Children's home run by Birtenshaw in Bolton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC373044 1 SC373044 Registered provider: Birtenshaw

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is part of a large charitable organisation. It provides care for up to four children who may have social, emotional and learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager in post. There is an acting manager, who is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: SC373044 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/07/2023 Full Good 26/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 29/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/12/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC373044 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living at the home are happy. Staff spend time with the children and know them well. They have a good understanding of each child’s needs. This has helped children to build trusting relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the children’s communication needs. This enables children to participate fully in their day-to-day lives. Staff support children in making choices about their meals, activities and the decoration of the home. They have a good understanding of how each child expresses their wants and needs. Children have access to an advocate who regularly visits the home to offer support to children, and this ensures that the child’s voice is heard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend school and are supported in their education, and they are making progress. Staff have built up positive working relationships with school staff. There is regular communication between staff in school and at the home. This is providing consistency for children, who are settled and enjoy going to school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of the complex health needs of children. They are working closely with other professionals to ensure that these needs are met. Through this multi-agency working, children are receiving support to manage lifelong conditions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children sensitively to start learning essential life skills, such as attending to their personal hygiene, helping to prepare meals, and helping in day-to-day house chores. This ensures that children are developing the skills required to become less dependent on adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote family time and have built up close working relationships with family members to ensure that children regularly see the people who are important to them. All parents spoken to said that staff support family time and keep them updated on the children’s progress, so they feel fully involved in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are actively taking part in activities in the home and in the community. They are given choices, and their interests are considered. Recently, the children went and stayed in a caravan near the beach. This is developing their self-esteem and confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s achievements are celebrated. Staff are creating memory books for children, and these are full of photos of the activities and goals they have met. There are appropriate photos around the home of the children engaging in activities and their artwork is displayed on the walls. Inspection report for children’s home: SC373044 4

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

Children receive a high level of supervision and support that is in line with their assessed needs. Keeping children safe is a priority for staff and is integral to daily practice. Parents and professionals said that staff keep children safe and have a good knowledge of their children’s needs.

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

Children’s risk management and behaviour support plans address their vulnerabilities and include clear strategies for staff to follow. The risks identified are understood and are managed by staff. Support and care provided by staff help children to stay safe. There have been no missing-from-home incidents. However, the manager has not regularly reviewed risk management plans to ensure that there are clear guidelines for staff on any emerging risks.

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

Court ordered restricted measures are in place at the home, including the locking of front and back doors to prevent children from leaving and encountering potential harm due to their vulnerabilities. These measures are based on comprehensive assessments of each child’s unique needs and are carefully documented. These are regularly discussed by the manager and other professionals and kept under review.

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

Positive behaviour is constantly promoted. Staff use effective de-escalation techniques to meet the individual children’s needs. Staff are calm and nurturing in their support. There has been one incident when holding a child was necessary, and this was appropriate to keep the child safe.

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

The management of medication is safe and effective. Staff are trained and ensure that children receive appropriate medication. There is clear management oversight, including weekly and monthly audits. This ensures that children receive the medication prescribed to meet their health needs.

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

Every effort has been made to make the home child friendly and comfortable without compromising children’s safety. The manager has ensured that all health and safety checks have been completed. However, the manager has not updated their review of the appropriateness and suitability of the premises, and this was a requirement from the previous inspection. This means that the risks in the community are still not understood.

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

There has been a change in management in the home and this has had a negative effect on management oversight. The register manager post has been vacant since March 2024. A permanent manager was appointed, but this appointment did not progress to registration with Ofsted. A new manager has now been appointed and she is experienced, child centred and has high aspirations for the children. She has management responsibility for another home operated by the company, and she is in the process of dual registering with Ofsted.

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

There is a good working relationship between the manager and her deputy. Inspection report for children’s home: SC373044 5 The management team has oversight of the day-to-day running of the home. However, there are no clear systems in place to ensure that the manager can quickly identify any shortfalls in the plans for children or other relevant documentation. The manager must ensure that placement plans are kept up to date and reflect the changing needs of children.

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

There is mandatory and specialised training available to all staff and this provides them with the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of vulnerable children. All staff training is up to date. However, not all staff have completed their appropriate qualifications in regulatory timescales.

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

There is a stable staff team and a strong ethos of teamwork. Staff are committed, caring and attentive to the needs of children. They said they feel supported by the management team.

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

Most staff receive supervision and annual appraisals. This gives staff an opportunity to reflect on their practice, develop their knowledge and skills and to continue to meet children’s needs. However, not all staff are receiving an annual appraisal or supervisions in line with the home’s statements of purpose.

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

Team meetings are taking place regularly and the staff are given an opportunity to share their experience and knowledge. Children have input into these meetings as the manager shares their views from their weekly meetings.

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

The manager keeps the statement of purpose under review. This clearly sets out the ethos and the objectives of the home. However, this document has not been shared with the regulator. Inspection report for children’s home: SC373044 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;

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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

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)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that there is adequate management oversight in identifying when plans or other documentation for the children are not up to date.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that the children’s individual risk management plans are reviewed and updated regularly, taking into consideration any possible learning outcomes from incidents that can be implemented within children’s risk management plans. 4 October 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). 4 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC373044 7 When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that they regularly review the suitability of the location of the premises.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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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”);

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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 4 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC373044 8 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

(Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that all staff who work in the home in a care role have obtained their relevant qualification by the relevant date.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when the home’s statement of purpose has been reviewed, that a copy of this is shared with the regulating body. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that appraisals for all staff are completed each year. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should ensure that all staff receive formal supervision of their practice in line with the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: SC373044 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Birtenshaw Darwen Road, Bromley Cross, Bolton BL7 9AB

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Inspector

Simon Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC373044 10 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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