Children's Home run by Bradford Children and Families Trust in Bradford

Inspection report for children’s home: 2729358 1 Registered provider: Bradford Children’s and Families Trust

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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 re-registered with Ofsted on 1 April 2023, when the local authority arrangements were taken over by Bradford Children and Families Trust. It provides care for up to four children who experience a range of social or emotional difficulties. Three children were living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since February 2023.

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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: 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: 2729358 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2729358 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences have been varied. Children have made some progress, but this has not always been maintained, and some children have regressed at points. Staff are not consistent in the care that they provide to children. Children feel unheard and disrespected by staff.

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improvement to be good

The home environment continues to have issues around maintenance and decoration, including daily cleaning. The manager has redecorated the living room and dining space in a homely way, personalised to the children. However, the rest of the home is uninviting with many doors, including heavy metal security doors, harsh fluorescent lighting, metal cages around fire detectors and bedroom sink units which were noted to be dirty. Children’s bedrooms have improved.

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improvement to be good

When a child moved into the home, a thorough assessment of needs, risks and the skills of the staff was not completed. This does not enable plans to be developed to support children who are moving in, and children who already live in the home. When children move out of the home, extensive transition work is completed to support children to have a positive experience.

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improvement to be good

Managers work with partner agencies to promote children’s health and well-being, safety and education. All professionals spoken to felt children’s needs were met by staff and that children are safe and make progress. Managers communicate well with professionals and advocate for the children.

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improvement to be good

Children have positive relationships with some staff. Children’s laughter could be heard through the corridors during inspection. Children have a weekly opportunity to work with a music tutor in the home. This has supported two children to learn to play the trombone and tenor horn. The children have made good progress with their music ability, despite the challenges that they have faced.

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improvement to be good

One child’s parent shared that since their child moved into the home, they have been able to enjoy many positive and new experiences such as attending a football club. All children have positive experiences of attending clubs, going on short breaks, and having days out which align to their interests.

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improvement to be good

Staff often respond in a punitive way to children’s behaviour. Consequences are not restorative and are focused on financial reparation. Food is locked away and bedroom door alarms are used indiscriminately. These responses have limited opportunities for staff to support children to learn how to effectively manage their feelings, and prevents Inspection report for children’s home: 2729358 4 children understanding the impact of their behaviour. Some of the children have, at times, felt unhappy living in the home.

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improvement to be good

Records of room searches make it difficult to understand the reasons for these and if they were needed. Children are not consulted as part of the process, and there is no evidence of the child’s voice or of effective management oversight.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments address known risks to children and detail how staff should respond. However, staff do not always recognise opportunities to have meaningful conversations with children about things that are important to them. Staff do not always have the skills to recognise when children are seeking interaction or discussions. This means that conversations about children’s relationships with each other, and phone use are not taking place appropriately.

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improvement to be good

Physical intervention has only happened once in twelve months. This was proportionate and necessary to keep everyone safe. The recording of the incident was poor and the conversation with staff afterwards was delayed, which resulted in the manager having poor oversight of the incident.

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improvement to be good

When a child goes missing, staff respond quickly and in line with the child’s plan. Staff contact others who know the child to make sure that they are found as quickly as possible. When children return, staff ensure that they are safe and well; however, the recording of the incidents are inconsistent and difficult to understand.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to make complaints. When this has happened, leaders and managers have appropriately investigated and responded to children. Practice issues that have been identified are discussed with individual staff and within team meetings. Allegations and complaints from others are also taken seriously and investigated, with appropriate action taken. However, investigations can take a long time, which delays timely action. Learning from complaints and allegations has not been embedded, which results in repeated incidents.

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

The manager knows children well. This is his first role as a manager. He has not received sufficient support from senior leaders to effectively manage the home. Support and guidance have improved over the last six months. However, management oversight remains ineffective.

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

The quality of children’s records is poor, and the timeliness of recording makes it difficult for managers to address practice issues in a helpful timeframe. Some children’s records are written in a negative and emotive way. This is not helpful for children.

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

Staff generally feel supported by managers. The multiple changes within the senior leadership team has had a negative impact on staff. This, alongside inconsistent staffing, with staff coming from other homes, impacts on consistency of care for children. Supervision of staff does not always happen in a timely way; however, when it does Inspection report for children’s home: 2729358 5 happen it is of good quality. Team meetings happen frequently; however, the records of these meetings do not capture discussions well. Work is undertaken to support staff to consider children’s needs, but this needs to be further embedded across the staff team.

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

The manager has been supported to develop a good understanding of where shortfalls currently lie. He recognises that the staff team needs to be supported to become aligned to the ethos and values of the home. This will take time to become embedded across the staff team so that staff are able to provide care in line with the home’s statement of purpose.

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

The manager’s six-monthly quality of care reviews are poorly written, are not within timescales, and do not meet what the regulations set out. Similarly, safeguarding notifications to Ofsted are not always received in a timely way and do not provide sufficient information to enable clear understanding of safeguarding responses. When the manager has been contacted, he has been able to provide good insight but this does not translate into the written information.

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

Training has some gaps in the organisation’s mandatory requirements, however most of the staff’s training is up to date. When new staff are recruited to the home, there are appropriate checks to ensure that they are safe to care for children. When agency staff are used, similar checks are completed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2729358 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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; and

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(e)(f)(h)) 16 April 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

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and 16 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2729358 7 positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust; and

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iv)(viii)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iii)(c)(i)(ii)) 16 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and 16 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2729358 8 any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, if bedroom door alarms are used for children, regular reviews of the need for the alarms must happen. The rationale for the need for bedroom door alarms must be clear.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

Supply HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days on which the quality of care review is completed.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (4)(a) (5)) 16 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2729358 9

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff deliver care to each child in a way that is aligned with the ethos and values set out within the Statement of Purpose. (‘Guide to The Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that when considering whether children should move into the home, they have considered and recorded the impact upon all children alongside consideration of whether staff have the skills to meet the needs of all the children. (‘Guide to The Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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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: 2729358 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bradford Children’s and Families Trust

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sir Henry Mitchell House (5th Floor), 4 Manchester Road, Bradford BD5 0QL

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Inspectors

Joanna Beal, Social Care Inspector Sam Saxby-Brown, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2729358 11 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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