Children's home run by Bradford Children and Families Trust

Inspection report for children’s home: 2730003 1 Registered provider: Bradford Children and Families Trust Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home re-registered on 1 April 2023, when the local authority arrangements were taken over by Bradford Children and Families Trust. The home provides care for up to four children who experience a range of social and/or emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, four children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post as an interim manager since September 2023. In December 2023, they were appointed to a permanent post. The manager is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2730003 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2730003 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures in how children are helped and protected and the leadership and management arrangements of the home. This has significantly impacted on children’s experiences and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

One child recently moved into the home without appropriate assessments taking place to consider whether staff were able to meet their needs alongside the other children’s needs. Consideration for additional support to care for the children safely had not been given. The three children already living in the home had not been prepared or supported to manage the change in the group dynamics. This has led to one child feeling targeted and bullied which has had a significant adverse impact on their safety and progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The staff practice of locking doors in the home has often led to incidents of children causing damage in the home. Disproportionate rules around entering rooms only when wearing shoes or slippers mean that children are unable to freely move around their home. These practices have led to incidents escalating beyond staff’s control. Police have been called to help staff to manage children’s behaviour leading to children being criminalised.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The manager advocates for children to be in education and the virtual school supports this. However, three out of the four children living at the home are not accessing suitable education. The lack of structure and routines for children sometimes result in behavioural incidents in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s health needs are not always fully understood by staff. The specific health needs of two children relating to their diagnosed condition have not been explored. Adaptations to the environment that would help children to better regulate have not been applied and neither have the recommendations in response to a child’s sensory profile.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Some children’s records refer to children using their computer generated ID number instead of their names or initials. Managers and staff have not fully considered how this may affect children if they were to read their records.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff promote positive relationships with children’s families. This supports children to maintain positive family relationships. Where appropriate, staff share information about children with family members.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are supported to engage in community groups, such as cadets and rugby. These are important parts of children’s lives and offer opportunities for them to be a positive involved in their community. Staff celebrate children’s successes, such as one child laying a Remembrance Day wreath for people from their local community. Inspection report for children’s home: 2730003 4

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

An allegation of harm to a child was not responded to appropriately by leaders and managers. No investigation took place and Ofsted was not notified about the allegation.

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

Not all children feel safe living in the home. Direct work with children in response to concerns about a child being bullied has not affected any change. Children have not been helped to understand the dynamics in the home and the importance of respecting others. During the inspection, one child was observed to be upset on two occasions because of other children’s behaviour.

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

Children’s risks are not fully understood at the time of them moving in. Risk assessments are not always comprehensive or carried out in a timely way. They do not always consider all the present risks for children and are not updated. Documents do not detail what staff should do to keep children safe. For one child, this meant that their risks were not fully understood or managed safely. This has led to serious incidents, including fire- setting which have compromised children’s safety. While swift and focused action taken by staff has reduced the risks around fire-setting, staff have not received training or support to enable them to deal with the complexities behind these behaviours or address the underlying cause.

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

Staff’s responses to children are inconsistent and are not always in line with the homes therapeutic parenting model, as described in the home’s statement of purpose. This has often resulted in incidents escalating and children being held. The police have often intervened to help staff to manage the children’s behaviour. Opportunities to learn from incidents are missed. There is no reflection with staff and children after incidents. However, children do have some positive relationships with staff, which allows for some meaningful conversations to take place. At times, these relationships have prevented incidents from escalating.

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

The consequences used by staff in response to children’s behaviours are often punitive. Staff do not have clear direction about how staff they should support children to learn from their actions. There is a focus on punishing children’s poor behaviour instead of promoting positive behaviour.

