Children's Home run by Bridge2Future Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2772513 1 Registered provider: Bridge2Future Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately operated and provides care for up to three children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties. At the time of inspection, there were two children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is newly registered following a change of ownership. The manager registered with Ofsted in 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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2772513 2

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improvement to be good

Children make some progress while living at the home, but they do not always feel listened to by staff. Children are encouraged to share their views and wishes regularly and engage with staff to provide their feedback about the home. However, responses are not always timely, and children do not always see how their views and wishes have been taken into account. Leaders have plans to make improvements in this area.

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improvement to be good

Children access education and are making some progress. Staff promote the importance of education. When children do not attend school, there is an expectation that school provide work to complete at home and children are supported to do this. However, children do not have good night-time routines and this affects their attendance at school.

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improvement to be good

Children say they have positive relationships with some staff but not others. The manager has spoken with children about this, and children feel relationships are improving. However, one issue remains in how a member of staff communicates with children, and this impacts their overall experience at the home. This is not in line with the therapeutic approach outlined in the home’s statement of purpose.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not ensured that they have children’s most up-to-date local authority care plans. This means that staff do not have all the information they need to ensure they are providing children with effectively planned care.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to develop age-appropriate independence skills. Children help in the preparation of meals and tidy their bedrooms. This gives children belief in their abilities, and their confidence is growing.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to participate in community-based activities. One child is enrolled in Brownies and another plays for a football team. Children have enjoyed day trips, including visits to Blackpool, London and a theme park. These opportunities help children build their self-esteem, learn new skills and have fun.

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improvement to be good

There is a clear and accessible complaints procedure, and children know how to make a complaint. When children have made complaints, they are dealt with using an empathetic and supportive approach. This helps children to feel respected and to raise problems should they need to.

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improvement to be good

On occasions, room searches have been needed due to incidents of children self- harming. At times, these have been delayed. The delays place children at risk of harm. Managers have identified this issue and have taken action to address this, but this has Inspection report for children's home: 2772513 3 not yet improved staff practice. On one occasion, staff conducted a room search when a child was at school, without their knowledge or consent. This does not support the child to build safe and trusting relationships with staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always manage behavioural incidents effectively and in line with the home’s therapeutic approach. Risks that children face are not always identified, understood and well managed by staff. Risk assessments vary in quality. Some are of good quality, but others are generic and do not contain sufficient detail to help guide staff to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Some incidents at night have not been well managed. The use of door alarms to alert staff when children get up is inconsistent, and the action staff should take when they hear alarms is unclear. This leads to inconsistent care for children and does not contribute to children’s sense of security.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of children going missing from home are decreasing. When children go missing, staff take proactive action to locate them and bring them home safely. However, children have not always had return home interviews, and managers have failed to escalate concerns in relation to this appropriately. This is a missed opportunity to obtain the children’s views and increase their safety.

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improvement to be good

When children have not wanted to engage with external services to support their well- being, the manager has arranged specialist support for the staff team. This has helped staff to better understand one child’s previous trauma and lived experiences. This is supporting the child’s progress.

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improvement to be good

Good working relationships between managers and safeguarding authorities, such as the police, help support and protect children. For example, when one child expressed their fear of the police, the home arranged a visit from the local PCSO and this helped the child to reframe their thoughts about the police.

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

Instability in the staff team, high sickness levels and a lack of experienced staff have contributed to the shortfalls in children’s overall experiences and how effectively they are helped and protected. Children’s opportunities to build trusted and secure relationships with the staff looking after them have been limited. The manager has a plan to address this, and recruitment of new staff is under way.

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

The manager is child-focused and knows the children well. Managers recognise that the home has faced challenges that have affected the quality of care provided. As a result, they made the decision not to admit any more children to the home in the near future. This decision demonstrates a positive focus on children and will enable them to restabilise and concentrate on improvement activity. Inspection report for children's home: 2772513 4 Staff do not always receive regular supervision in line with the provider’s policy. This does not support staff to reflect and develop practice or to feel supported by senior managers and leaders.

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

Systems to monitor and evaluate children’s progress are not yet good enough. There has not been consistent enough oversight of significant incidents to ensure that lessons learned are effective. However, shortfalls are generally recognised, and the manager has a clear plan for how she will improve the quality of care provided.

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

Managers have not ensured that required information about the staff working at the home is included in the home’s statement of purpose. This hinders oversight from the regulatory body.

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

Recruitment practices are safe. Staff who work in the home are subject to all necessary checks. Inspection report for children's home: 2772513 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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, risks must be understood and managed effectively by staff. 17 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 17 December 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2772513 6 ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iii))

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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, ensure that staff have the appropriate skills to respond effectively to children’s needs and that there are effective monitoring and review systems in place to ensure ongoing improvements to the quality of care provided to children. 17 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans; 17 December 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2772513 7 understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a) (2)(a)(i)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that staff respond to children’s needs in line with the therapeutic approach outlined in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 17 December 2024

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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 kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the most up-to-date local authority care plan is available for each child. 17 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

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) (3)(a)(b)) 17 December 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2772513 8

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Recommendation

 The registered person should escalate concerns when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission if the responsible local authority does not provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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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: 2772513 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Bridge2Future, Surestore, Ninth Avenue, Burton-on- Trent DE14 3JZ

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Inspectors

Chrisoula Contoyianni, Social Care Inspector Amy Richards, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2772513 10 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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