Children's Home run by Bedspace Resource Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2689205 1 Registered provider: Bedspace Resource Limited

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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 owned and operated by a private company. It provides care for up to three children. Children may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is appropriately qualified and experienced. At the time of the inspection, they were waiting for the outcome of their application to register. This was subsequently approved, and the manager has been registered to manage the home since the 6 December 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home. The child was present for some of the inspection and the inspector was able to speak with them and gather their views.

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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: 2689205 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/07/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2689205 3

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improvement to be good

Children have made progress from their starting points. However, shortfalls in safeguarding, risk management and management oversight impact on children’s overall experiences.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, two children have come to live at the home and two have left. Two children left the home earlier than planned. One child moved at short notice because of safeguarding concerns. Managers ended the other child’s placement because they did not agree with aspects of the child’s care plan. Staff speak warmly about the children and the progress they made. A social worker said that staff were nurturing towards their child and that staff ‘did an exceptional job under difficult circumstances’.

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improvement to be good

The child currently living in the home moved in at short notice. Before the child moved in, information was gathered to support the move. The child has quickly settled and has developed strong relationships with staff. The child’s independent reviewing officer said that staff have good insight into the child’s emotional needs and the child benefits from clear boundaries and structure.

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improvement to be good

The child is registered with health services and staff actively promote positive health outcomes for the child. Staff work well with a range of organisations to ensure that the child’s health needs are met. They talk with the child about puberty and their developing body. Staff encourage the child to eat a variety of healthy foods and they educate the child on aspects of personal care. This promotes the child’s sense of pride in their appearance and their self-esteem.

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improvement to be good

The child came to the home without a school place. Managers advocated with education professionals for the child to be found a place. Staff have been innovative in supporting the child’s education by promoting an education routine and taking the child to the local library to access online tutoring. An education professional said that staff have supported the child ‘in every way’. The child now attends a school that meets their needs.

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improvement to be good

The child participates in a variety of activities that support positive relationships and their confidence. The child has been on holiday with staff, and they spend time with staff playing in the park and doing activities in the home, such as making jewellery and colouring. Staff arrange activities to develop the child’s social skills. For example, they attend a local youth club, and play with a child of a similar age who lives nearby.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always follow safeguarding policies and procedures. This is because they do not always recognise when a child makes an allegation or discloses abuse and neglect. Inspection report for children's home: 2689205 4 Therefore, they do not immediately consult with managers or inform the child’s social worker within agreed timescales. This leaves staff vulnerable and children at continued risk.

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improvement to be good

Following an allegation of abuse or neglect, managers do not always record conversations with the child’s social worker or agreed outcomes. Managers are therefore unsure about agreed actions to safeguard the child.

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improvement to be good

Managers do not ensure that risk management plans are updated with important information. For example, managers have not given staff guidance when lone working with the child now in the home or about the child’s particular vulnerabilities when male and female staff are working together.

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improvement to be good

Staff have good knowledge of the risks the internet poses for the child. They educate the child using age-appropriate resources to support them to engage and learn. However, staff do not regularly check the child’s phone in line with the child’s risk management plan. This leaves the child vulnerable to online abuse and exploitation.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing from the home, staff follow agreed protocols. They search for the child, and they contact the police within agreed timescales. When the child returns, staff ensure that the child is contacted by an independent person. This is an important opportunity for the child to share information with a trusted adult.

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improvement to be good

The therapeutic approach and guidance from the company clinician has supported staff to understand the child’s needs and responses and to manage the child’s complex behaviours. Staff use their strong relationships and knowledge of the child to de-escalate their complex behaviours. Since the last inspection, staff have not used physical restraint to manage behaviours and keep the child safe.

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

Since the last inspection, there has been a change in the management team. The current registered manager was the deputy manager, and a new deputy is in post. Managers have high aspirations for children and high expectations of staff. The manager is supported by a responsible individual who is a visible presence in the home.

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

Managers support staff well-being and development through regular supervision and an annual appraisal. Staff say that the team works well together because they share the same values. Managers and staff acknowledge that some staff have struggled to adjust to the changes in the management team. Staff say that managers have listened to their concerns and addressed these.

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

Managers do not ensure that systems to ensure the safe recruitment of staff are effective. They are not sufficiently vigilant and do not identify discrepancies in information. They are also not professionally curious when scrutinising available information. Inspection report for children's home: 2689205 5 Managers have a range of monitoring systems to assess the quality of care that the child receives. However, monitoring has not been effective in identifying shortfalls in practice in relation to staff updating risk assessments, the safe recruitment of staff and staff’s failure to follow children’s risk assessments. Additionally, managers have not identified shortfalls in recording when children go missing from the home.

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

Managers have ensured that staff have access to training and development opportunities relevant to the child’s needs. Good-quality training is delivered online and face to face. Additionally, staff have access to individual consultations with the company clinician, as well as opportunities to reflect on their practice as a team.

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

Managers work hard to ensure that children receive consistent care. They cover shortfalls in staffing and are flexible in when they work in the home. Agency staff receive a well-planned induction which enables them to understand children’s vulnerabilities. Inspection report for children's home: 2689205 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 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— that staff—

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that staff understand and follow the home’s child protection policies. Also, that managers ensure that risk management plans are updated with guidance for staff when new risks emerge, and that staff follow this guidance. 1 February 2025

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 1 February 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2689205 7 This specifically relates to managers ensuring that monitoring and review systems are effective in identifying shortfalls in safeguarding practice.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that recruitment practice for all staff employed to work in the home are safe. 1 February 2025

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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: 2689205 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bedspace Resource Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Bedspace, 473 Chester Road, Manchester M16 9HF

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Inspector

Karen Gillingwater, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2689205 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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