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

There have been delays in leaders and managers responding to the recommendations of a specialist assessment to help better understand a child’s needs. The assessment made several recommendations to reduce risks and support the child’s progress. These recommendations relating to specialist support and direct work with children have not been progressed and are having a negative impact on children’s progress.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff follow them to ensure that they are safe. Staff work hard to support children to return to the home safely. All children are offered return home interviews, although they usually decline to engage in these. Analysis and evaluation of the risks associated with children being missing are limited. Inspection report for children’s home: 2730003 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager since September 2023. The manager is committed to children and is passionate about promoting their relationships with staff. However, the new manager has not been supported to understand their role and responsibilities to manage the home effectively. Poor senior leadership input and oversight have contributed to the serious and widespread shortfalls identified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home is currently operating without a responsible individual. The instability from senior leaders has had a significant impact on staff morale.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are committed to the children. However, issues relating to poor staff practice have been left unchallenged due to the lack of oversight and support. Patterns of children’s behaviour and themes of practice have gone unnoticed and unaddressed. As a result, the care provided to children is inconsistent and not in line with the home’s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have not completed mandatory training within the required timescales. This does not help them to meet children’s complex needs and ensure their safety. Not all staff have the necessary skills to understand and manage the risks children face. This has led to incidents where children have been criminalised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is insufficient staff to safely care for children on a day-to-day basis. This has led to the manager and the deputy manager working shifts, taking them away from their allocated roles and responsibilities. This has had a detrimental impact on management oversight in the home and on management tasks, such as staff supervision sessions and team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Consequently, staff, including the manager, do not receive regular supervision. Some members of staff have received two supervision sessions over a period of 10 months. This has resulted in the manager and staff feeling unsupported, undervalued and unable to reflect on their practice to ensure that it is safe and consistent for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The quality of care review report continues to lack analysis and evaluation. There is no feedback from children or staff or actions to promote outcomes for children. The report also lacks senior leadership oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home’s statement of purpose has been updated. However, this has not been shared with the regulator since April 2023. Inspection report for children’s home: 2730003 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 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that there is a system in place to ensure that all complaints and allegations are taken seriously. This must include processes to ensure that 7 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2730003 7 appropriate agencies are informed in a timely way so that children are safeguarded effectively.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that there are effective systems in place when allegations against staff are made. These systems must ensure that: information is acted on in a timely way; appropriate investigations take place; and the safety and well-being of children are not compromised.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that appropriate and timely action is taken when children’s relationships with each other may pose a risk. This includes individual and group work to ensure that children feel safe in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that risk assessments relating to children are up to date and detail all known risks. Documents must include clear strategies for staff to follow to manage risks. Risk assessments must have clear guidance around how staff should support children during times of crisis.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that there are effective systems in place when children move into the home. This should include an assessment of needs and risks and an understanding of the needs and risks of the children who already live in the home. Consideration must be given to whether staff have the knowledge and skills to meet the needs and manage the risks of all the children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that there are effective systems in place to understand and manage any risks arising from information shared by the Disclosure and Barring Service.

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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; 7 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2730003 8 ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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 has sufficient staff to provide care for 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

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

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that management oversight, including senior management oversight, of the home is effective. Oversight of staff practice should ensure that it is safe and meets the needs of the children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the arrangements for staff supervision are effective, including the availability of records. Staff supervision should be reflective and consider the individual care provided to children to support staff to deliver consistent care to children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the care provided to children is in line with the home’s statement of purpose. Inspection report for children’s home: 2730003 9 The registered person must ensure that staff have the skills and knowledge to meet children’s identified. This includes, but is not limited to, needs around fire-setting, attachment, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and harmful sexual behaviour. Mandatory training should be available to staff and be kept up to date.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that there are enough staff to safely run the home on a day-to-day basis so that the management of the home is not impacted. Staffing must be sufficient to ensure that routines are supported.

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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—

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)) 5 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 5 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2730003 10 that staff—

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Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iv)(v)(vi)(viii)(ix)(x)(xi)(xii)(xiii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 5 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2730003 11 children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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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 an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(c) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 5 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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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; 5 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2730003 12 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

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI and make a copy of it available upon request to—

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (1) (2) (3)(a)(b) (5)) 5 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. Creative thinking should be used to support children to learn from their actions. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that children are encouraged by staff to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’ and be supported to view and contribute to their records in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.9) Inspection report for children’s home: 2730003 13

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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: 2730003 14

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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

Joanna Beal, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2730003 15 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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