Children's Home run by Bradford Children and Families Trust in Bradford

Inspection report for children’s home: 2729412 1 Registered provider: Bradford Children and Families Trust

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home transferred from local authority ownership to Bradford Children and Families Trust on 1 April 2023. It is a short-break setting and provides care for up to six children with physical or learning disabilities and/or a sensory impairment.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has a manager who commenced in post in November 2023. The manager is in the process of applying to become registered with Ofsted but has not yet submitted a full application. The home has not had a registered manager since November 2023.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2729412 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/05/2023 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2729412 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s care is not always well planned. Three children are unable to have short breaks because there have been delays in the home sourcing a suitable bed. The lack of care plan for one of the children receiving a short break meant that there was no clarity for staff about the support needed for feeding the child and providing personal care. The child’s needs were therefore not fully met during this visit.

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improvement to be good

Children’s care plans are not regularly reviewed and updated to make sure that they are relevant, and that staff understand how to care for and support the children. Further concerns from a foster carer indicate that the plan for the child to be showered and changed into their night clothes had not transpired.

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improvement to be good

There is conflicting information in children’s records about children’s preferred methods of communication and how staff should communicate with them. Children’s records contain information about what foods they like and dislike, but these are not reviewed regularly. It is unclear for staff how to meet children’s current needs well.

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improvement to be good

Parents and carers say that communication is inconsistent. The staff do not always make sure that parents and carers receive information about children’s short breaks in a timely way. Parents and carers are not always aware of key information, such as when and what children have eaten and drank, personal care needs and activities children have participated in.

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improvement to be good

Children are thoroughly enjoying their short breaks and are enjoying a range of different activities. Short breaks are also invaluable time for parents and carers to have regular breaks from caring for children. The staff support the children to go out into the local community regularly and celebrate key festivals, such as Eid and Christmas. These celebrations often involve parents and carers which enables them to have shared experiences with children and to socialise with other children and their parents and carers.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to achieve their individual goals. These are identified for children by staff who know them and focus on children learning how to look after themselves, become more independent and develop their skills. Examples of these include learning how to make toast and sitting at the table to eat a full meal with other children.

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improvement to be good

The home is welcoming and decorated in a child-friendly way. There are activities around the home for children to do and photos of the children displayed around the home. Staff are warm and friendly with the children and know those who attend regularly and their needs well.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always make sure that they seek medical advice following medication errors and incidents. On two occasions, staff did not contact a health professional to seek advice when medication was not administered to children in line with the instructions from the prescriber. Inspection report for children’s home: 2729412 4 There are no safeguarding concerns about staff practice, but safeguarding procedures are weak and do not ensure that all concerns are reported and have an outcome. Staff record unexplained injuries and bruising and report these to social workers for follow up. However, records do not show how reporting is followed up with the social workers and other professionals to demonstrate a clear audit trail of the actions taken to safeguard children. This means there is a risk that safeguarding concerns may not be fully addressed.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments and plans to reduce risks are not always updated in a timely way. This means that they may not reflect the current risks and strategies staff need to follow to better protect children from the risk of harm. One of the children’s records did not contain any risk assessments.

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improvement to be good

There is no valid consent for some children to stay at the service from someone with parental responsibility for the children. None of the children’s records contained consent to administer prescribed medication to children. This means that the staff do not have the correct authorisation in place to provide children’s care.

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improvement to be good

Staff only hold children as a last resort to prevent further harm from occurring. The use of holds is for the shortest time possible and is proportionate. After children have been held, staff try to talk to children about how they feel afterwards and gain their views. This helps staff to understand children’s feelings so that they can provide appropriate support and comfort and to understand if children have any concerns. There have been no consequences used for children.

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improvement to be good

There are missing-from-home protocols in place for staff to follow if children leave the premises and the care of staff. There have been no incidents of children being missing.

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improvement to be good

Managers make sure that appropriate checks are carried out for staff working in the home. This means that the risk of unsuitable people caring for children is reduced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home has been without an operational registered manager for the past year, which has caused instability. The new manager started in post in November 2023 and does not have any previous experience of working with disabled children. The manager is undertaking further training to gain skills in caring for disabled children and specific associated needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leadership and management oversight systems and processes are ineffective. There is a lack of senior leadership oversight, including from the responsible individual, and support for the home’s manager and staff. The shortfalls in children’s records have not been identified through the provider’s management oversight, systems and processes. The lack of management scrutiny of children’s care plans, risk assessments and incident reports means that children’s care needs are not always met. There were no incidents recorded relating to children’s behaviours. This is because staff are reporting incidents incorrectly as accidents, for example when children have scratched staff or pulled their hair. The limited evidence of management evaluation of incidents means that there is no assurance that appropriate action is taken to address concerns and to make changes to reduce the risk of ongoing harm to children and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Inspection report for children’s home: 2729412 5 The recent notification made to the regulator lacked vital information. This limits the regulator’s ability to fulfil its role in safeguarding children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The review of the quality of care is limited as this did not have clear evaluations of the quality of care children receive, the action plan is vague, and parts of the report are not fully completed. There are gaps in ensuring that complaints are thoroughly addressed and that staff receive the required training to fulfil their roles. This includes a high number of staff who have not completed the relevant qualification needed to make sure they have the knowledge and skills in children’s residential care. In addition, there has not been consultation with the relevant people when completing the home’s location risk assessment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The service is running at a reduced capacity while recruitment is ongoing to fill staff vacancies. This means that fewer children can access short breaks. However, the staff do feel supported and told the inspector that there is a sense of teamwork. Many of the staff have worked at the home for a considerable time and are committed and passionate about the work they do with children. Regular team meetings and reflective supervision help staff to feel supported and listened to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is ensuring that the statement of purpose is kept up to date and all children’s case records are now signed by the author. Inspection report for children’s home: 2729412 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 6 (1)(b) (2)(b)(iv)) 31 July 2024

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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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. 31 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2729412 7 (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vi)(b))

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(e)(f)(h)) 31 July 2024

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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— 31 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2729412 8 that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part-time basis. 31 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2729412 9 (Regulation 32 (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must make sure that notifications contain sufficient information about the serious incident.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 45 (2)(a)(b)(c)) 31 July 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the home at least once per year. This review should include identification of any risks and strategies for managing these. In particular, the registered should consult and take into account the views of relevant people. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1) Inspection report for children’s home: 2729412 10

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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: 2729412 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bradford Children and Families Trust

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sir Henry Mitchell House (5th Floor), 4 Manchester Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire BD5 0QL

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Tereasa Denby-Wallis

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Inspector

Honor Hamshaw, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2729412 12 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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Inspector

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