Children's home run by Bridge-Moore Homes Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2784976 1 Registered provider: Bridge-Moore Homes Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns this children’s home. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who may have social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in August 2024 and this was its first inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a permanent registered manager who is working towards the required qualification in leadership and management.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2784976 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, there was one child living at the home. The child has lived at the home since September 2024 and is making progress. The child was present during the inspection and the inspector spoke with them and obtained their views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s move into the home was well planned. Staff took time to meet the child, show them the home and take them on an activity before they moved in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to build positive relationships with the child. Since moving into the home, the child has gone from limited communication with staff to communicating openly, using their preferred methods. Interactions are fun and playful, indicating the child is at ease in the company of staff and is settling well in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to maintain their education while a suitable school placement is found. Since arriving at the home, the child has not been in full-time education. However, staff have supported them in the interim with various educational activities and with work set by their tutor, which the child is engaging with. Staff have also been supportive in finding the child a suitable school placement which they are due to start soon. This support helps provide the child with the best chances for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to maintain good health. They are registered with and attend appointments with various health professionals. Staff encourage the child to eat healthily and be involved in choosing and preparing meals. A recent health review showed the child had lost weight. However, there was no clear system in place to monitor and ensure that action taken by staff was enabling the child to maintain a healthy weight.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide opportunities for the child to participate in various activities and have new experiences. Staff have helped the child to find activities they enjoy and encourage them to pursue those activities. The child particularly enjoys ice skating. They received a pair of ice skates for Christmas in a personalised bag which they proudly showed the inspector. This helps the child to have fun and has increased their self-confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to ensure that the child’s relationships with the people important to them are maintained. Family relationships are particularly important to the child. Staff have offered to support the child’s parent to attend an assessment so that the child is able to have face-to-face visits. They have also agreed plans with the social worker to take the child and their sibling on an activity together. This helps the child to feel loved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming. It is kept clean and tidy and is nicely decorated. However, the child’s bedroom lacks personalisation that would give them a greater sense of belonging. The outside bins were also overflowing. While these were emptied the next day, they looked unsightly and detracted from what was otherwise a pleasant home. Inspection report for children's home: 2784976 3

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

The child is cared for by staff who understand their needs and have built positive and trusting relationships with them. Staff have established clear routines and boundaries where the child knows what is expected of them, which helps them to feel settled.

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

Clear risk assessments support staff to manage most risks relating to the child. When the child exhibits risky behaviour, staff take prompt action to ensure their immediate safety. However, one particular risk to the child has not been adequately assessed, which could impact on the staff’s ability to keep the child safe.

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

Staff know what to do when the child goes missing from home and help them to return safely. They know where to look and are aware of situations that may make an episode of going missing more likely. This has enabled staff to put in place plans and additional support at those times to help reduce the risks of further missing episodes.

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

Allegations and complaints are taken seriously. There are systems in place to help the child raise concerns. The child is aware of the processes and is confident in using them. When allegations or complaints are raised, appropriate action is taken to ensure the child is safeguarded effectively. This provides the child with the assurance that they are listened to and their concerns will be acted on.

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

Staff help the child to reflect on their behaviour and make positive choices. Incentives and rewards are tailored to the child. The child is able to work towards being given items or activities of their choice by achieving specific goals. When used, consequences are proportionate and help the child to reflect on the impact of their behaviour and learn from it.

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

Safer recruitment processes are in place. Appropriate checks are carried out on new staff before they work at the home. This ensures that children are cared for by suitably vetted staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is ambitious for the child and has high expectations of staff. The manager has a good understanding of the child’s needs and the progress they are making. The child is settled in the home and has positive relationships with staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported. Since the home opened in August 2024, there has been a stable staff team in place. Staff say they are happy working in the home and speak highly of the registered manager. Before any children were placed in the home, the new staff were given the opportunity to complete their induction and required training together. This ensures that any children placed in the home are cared for by staff who have received appropriate training to support them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive support and guidance to help them care for the child living in the home. This includes having regular supervision, which gives the staff opportunities to reflect on Inspection report for children's home: 2784976 4 their learning and development. As several staff are now coming out of their probation period, the manager has enrolled them to start work on the level 3 diploma in children’s residential care. This ensures staff will be equipped with the knowledge and understanding to best support the child. When staff have not met the standards expected, the registered manager has taken decisive action to end their probation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. They are keen to maintain and develop the staff team and have started to think about taking in a second child but are aware this needs to be right for the child already living in the home. Feedback from external professionals is positive. They say communication with the home is good and that the home has worked well in establishing positive relationships with the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager does not always effectively challenge other services when support for the child has not been adequate, for example, following a self-harm incident and in relation to the child’s personal education plan. However, they have taken the initiative to develop and agree safety plans to minimise potential risks to the child from delays in receiving support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Equality, diversity and inclusion are actively promoted. This is particularly pertinent to the child living in the home. The manager ensures an interpreter is present for family time and has discussed with the child any specific needs they may have so that they can be supported. The manager actively challenges discriminatory behaviour. This helps ensure that both the child and staff feel safe in the home and are assured that any discriminatory behaviour will not be tolerated. Inspection report for children's home: 2784976 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must actively challenge relevant authorities when there is a delay to children receiving services required to meet their needs. 28 March 2025

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vi)(d)) 28 March 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2784976 6 In particular, the registered manager must continually and actively assess the child’s ligature risks in the home and take action to ensure those risks are minimised.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (1)(c) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must implement effective systems to ensure that the child is maintaining a healthy weight. 28 March 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that is homely and meets the needs of children. This specifically relates to the lack of personalisation of the child’s bedroom and rubbish overflowing from the home’s outdoor bin. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2784976 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bridge-Moore Homes Limited

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Inspector

Louise Naylor, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2784976 8 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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