Children's home run by Underley Schools Limited in Bolton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC038276 1 SC038276 Registered provider: Underley Schools 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 provides care for up to 48 children and young people who have learning disabilities, autism and social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 21 children and young people were living in homes on the site.

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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: 18 February 2025

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC038276 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/02/2025 Full Outstanding 06/02/2024 Full Outstanding 25/10/2022 Full Good 12/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC038276 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, the provider has taken the decision to reduce the number of children who live in the residential home. As a result, 12 children have moved to other provisions, and some children have had moves to other homes on the site. Managers and staff are ensuring that children are fully prepared for these moves. They are creating bespoke social stories to help children to understand what is happening and to ease any anxieties they may be feeling.

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improvement to be good

Children’s care plans contain detailed instructions about how staff should care for them. However, one child’s plan for daily physiotherapy is not detailed in their care plan. Staff understood the importance of movement to this child’s health but lacked clarity about the specific exercises they should encourage the child to do. This does not support the child’s health and well-being in line with their plan.

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improvement to be good

There are protocols in place to support staff to respond to children’s individual medical needs. However, these documents are not dated, and it is not clear who has written them. This has caused confusion in practice. For example, there were two different versions of an epilepsy protocol in use for one child. One version conflicted with the advice issued by the child’s consultant. This has not had an impact on the child’s health, but a requirement is made to address this.

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improvement to be good

Staff know the children well and place them at the centre of their practice. They understand children’s unique methods of communication. They adopt a range of methods, including symbols and Makaton, to maximise opportunities for communication with children. Some children are making progress with their communication. For example, one child is learning the Makaton signs for ‘drink’ and ‘toilet’. This is supporting them to communicate their needs and is an important step to increasing their independence.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that children’s disabilities are not a barrier to their participation in usual childhood experiences such as holidays and trips. Staff successfully supported one child to overcome their anxieties about flying, by careful planning and preparation with them. Children spoke excitedly about their holidays.

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improvement to be good

Children are learning important daily living skills, which is helping them to become increasingly independent. For example, one child is learning to make their bed and hoover their room.

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improvement to be good

Staff take great care to ensure that children’s bedrooms reflect their individual tastes and interests. However, some children’s bedrooms were not fully prepared for them before they moved into the home. In addition, some communal areas require redecoration and Inspection report for children’s home: SC038276 4 more regular maintenance. This detracts from the homely environment that the staff are trying to create.

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improvement to be good

There are inconsistencies in safeguarding practices when children make allegations or concerning comments. It is not always clear in records that managers have taken effective action to explore what has happened with the child or with the staff involved. Managers have informed the child’s social worker, but records are not consistently clear on whether the local authority designated officer (LADO) was informed. This does not support a strong safeguarding culture.

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improvement to be good

Children receive high levels of supervision and support. Some children and young people are subject to restrictions of their liberty. This is aligned to their complex needs and helps to keep them safe. However, the appropriate legal consents for restrictions are not in place for one young person. The manager has not taken action to escalate concerns about this to the placing authority.

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improvement to be good

Risks to children are well understood and well managed. There are comprehensive risk management plans in place to support staff to manage risks to children. These plans are updated following significant events.

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improvement to be good

Direct work with children is of an inconsistent quality. Stronger examples show meaningful discussions and insights into children’s experiences. Weaker examples, such as work around internet safety do not sufficiently guide children on the risks that are associated with their known or emerging risks. This is a missed opportunity to help children to keep themselves safer.

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improvement to be good

Staff manage difficult situations with children in a calm and confident way. There have been occasions when staff have held children to keep them safe. These interventions were necessary and proportionate. Children are always given an opportunity to talk about how they feel following these incidents. For those children who do not use words to communicate, staff make careful observations of the child’s presentation to check on their welfare.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers follow safer recruitment processes. This means that only suitable adults are employed to work with children.

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

The period since the last inspection has been a challenging and difficult time for managers and staff. The registered manager is focused on ensuring that children are supported to move from the home in a planned and sensitive way.

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

Managers have put initiatives in place to help support staff retention while children move out of the home. Staff confirmed that they felt supported by their managers. One Inspection report for children’s home: SC038276 5 member of staff said, ‘No matter how big or small a problem, management are always there to support you. It is a place where everyone feels valued.’

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

There are shortfalls in the manager’s oversight of significant incidents in the home. He had not identified the shortfalls found in safeguarding practices. When he has delegated tasks to others, he has not always ensured that he is aware of the outcome or satisfied himself that the appropriate action has been taken. This impairs his ability to ensure that effective action has been taken to safeguard children.

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

Internal monitoring systems are not sufficiently robust to identify and address shortfalls in children’s health plans. In addition, some important local authority documentation is missing from children’s records. For examples, copies of children’s personal education plans are not held on file.

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

Staff receive regular supervision and have an annual appraisal of their performance. Managers use supervision as a forum to discuss staff competency in safeguarding procedures. However, not all staff demonstrated a good understanding of the role of the LADO. A recommendation is made to address this.

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

Staff are enthusiastic about their roles and speak knowledgeably about children. One member of staff said, ‘No shift is the same and we often have long days, but I feel like it has that home-from-home feel where the children are part of one big family.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC038276 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—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered manager must evaluate all records of safeguarding concerns to ensure that appropriate action has been taken to safeguard the child and inform the relevant professionals. In addition, meaningful direct work must be carried out with children to help them to understand how to keep themselves safer. 31 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being.

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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

that staff help each child to— 31 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC038276 7 achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(i))

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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

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.

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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)(f)(h)) 31 October 2025

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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)) 31 October 2025

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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 signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 31 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC038276 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff understand the role of the LADO. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.14)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a homely and domestic environment. Redecoration and maintenance should take place in a timely manner. (‘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: SC038276 9

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Underley Schools Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Atria, Spa Road, Bolton BL1 4AG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Kirkbride

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Inspectors

Sophie Thomson, Social Care Inspector Judith Birchall, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC038276 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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