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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 1 SC040723 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 local authority home is registered to provide care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2018. She also manages another home nearby.

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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

Date of last inspection: 11 October 2023

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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: SC040723 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/10/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/01/2023 Full Good 10/11/2021 Full Good 26/06/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 3

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improvement to be good

All three children living in the home provided positive feedback about what it is like to live in the home.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported by an experienced and consistent team of staff who know them well. Staff advocate for children and have their best interests at the forefront of their practice.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to develop hobbies and interests and establish positive friendship groups. The staff are committed to children enjoying various first-time experiences and have supported children to enjoy a holiday with their friends during the summer. This was well received by the children and enabled them to create positive memories.

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improvement to be good

Education is a priority in the home. All children are in full-time education, and some are making sustainable and measurable progress. Children are praised and rewarded for their achievements, which supports their self-esteem and confidence. When children have experienced difficulties with consistently attending school, staff have worked with professionals to advocate for the child and source the correct support.

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improvement to be good

Children’s emotional and physical health needs are understood by staff. Children are supported to attend regular health appointments, and they have access to a practitioner to support them with their emotional well-being and mental health.

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improvement to be good

Children live in a well-maintained and homely environment. Their bedrooms are personalised, and children expressed how happy they are with the personal items they have. At children’s request, items have been purchased to enable them to enjoy time in the garden, including games, a trampoline and a paddling pool.

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improvement to be good

Risk management is not robust. Leaders and managers have not identified all risks to children. When planning for a holiday, the manager has not considered all known risks for children or provided staff with guidance on how they would be kept safe. There are also shortfalls in children’s risk plans relating to substance misuse with a lack clear guidance for staff to support children in an emergency.

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improvement to be good

When it is deemed necessary to search children’s bedrooms, written records provide details of why the search was necessary. If items are removed during searches, records state what has happened to them. However, records do not routinely show if children were present when the search took place or if they have been made aware of the Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 4 search. This means that there is a lack of transparency about this practice and the impact it has on children’s privacy.

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improvement to be good

On one occasion, staff have had to physically intervene to keep a child safe and prevent injury. The measure was momentary and safeguarded the child and a staff member. Leaders and managers have ensured that the child was supported to reflect on the incident, and the staff member received a debrief.

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improvement to be good

Allegations are responded to in a timely way and there is a multi-agency response in the home to ensure that children are safeguarded. However, leaders and managers have not always made Ofsted aware of significant incidents. This impacts the regulator’s oversight of the home.

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improvement to be good

Children’s views are regularly sought, and children are listened to by staff. The children are supported to engage in direct-work sessions to discuss topics that are specific to their individual needs, such as the use of e-cigarettes, emotional health and well-being and the importance of education.

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

The home is managed by a qualified registered manager and deputy manager who know the children well.

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

Management monitoring systems are ineffective in some areas. Gaps in records had not been identified by leaders and managers and not all records are dated and signed by the author. The manager also acknowledged that the changes to recording practices are not helpful for children and do not provide a clear record for them to look back on their journey and progress should they wish to do so.

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

The home’s statement of purpose has not been reviewed to reflect surveillance measures used in the home. An internal door alarm has been placed on the kitchen door as a safety measure in response to children waking in the night and health and safety concerns.

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

Staff do not receive regular supervision. This does not support staff to reflect and develop their practice and support for children.

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

Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended by the staff. Meetings follow an agenda and revisit tasks identified at earlier meetings to ensure that these have been addressed. Staff use this opportunity to reflect on children’s progress and areas for development in the team to support improvement.

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

Staff have access to a range of training opportunities and have recently received training specific to supporting children’s emotional well-being and understanding barriers to education. However, the manager has not ensured that all staff have attended training on topics that are relevant to children’s individual needs, such as substance misuse. This does not ensure that children are supported by a competent workforce. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 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 all risks to children are fully considered and that children’s risk plans include clear strategies for staff to follow to reduce the risks to children. 6 December 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— 6 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 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 and improve the quality of care in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all staff have completed training that is specific to the risks and vulnerabilities of children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the home’s records for each child represent a significant contribution to their life history and are written in a way that is helpful to children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all records are signed and dated by the author. 6 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI and make a copy of it available upon request.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (2) (3)(a)(b)) 6 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 7 Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the statement of purpose is kept under review, contains accurate details of surveillance measures in the home and is shared with Ofsted.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records of room searches include if the child was present when the search was carried out. If the child was not present, records should include the reason for this. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.20)  The registered person should ensure that staff have access to regular good-quality reflective supervision of their practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 32, paragraph 8.15)  The registered person should ensure that Ofsted is made aware of significant incidents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

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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: SC040723 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: SC040723 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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