Children's home run by Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council in Bolton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC040719 1 SC040719 Registered provider: Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council 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 a local authority and is registered to provide care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home.

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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 good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 23 January 2024

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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: SC040719 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/01/2024 Full Good 15/06/2022 Full Good 24/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/02/2020 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC040719 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have lived in the home since the last inspection. Both children benefit from individualised care from an experienced staff team. This has helped them to develop trusting and positive relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop and maintain important relationships. This is a key strength of the team. One parent spoke positively about the parenting support they have received and the impact this has on their relationship with their child. They said, ‘The skills I have learnt have been a game changer for me, the support has been priceless.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work well with educational professionals to support children’s learning. As a result, children have been supported to sit their exams. One child now has an apprenticeship, and the other child is being supported by a careers service to identify education and employment that are best suited to their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s physical and emotional health needs are being met. Children are supported to attend regular health appointments and have access to a health practitioner to support their mental health and emotional well-being. In addition to supporting children, the practitioner has delivered training to staff to enhance their knowledge and further improve the support they provide to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Direct work takes place with children. However, opportunities to regularly discuss important subjects, such as sexual health and relationships, have been missed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities, including go-karting, the fairground, museums, the cinema, movie and pamper nights. This enables children to experience new opportunities and have fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to, and their views are regularly sought. There is good communication with parents and professionals to ensure that children’s views are heard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is generally well maintained. However, the carpet on the stairs appears worn, and bedroom windows do not have sufficient coverings to ensure that children’s privacy is maintained.

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

Children do not go missing from this home. Staff have regular, age-appropriate discussions with children around their personal safety.

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

Risks to children are appropriately identified, and risk plans are regularly updated. However, risk plans relating to asthma and substance misuse lack clear guidance for staff Inspection report for children’s home: SC040719 4 to support children in an emergency. Despite this shortfall, there has been no impact on children’s safety.

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

There have been some instances of conflict between children. The manager has supported children to work through these issues and ensures that measures are in place to support them to live together safely. The risks of bullying between children are regularly reviewed. Consequently, children’s relationships have improved.

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

There has been one incident of a child being held to keep them safe. The child and staff were supported to reflect on the incident, and the manager carried out a positive reflective practice exercise to identify areas of training and development for the staff team. However, despite highlighting that the description of the hold is not clear, insufficient action has been taken to record this detail in line with regulation. A requirement has been made regarding this.

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

Leaders and managers have responded appropriately to complaints from neighbours and have taken action to resolve issues effectively.

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

Children receive appropriate consequences and rewards. Using restorative practice, children are helped recognise the impact of their behaviours and to restore positive relationships in the community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced and qualified registered manager leads the team. She is supported by a deputy manager. Leaders and managers are committed to providing children with good and safe care. They aspire for children to succeed in all areas of their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Incidents in the home do not occur frequently and children are well supported. However, the recording of incidents varies and some records lack management oversight. This does not support the team to develop practice or improve the care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The experiences and progress of children are at the forefront of practice in the home. Staff benefit from individual and group supervision sessions alongside monthly team meetings. These opportunities are used to discuss children, staff practice and areas of development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to a range of training opportunities and have recently received training on language that cares and supporting children’s emotional well-being. However, the manager has not ensured that all staff have attended refresher training on topics that are specific to children’s needs, such as substance misuse. This does not ensure that children are supported by a knowledgeable workforce. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040719 5

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s risk assessments include clear strategies for staff to follow in order to reduce the risks to children. 5 November 2024

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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

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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— 5 November 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040719 6 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(c)(f)(g)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that there are robust monitoring systems in place to ensure effective oversight of recording to continually improve the quality of care provided to children. In addition, ensure that staff receive regular refresher training on topics that are specific to children’s risks and vulnerabilities.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all physical intervention records clearly describe the hold used to support children. 5 November 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that bedroom windows have sufficient coverings to maintain children’s privacy. Additionally, the registered person should ensure that the carpet on the stairs is cleaned or replaced. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that recordings of direct work sessions are purposeful, evaluative and helpful to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children’s home: SC040719 7

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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: SC040719 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Victoria Square, PO Box 29, Bolton BL1 1RU

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Inspector

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC040719 9 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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