Children's home run by Bradford Children and Families Trust

Inspection report for children’s home: 2729264 1 Registered provider: Bradford Children and Families Trust Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by Bradford Children and Families Trust. It provides care for up to five children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager at the home since 27 May 2025. The current manager has still to make their application to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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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: 5 November 2024

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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 children’s home: 2729264 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/11/2024 Full Good 10/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2729264 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with staff based on trust and respect. Children feel able to share any worries and receive emotional and practical support from staff who listen without judgement. Staff have regular chats with the children about things that matter to them and work hard to support children to receive the help that they need. One child said that the home was ‘10 out of 10’ and said that they liked each member of staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand and prioritise children’s physical health. One child has a health condition that requires additional monitoring and support. Specialist training has been implemented across the staff team and is regularly refreshed. This supports staff to have up-to-date knowledge and skills to care for the child. There is regular contact between staff and the child’s designated nurse to ensure their health needs are being met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely and consistently with the child to help them understand and manage their health condition in line with their abilities. The child sometimes struggles to keep on top of their health needs. However, staff make themselves available to help, even when the child is away from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children go on holidays abroad with staff and make long-lasting, positive memories. Staff also support children to engage in a range of activities. These aid their overall development, such as swimming, diving and playing football.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Several children have been supported to move out of the home in a planned way, which has been in their best interests and aligned with their wishes and feelings. Many of these moves have been positive and resulted in reunifications to family members. Some children have returned to live with their family before this had been agreed by their social worker. In these situations, staff consistently encourage children to return home. Regular welfare checks are completed to ensure the child’s safety.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff have strong relationships with children’s families and communicate regularly to ensure that they are included in the children’s plans. The manager has supported one parent, alongside other professionals, to obtain suitable housing and learn additional parenting skills, which will support the child in the long- term. Outreach support is offered to children and their families for a period of time after the children have left the home. This promotes stability and security for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family members speak highly of the support their children receive. One parent said, ‘I cannot thank them enough, they are absolutely brilliant, and I don’t know where I would be without this home. They are the reason my child is coming home to me.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2729264 4

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

When a child goes missing from the home, staff search extensively, including going out in the middle of the night alongside the police. Staff gather information and go to great lengths to ensure that the child is found and returned home safely.

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

There is a strong multi-agency approach to safeguarding, led by the manager of the home. When there are significant concerns about a child, the manager acts quickly to meet with professionals to share information and make plans to protect the child. The manager continues to escalate her concerns. This action helps to reduce the risk of harm to children.

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

However, there have been some occasions when staff have not acted quickly enough to reduce the risk of harm to children. This includes delays in removing hazardous items from a child’s possession. Children did not come to harm on these occasions, but staff have not acted in accordance with the child’s risk assessment.

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

Staff support children to understand risk and how to manage their own safety in a variety of situations. These discussions are individualised to each child. Staff use their strong relationships with children and talk to children in a sensitive manner. Children are honest with staff and have their voices heard. Professional support is obtained when more specialist support is needed, for example with substance misuse. This helps children to make positive changes with their life choices.

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

Some of the children’s medication has not been appropriately stored in a secure way. However, this issue was rectified by the manager during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective oversight of the home. She is present in the home and uses her time to actively engage with children and staff in a meaningful way. This ensures that the manager has a constant understanding of the children’s experiences. In addition, the manager completes regular audits of the home and quality assures the work of staff. This supports her to address any shortfalls and improve staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, reflective supervision sessions. These provide staff with a dedicated, safe space to discuss the children in detail. Staff explore what is going well and what could be developed further to support children. Staff also value the emotional support that they receive during these sessions and feel that the management team has a strong emphasis on the staff’s own emotional well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff meetings take place on a weekly basis and are designed in a way to offer all staff the opportunity to attend. This includes the night staff and casual members of staff. This helps to ensure that there is effective communication across the whole staff team so that information is not missed. The children are at the centre of the discussions, which support staff to work together in the best interests of the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2729264 5 Professionals speak highly of the staff and management team. They praise their levels of communication, which have supported these professionals to have a good oversight of what is going on in the children’s lives. One professional said, ‘They have been absolutely amazing; staff really care and are passionate about meeting children’s needs.’ While another said,’ [Name of child] feels for the first time in their life that someone has their

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

back and are making sure things are right for them.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been consistent in submitting quality of care reviews to the regulator within the expected timescales. However, these reviews have lacked evaluation of the care that children receive and have been quite procedural in nature. The reviews also lack feedback from children, which is central to understanding the strengths and areas for development in the home. The manager has not revisited actions from the previous review, which makes it difficult to track progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2729264 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 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

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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12(1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(b)) 1 January 2026

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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. (Regulation 45(1) (2)(a)(b)(c)) 4 May 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2729264 7

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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: 2729264 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bradford Children 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

Ladean Wilson, Social Care Inspector Laura Roberts, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2729264 9 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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