Bonner House

Inspection report for residential family centre: Bonner House 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Dudley Lodge Safeguarding Children Services

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Bonner House, 172 Sellywood Road, Birmingham B30 1TJ

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

This residential family centre is operated by a registered charity. The centre was registered with Ofsted in July 2010 to provide accommodation for up to 10 families at any one time.

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Information about this residential family centre

At the time of this inspection, nine families were resident at the centre.

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Information about this residential family centre

The manager registered with Ofsted on 12 February 2024.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and parents, taking into account

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good

How well children and parents are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The residential family centre provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of previous inspection: 23 November 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for residential family centre: Bonner House 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Families are welcomed into the centre. Managers and staff make efforts to video call parents to show them their accommodation and to ask any questions before they move in. This helps families to settle into the centre and to promote a positive start to the assessment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Managers have implemented changes to promote positive endings for families. This includes memory books created for all children to reflect their time at the centre. Additionally, staff sensitively write letters to children for them to read in later life to support their understanding of their earlier life experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Families develop positive relationships with staff. Parents described staff approaches as nurturing. A parent said that staff understand their needs and that they give them the support needed to care for their child. They added that they could not think of a safer place for them and their baby to be.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parents are clear about what is being assessed. They are provided with interventions tailored to their needs. Any necessary adaptations are made to ensure that parents and children can fully participate in their assessments. Where needed, interpreter services are used from the start. In another example, a traffic light system was used to help a parent to communicate their needs. Progress through the assessment is timely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parents and children have access to different activities and groups in and out of the centre. This includes a parent and baby group in the community, and recent Halloween activities. Parents enjoy cooking together to broaden their understanding of different cultures and foods from around the world.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Some parents who move into the centre are under 18 years old. They are offered increased levels of care and support appropriate to their age. This includes staff accompanying them to appointments, providing increased childcare, and spending time with them in their accommodation to reduce feelings of isolation. However, there are gaps in the centre’s pre-admission assessment processes to ensure that children’s rights are advocated for from the outset. Delays in service provision, such as education, advocacy and post-16 services, have the potential to negatively impact assessment outcomes.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

When incidents occur, staff take timely and appropriate action to safeguard children. Information is shared appropriately with children’s placing authorities to inform decision-making processes about next steps. Inspection report for residential family centre: Bonner House 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Managers and staff know families well. They have a thorough understanding about the risks for each family, and they are informed about what actions to take if they have concerns about a child’s safety. Risk assessments are reviewed and updated regularly to inform care planning, including supervision levels. Prior to moving in, the vulnerabilities for families living together are considered.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Parents are helped to learn how to care for their children safely. Trained staff deliver targeted interventions. For example, relationship work, protection work and child development groups are provided. Additionally, families have access to therapeutic interventions.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Closed-circuit television (CCTV) is used at the centre. Its use is reviewed regularly and reduced with the agreement of children’s placing authorities when it is assessed as safe for the child. Staff balance the monitoring of CCTV with direct observations of parents’ care. However, plans lack clarity about the frequency of monitoring to ensure that a consistent approach is applied.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

The centre provides safe medication storage arrangements. However, steps taken to improve the quality of medication records have not been effective. During this inspection, some medication records were missing and one record had text crossed out that reduced the clarity of recording. The requirement made at the previous inspection is repeated.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Recruitment processes are in place that reduce the risk of unsuitable persons working in the centre. Additionally, managers gather relevant information about agency staff to ensure that they are safe and suitable to work at the centre.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

There have been two allegations. Investigations into allegations are shared with the appropriate agencies, and action is taken to protect parents and children. Learning from events has led to training and supervision being implemented for all agency staff. This strengthens safeguarding practice at the centre.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The centre is managed effectively and efficiently by a stable management team. They understand the assessment, monitoring and support plans for each family. The registered manager is suitably qualified and has a wealth of experience, having worked with this provider for many years.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The centre has experienced staffing challenges. However, managers have ensured that the supervision of families is not compromised, and a pool of agency staff is used to reduce the impact of staff changes for families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers take action to respond to complaints promptly and the outcome is communicated effectively. For instance, when concerns are raised about families living alongside one another, managers challenge discriminatory comments and reiterate expectations about behaviour to resolve complaints effectively. Inspection report for residential family centre: Bonner House 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager’s knowledge about the centre’s activities, responses to incidents, and each family’s assessment plan is comprehensive. However, the centre’s systems in place to record information are not consistently strong. For example, some body maps that record children’s minor injuries do not record follow- up actions clearly. Other records are not easily accessible. This makes it difficult to track responses to concerns effectively and to identify any actions needed to improve practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feedback is positive about working at the centre. They receive training and supervision that supports their continuing professional development. Staff feel supported by approachable and visible managers. There is a focus on staff well- being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been improvements made to the centre’s physical environment, including new windows and furnishings. Managers have identified other areas in the environment that require updating, and these identifications inform the centre’s improvement plan. Feedback from parents is positive about the accommodation they live in, and the facilities made available to them to care for their children. Inspection report for residential family centre: Bonner House 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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 Residential Family Centre Regulations 2002 and the national minimum standards. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person shall make arrangements for the recording, handling, safe keeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the residential family centre. (Regulation 11 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there are effective arrangements in place to record medicines kept in the centre.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is repeated. 17 December 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person shall, before providing a family with accommodation in the residential family centre, or if that is not reasonably practicable, as soon as possible thereafter, draw up in consultation with the placing authority a written plan (in these Regulations referred to as "the placement plan") setting out, in particular—

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Requirement Due date

the facilities and services to be provided during the course of the placement;

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Requirement Due date

the objectives and intended outcome of the placement. (Regulation 13 (1) (a)(b)).

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the placement plan identifies the specific needs of parents who are under the age of 18 years before they move in, or as soon as possible thereafter. Managers must take action to address any shortfalls in service provision to ensure that children’s rights are promoted and to reduce any negative impact on the assessment outcome. 17 December 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person shall establish and maintain a system for—

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Requirement Due date

reviewing at appropriate intervals; 17 December 2025 Inspection report for residential family centre: Bonner House 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Requirement Due date

and improving, the quality of care provided at the residential family centre. (Regulation 23 (1) (a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that records are streamlined, which includes ensuring that follow-up actions in response to minor injuries are documented clearly. The registered person must also ensure that the quality of practice is reviewed effectively.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that there is clear and effective guidance for staff about the frequency of closed-circuit television monitoring. (Residential family centres: NMS 10.1)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and parents 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 Residential Family Centre Regulations 2002 and the national minimum standards. Inspection report for residential family centre: Bonner House 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider: Dudley Lodge Safeguarding Children Services

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: Dudley Lodge Family Assessment Centre, 143 Warwick Road, Coventry CV3 6AT

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Residential family centre details

Email address: rachaelw@dudleylodge.co.uk

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Inspectors

Louise Bacon, Social Care Inspector Janet Jauregui, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: Bonner House 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspectors

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.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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