Children's home run by Bradford Children’s and Families Trust

Inspection report for children’s home: 2729749 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

This home is run by Bradford Children and Families Trust. It provides care for up to 10 children with sensory impairments, physical disabilities and/or learning disabilities. Children can live or stay at this home under short-break arrangements. At the time of this inspection, four children were living at the home and two children were accessing short breaks.

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Information about this children’s home

An interim manager started managing the home in April 2023. They have not submitted a complete application to become the registered manager for the home.

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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 inadequate

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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: 2729749 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2729749 3

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improvement to be good

Staffing shortfalls relating to vacancies and absences mean that children and their families do not receive their short breaks when they need them.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not always followed the most up-to-date feeding plan for one child. This contributed to the child being unwell following their short breaks. This concern was not recognised or investigated as a complaint despite the parents sharing their concerns. Feedback from parents and carers is mixed. Some say that they have not always felt sufficiently involved in their children’s care.

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improvement to be good

The home has ample space and facilities to support children’s care. Improvements are being made to the garden area, which will make it more accessible for children. Children who live at the home are involved in making decisions about how their bedrooms look, and staff design and decorate bedrooms with children in mind ready for when they access short breaks. However, the home is not always well maintained. Due to damage, children are not able to fully use the facilities in two of the bathrooms. This has prevented some children from bathing during their short breaks. Work is planned to address these issues during the summer.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy positive relationships with the staff, who are warm and nurturing. Staff know the children well. They know most of the children’s individual needs exceptionally well. Children enjoy a range of activities that take place in and away from the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff work with children to help them learn new skills and develop their independence. This includes learning how to look after themselves and carry out daily household tasks. This helps children to become more independent and to work towards achieving their goals. The children’s guide does not provide children with information about how they can make complaints or raise concerns about their care.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to maintain their health and make progress in their education. Staff work well with external professionals to make sure that children attend health appointments regularly. Staff receive training and guidance to support them to meet children’s health needs and manage their behaviours.

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improvement to be good

When children move on from living at the home, this is well planned and there is a clear and gradual transition plan. This supports children to have a positive experience of leaving the home.

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improvement to be good

Inspection report for children’s home: 2729749 4 Staff and managers have not always taken appropriate action in response to safeguarding concerns. When a child made an allegation, this was not recognised and acted on appropriately at the time. Staff generally have a good understanding of safeguarding practice and how to report any concerns. However, on this occasion, the process failed.

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improvement to be good

There are gaps and missing information in some children’s risk assessments for children accessing short breaks. This means that staff may not understand all the risks to children’s safety and how to reduce them.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand children’s behaviours and provide children with support and reassurance, and they de-escalate incidents quickly. Staff seek and act on advice from other specialist professionals when needed. As a result, children are rarely held. When children are held, this is for the shortest time possible. Children are given opportunities to express their views when they have been held. When a child was missing from home, staff took appropriate action to report and record this.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not use consequences as a way of managing children’s behaviour. Children are supported to make positive choices. There are individualised incentives for children, which are having a positive impact on their behaviour.

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improvement to be good

There are appropriate measures in place to support children when they are using devices such as tablet computers or radios. This helps to reduce the risks to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has formally been without a registered manager since September 2023. However, there has been no registered manager on site since April 2023. The interim manager has been in post for 14 months. However, they have not submitted a completed application to become the registered manager. Given the lengthy timescales, and shortfalls in oversight, a compliance notice has been issued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager works remotely and is on site two days per week. There are significant shortfalls in the manager’s oversight and systems to oversee the running of the home. This has contributed to the judgement for leadership and management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager is reliant on staff notifying them of any incidents and concerns due to the home using a paper-based recording system. An allegation noted in the records was only identified by the independent visitor a month after it was made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff gave mixed feedback about the support and availability of managers in the home. The manager’s footprint is absent on some records. This does not provide assurances that there has been suitable oversight and review.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager’s quality of care review has not been updated since September 2023. As a result, the quality of care provided for children has not been reviewed or evaluated for over six months and improvements cannot be identified. Inspection report for children’s home: 2729749 5 The home is not fully staffed to meet the needs of the children. High levels of staff vacancies and sickness are having an impact on the number of children who can be offered short breaks. Leaders and managers have recognised the impact and there is a plan from senior leaders to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff receive regular supervision. The rationale for gaps in supervision are generally documented. The quality of supervision has improved following staff attending additional training in this area. However, the quality of supervision records varies, with some being detailed while others are brief. One staff member’s supervision record was identical for two consecutive months and seems to have been duplicated. This has gone unnoticed even though the interim manager has signed it off.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff team has responded positively to two weeks of intensive training, which included team-building. Staff feel that they work well as a team and support each other. All staff spoken to were passionate and committed to their role in caring for children and helping them to make progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2729749 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

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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must: ensure that the interim manager submits a completed application to register with Ofsted;

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Requirement Due date

take all practicable steps to recruit and appoint a suitable manager for the management of this home in the longer term;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that a manager is present and visible to lead and manage the home effectively and have clear oversight of children’s care during their working hours;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the manager maintains appropriate oversight and review of all significant occurrences. This includes accidents, incidents, concerns raised, complaints, allegations and safeguarding concerns;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the manager maintains sufficient oversight and review of records relating to children’s care;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the manager provides sufficient support to staff; 14 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2729749 7 ensure that the manager works with external professionals and families to review children’s care and responds effectively to any concerns raised.

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(b) (2)(a)(iv)(c)(i)) 13 September 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

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; 13 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2729749 8 that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(vii)(e))

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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

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (4)(a)) 13 September 2024

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should make sure that the children’s guide provides children with information on how to make a complaint in line with the home’s complaints procedure and how to contact the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22)

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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: 2729749 9

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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 BD5 0QL

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Inspectors

Honor Hamshaw, Social Care Inspector Johanna Wilson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2729749 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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