Children's Home run by Hamann Care Ltd in Bradford

Inspection report for children’s home: 2751088 1 Registered provider: Hamann Care Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2023.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in this home.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 18 September 2024

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2751088 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/09/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2751088 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector spoke to one of the two children living at the home at the time of this inspection. They said, ‘I love living here. I like all the staff, and I feel safe.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with structure, boundaries and consistent, nurturing care to meet their individual needs. Children benefit from positive relationships with staff. One child actively seeks the staff out to spend time with them. Children’s voices are heard, and their wishes and feelings are captured during children’s meetings and structured and daily discussions with staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are healthy, and staff support them to attend medical appointments and maintain a healthy lifestyle, ensuring that they eat a healthy, nutritious and balanced diet. When children have not wanted to attend appointments, staff have worked incredibly hard to ensure that children understand the importance of looking after their health.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to educational resources that are tailored to their individual needs. Children take part in a range of activities that they have an interest in. They enjoy going ice-skating and to trampoline parks, the cinema and for days out to the coast.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote family time in line with children’s plans. The manager challenges the placing authority when it is considered that changes to family time are needed and are beneficial to the child.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have created a warm, inviting and nurturing home, with photos of the children and staff displayed on the walls. There is a redecoration programme underway to renovate one of the bedrooms and create a more homely second lounge area that children can use as a quiet room. One social worker said, ‘We are all working together. I cannot ask for anything else. I cannot think of anything else that the home or staff could do better or improve on.’

p.3

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

Children are kept safe by staff who know them well and understand their risks and vulnerabilities. Children say that they feel safe in their home. Staff receive safeguarding training that is specific to the children’s needs. When children have self- harming behaviours, they receive a caring response from staff who express empathy and warmth towards the children. Staff support children to access the emotional support that they need.

p.3

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

Furthermore, staff sensitively educate children to better understand their risks to help them to understand why adults are worried about them. This includes staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2751088 4 helping children to understand what appropriate and healthy relationships with others should look like and what danger signs to be aware of.

p.3

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

Risk assessments and safety plans are up to date and regularly reviewed by the manager. These documents are clear, concise and easy for staff to follow.

p.4

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

Children’s risks have reduced significantly from their starting points, with a reduction in the times that children go missing and a reduced risk to children outside of the home. When children go missing from the home, they experience a good response from staff and partner agencies. Children can speak to someone independent when they return home.

p.4

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

Staff do not need to physically hold or guide the children. However, when consequences have been used, these have not always been of a restorative nature. There was one occasion when a child received a financial penalty for property damage and another time when a child could not have their usual takeaway treat due to not taking part in a meeting. These consequences are neither effective nor restorative.

p.4

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

Allegations are managed appropriately. Children are listened to and informed of the outcomes. However, the electronic system used to record these incidents has not always been used effectively, which makes it difficult to identify relevant documents.

p.4

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

Safer recruitment is not always strictly adhered to, with a lapse seen in reference checks. As soon as this was pointed out to the manager, a plan was implemented to ensure that this will not happen in the future and any persons recruited are safe.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a period of change in the staff team due to several members of staff leaving. The manager is present in the home, visible to both children and staff. His presence is recognised by staff who said that he is a good manager. The staff feel well supported by the manager, describing him as not only kind, but also supportive and well liked among the staff and the children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are regularly held, and staff discuss a range of topics relevant to the children living in the home. Team meetings are an important channel of communication and idea-sharing for staff to continually promote the welfare of the children. Staff receive supervision and appraisals in line with the home’s policy. Staff said that supervision is good and an effective way of discussing any concerns or worries they may have. In addition, staff can have one-to-one discussions with the manager at any time.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is good multi-agency working at the home and clear evidence of advocacy from the manager. He has confidently challenged others to ensure that children are receiving the correct services to meet their needs. For example, the manager and staff advocate for additional services when required to support a child’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2751088 5 Staff have access to a range of training. However, this is not always accurately recorded, making it difficult for the manager to monitor attendance and whether refresher training is needed.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been some shortfalls in management oversight largely due to the setup of the electronic system. For example, when staff have made recordings, they are not always clearly written and not always written in a tone that is child friendly. Inspection report for children’s home: 2751088 6

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when staff use consequences to address poor behaviour, they are restorative in nature, and food should never be used as a consequence or a bribe. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non- stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information should be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that they maintain good employment practice, particularly with safer recruitment, by ensuring that the individual is of

p.6

Recommendations

integrity and good character and that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

p.6

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: 2751088 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Bradford Chamber Business Park, New Lane, Bradford BD4 8BX

p.7

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Daniel Blackburn

p.7

Inspector

Angela Ross, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2751088 8 and inspects to 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8