therapist, at college or with a specialist agency. Children’s general health needs are also well met. One child has been able to stop taking medication since moving into the home, which was previously prescribed to regulate their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves for children in and out of the home are managed well. There are clear plans in place to support children to move out of the home, which show how children’s views have been taken into account. Older children are making good progress with their independence skills with clear plans, support and independent advocacy in place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Life story books, which record children’s experiences and significant events while they are living in the home, include photographs but are lacking in written detail. This means important information to help children understand their own history is missing, and records do not reflect their experiences.

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

Children say they feel safe in the home. Staff understand the risks to children and how the work they do contributes towards increasing children’s safety. Risk assessments are easy to follow and show how risks change over time. Staff are responsive to the changes in risks and work well with children, their families and professionals to address areas of concern in a timely way. Inspection report for children’s home: SC416318 4 There are consistent rules and boundaries in place for children, depending on their age and stage of development. Staff work hard to support children to understand the impact of their behaviours through focused work and reflection.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home, with only one recent incident for a child who was new to the home. Staff work hard to support children to settle into the home and to develop their understanding of children’s individual triggers. There have been some occasions where staff have needed to use physical intervention to support children who are struggling to cope with their emotions. When physical intervention has been used, it has been as a last resort to prevent harm to the child or others.

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

There have been occasions when concerns for children’s behaviours have escalated significantly and the police have been involved to support staff. On one occasion, one staff member reflected that this could have been avoided had there been better communication between the staff involved. This means children may have been exposed unnecessarily to police involvement, which could criminalise them.

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

Significant work has been done by the staff team to support children to explore their identity. The manager engaged a local charity to provide training for staff and direct support to children. As a result, there is a positive culture within the home that promotes children’s well-being through acceptance of individuality and reduces opportunities for bullying.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager speaks passionately about his role and the care provided to children. He has a reflective approach, which has enabled him to make improvements to staff practice. He has a stable team of staff who feel supported both personally and professionally. Staff gave significant feedback about the positive ethos and values held within the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are encouraged to develop their skills and knowledge and take on responsibility within the team. The manager and staff team have good working relationships with professionals, with appropriate and proactive challenge being used when needed to achieve better outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the home through regular monitoring with the input of two experienced deputy managers. There have been missed opportunities for the manager to carry out more in-depth reviews of incidents. Valuable feedback from staff in a debrief was not followed up or addressed with the wider team when this could have improved practice and experiences for children. Children did not receive feedback about the outcome of a review of an incident that involved them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision, which is reflective and enables them to consider their practice with reference to theories, regulations and policies. Annual Inspection report for children’s home: SC416318 5 staff appraisals are of good quality but would benefit from including feedback from professionals and children in the home’s care to give a more comprehensive view. There are regular meetings with staff, and records are detailed and task orientated but lack evidence of the reflective discussions around practice that regularly take place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses robust recruitment practices to ensure new appointments are safe. New staff members receive a thorough induction and shadowing experiences to support them in their role. Staff are well trained, and additional training is sourced to ensure that staff are knowledgeable about issues affecting the children in their care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC416318 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that reviews of incidents include wider discussions with staff to establish opportunities to improve practice. Children and staff should also be given feedback about the outcome of manager reviews to show how their experiences have been taken into consideration. 29 February 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff support children to keep photos and memorabilia of the time spent living in the home and help children by keeping good-quality recordings of significant life events. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5).

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff appraisals take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5). Inspection report for children’s home: SC416318 7  The registered person should ensure that staff have opportunities to reflect on their practice in team meetings to provide a culture of learning. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4).

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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: SC416318 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bay View Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Core Assets, Malvern View, Saxon Business Park, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove B60 4AD

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Thompson

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Inspector

Andrea Foreman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC416318 9 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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