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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2728982 1 Registered provider: Bradford Children’s 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

The home is operated by Bradford Children’s and Families Trust. It is registered to provide full-time care for up to four children who have a range of social and emotional difficulties. There is one child living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 14 August 2024.

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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: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2728982 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/07/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2728982 3

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improvement to be good

Children have had inconsistent experiences over this inspection period. There is one child currently living at this home who is settled and making progress. Two children have moved out of the home in a planned and positive way. However, one child who had lived at the home for a long time moved out of the home abruptly. This was due to risks from child sexual exploitation to their safety and wellbeing. There were several concerns about this child’s care and experiences while living at the home. Poor safeguarding practice from some leaders and managers, who no longer work at the home, exposed the child to greater risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

The child who is currently living at the home attends education and is making progress. This child spoke positively about school, their future education and career aspirations.

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improvement to be good

The child is supported to attend health appointments and has access to local services for their additional needs. Staff receive additional support from mental health professionals to equip them to understand and respond to the child’s emotional and mental health needs.

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improvement to be good

Family time is promoted in line with the child’s plan. Staff help the child to see the people who are important in their life. They talk to the child about relationships, which helps the child to have a better understanding of difficult emotions that they may be feeling. One family member said, ‘They are not just staff, they are like a friend to [child’s name]. I know [child’s name] can talk to staff about anything.’

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improvement to be good

The child is provided with a range of activities that reflect their hobbies and interests such as art and crafts and photography. Staff promote activities that provide the child with new experiences. The child spoke about enjoying swimming, a boat trip to see dolphins and paragliding while on a holiday abroad with staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff consult with the child regularly. Records show that staff have lots of conversations with the child that capture their wishes and feelings. The child is involved in a youth forum, which supports them to have a voice and to share their opinions about the care that they are receiving.

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improvement to be good

Under the previous management, staff were discouraged from sharing crucial information and escalating concerns in relation to child sexual exploitation.

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improvement to be good

Despite the actions of some individuals who advised the staff not to escalate concerns, staff continued to show tenacity and were proactive when the risks to a child increased. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728982 4 When children have been missing from home, staff have gone out of their way to take the details of car registration plates and to follow children and respond proactively. Staff actively search for the children, and they report them as missing to access support from the police to locate children. Good collaborative working with other agencies when children go missing has helped to keep children safer. One professional said, ‘Staff’s proactive response in gathering and sharing information led to one child being better protected from harm.’ Another professional reported that multi-agency working has improved under the new management of the home.

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improvement to be good

The quality of children’s risk assessments and safety plans vary. The detailed risk assessment for the child who currently lives at the home shows the known risks and identifies clear steps for staff to follow to mitigate these risks. However, not all the children’s risk assessments and safety plans were kept under review, and they were not updated in a timely way, even when the risks for a child increased. Staff were not provided with crucial information to enable them to safeguard the child from sexual exploitation when they went missing.

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improvement to be good

Information about serious incidents and the increasing risks of exploitation relating to the child was not always shared with Ofsted. When the provider received a whistle- blowing complaint, the information-sharing with Ofsted was delayed. This prevented the regulator from having oversight of the risks and the actions of the provider.

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improvement to be good

Children who are vulnerable to online exploitation now receive suitable support. The risks to the current child are well managed. There is a multi-agency response to safeguard and educate the child and to monitor the child’s electronic devices.

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improvement to be good

The approach to behaviour management under the changed leadership and management have led to a reduction of incidents. The child responds well to the nurturing and consistent care provided by staff. The current child has not been held by staff and consequences are not used as a form of behaviour management.

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improvement to be good

The new leadership team is aware that children’s complaints have previously been minimised and not always taken seriously. When children make complaints, these are now responded to in a child-centred way.

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

There is a new responsible individual and manager who have recently been registered. Together, they provide strong management oversight of the risks to the child. Outcomes for children and staff development have improved since the leadership and management of the home changed. The manager is experienced and suitably qualified. She provides positive role modelling with a strong emphasis on helping staff to deliver trauma- informed care. The manager is committed to rebuilding trust in the staff team. Staff said that they now feel listened to and valued, and they report improved morale in the team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728982 5 Staff have not always been provided with the opportunity to reflect on their practice and to talk about incidents involving the children. However, the staff now receive regular supervision that is reflective. Team meetings happen regularly and attendance at these

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

Staff receive a range of training to equip them to meet the needs of the child. Additional training is arranged for staff when risks to children have changed. Managers deliver activity-based training in staff supervision and team meetings to refresh the staff’s safeguarding knowledge.

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

The children’s guide contains out-of-date information, and it does not provide children with full information about how to make a complaint in line with the home’s complaints policy.

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

Partnership working has improved. The manager has built positive relationships with professionals involved with the child. The manager and staff are strong advocates for the child. The manager has confidently escalated concerns and challenged other professionals to ensure that the child’s needs are met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728982 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

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

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(g)(ii)) 24 September 2024

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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

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 24 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2728982 7

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Recommendation

 The registered provider should produce a children’s guide. The children’s guide should help children to understand how to make a complaint in line with the home’s complaints procedure. The guide should be kept under review and kept up to date to reflect any changes made to the home’s statement of purpose. (‘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: 2728982 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bradford Children’s 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Pamela Stanyon-Carr

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Inspector

Rachel Webster, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2728982 9 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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