Children's home run by Bristol City Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2586752 1 Registered provider: Bristol City Council

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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 a local authority and provides care for up to two children.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home and had only recently moved in. Previously, two children lived at the home for a number of years and both have moved out in the past few months.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager resigned very recently. A new manager is in post and has submitted an application to register.

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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: 11 October 2023

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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: 2586752 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/10/2023 Full Good 14/02/2023 Full Good 17/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2586752 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living at the home was seen and spoken to during the inspection. A child who recently moved out was also spoken to on the telephone. The previous registered manager was contactable during the inspection and supported the new manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress and develop trusting and positive relationships with staff, who provide them with nurturing and compassionate care. Staff have considerable experience and knowledge of the issues and challenges that children may face. Children’s cultural, linguistic and religious needs are responded to proactively with both respect and acceptance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are thoughtful in their care of children to ensure their needs are met and any challenges are overcome. For example, they are enthused about cooking familiar dishes for children to enjoy with them. The foundations for developing positive relationships were set in action of cooking with love and care for the child who has recently moved in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive support to attend school and engage in hobbies and activities. Their aspiration, skills and talents are celebrated and championed by staff. One child was supported in his ambition to be a professional footballer, which required attendance at various coaching sessions, matches and extensive travel, and multi-agency cooperation. They now have begun their professional football academy training and secured a contingency college place offer.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to meet their health needs. Managers and staff work collaboratively with professionals to get the best outcomes for children. The impact of trauma and loss, and the individual needs of each child, are considered, and where required, specialist support is gained.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff ensure that children’s rights are promoted and respected. They ensure that children receive information, when they move into the home, on the advocacy service offer This openness has resulted in children accessing the service. Children are also given information on how to make complaints, this process is well managed when accessed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves in and out of the home are well planned and thorough. The needs of children and the ability of staff to meet those needs are given full and appropriate regard by the manager. Recognising the anxiety of moving into the home, the manager and staff acknowledge change and uncertainty can be stressful for children, and undertake visits to the child to talk about the home, as well as sharing accessible information such as the children’s guide translated into their dialect. For those moving from the home, they received memory books, photos and memorabilia and a celebration is held to commemorate their time living in the home. Children’s records did not capture this effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: 2586752 4 Those who move from the home have accessed ‘staying close’ outreach support. Staff and a child who recently left the home spoke about the positivity of this offer, as it ensures that support is available to the child from trusted adults who know them well

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children can maintain family relationships wherever possible and think of creative ways in which this can be achieved. One child received additional financial and practical support to telephone their mother each week across countries. The manager and staff recognise how this can be difficult and the impact to the child when they live far away from their family. Relationships are also maintained with important adults, including prior foster carers.

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

There is an open and engaging culture within the home, and children are encouraged to communicate their needs. Children feel listened to, and one child spoke about how they felt able, ‘not shy’, in voicing anything that they might need.

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

Professionals unanimously stated the home provides positive nurturing care to the children. Staff communication is positive and support for the children to achieve their goals and maintain a commitment to their culture is provided, as is support for children with any safeguarding issues.

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

There have been no restraints and no missing episodes or referrals to local authority designated officer in this inspection period. The staff are proud that they do not use restraint practice to manage situations, and spoke and demonstrated nurturing, fun and warm care, following the homes ethos.

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

There are few low-level incidents in the home and safeguarding concerns are appropriately responded to. The manager has effective oversight and ensures a proportionate and measured response.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s vulnerabilities and potential risks; they are vigilant to and curious about criminal and financial exploitation and trafficking. The staff and manager engage with wider networks to identify risks and, where needed, have made use of National Referral Mechanism. Staff are confident and experienced in using disruption techniques and engaging the child in other activities with tenacity and nurture to protect children from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a well-planned change of manager which has enabled the new manager to gain good oversight and understanding of the needs of the children. This has also supported the development of positive relationships between the new manager and staff, who all reported feeling supported through the change. Inspection report for children’s home: 2586752 5 Leaders and managers have clear understanding of the strengths and areas in need of development in the home, and have a good understanding of the children’s needs. The manager shared systems to support oversight and monitoring within the home, however these were not always used effectively in preventing drift or delay.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s progress and individual care needs are captured within plans and staff use the plans to inform and guide the care they provide to each child to ensure children are supported to make progress within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers understand the importance of detailed, accurate and timely recording. In general records capture events and provide an oversight of the day. There were some missed opportunities to record, the activity and to triangulate how this met a child’s goal and progress which resulted from the nurturing model of care provided. There was also recording that used language, that inappropriately labelled a child and presented in future reports could stigmatise the child as having engaged in behaviours that they had not.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers understand the workforce requirements and have responded to this and workforce change, ensuring that safe recruitment was followed. Overall, staff are appropriately skilled to meet the needs of the children, and the training equips them to deliver the therapeutic and nurturing care described in the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision for permanent staff is frequent and supports them in the care of children, with some evidence of reflective practice. The manager is currently reviewing the frequency of the supervision offer to agency staff to make this simple and to ensure effective oversight. There is evidence of staff appraisals taking place within appropriate timescales and recording of these meetings. The manager is considering how the impact of appraisals and contribution by staff can be improved. Inspection report for children’s home: 2586752 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Ensure that information about the child is comprehensive and is recorded in a way that will be helpful to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4).

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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: 2586752 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bristol City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Bristol City Council, Director of Legal Services, City Hall, College Green, Bristol BS1 5TR

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Inspectors

Ashley Arkless, Social Care Inspector Nicola Lownds, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2586752 8 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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