Children's Home run by Bristol City Council in Bristol

Inspection report for children’s home: 2850975 1 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: Bristol City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to two children with emotional and social difficulties. One child is currently living in the home, who the inspector spent time with.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager and the home registered with Ofsted on 8 September 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

This the first inspection after registration.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 2850975 2 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child said that they like living at the home and feel supported by staff. They enjoy engaging in activities with staff and recently went to the theatre.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have encouraged the child to engage in activities such as bowling, playing pool and going to the theatre. The child also enjoys listening to music and going for drives, so staff take them out regularly. This supports emotional well-being and building relationships. Professionals said that staff have developed positive relationships with the child and that they understand the child’s needs and how to support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although the child has not lived in the home for long, there are early signs of progress, such as spending time with staff and asking them for support. The child engages in mentoring twice a week and has good attendance. However, they are not currently attending education, although there are plans to address this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child expresses their views in a range of ways, so staff can support them to share their feelings and wishes. The child has support from an advocate so they can share their views with an external professional.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prepare regular healthy and nutritious meals to encourage the child to eat a range of foods. They have prepared home-made versions of the fast-food meals that the child enjoys. However, the child is not yet eating a varied or balanced diet.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child does not have any independence skills. They cannot cook, clean, use a washing machine or use public transport, so they are not prepared for becoming a young adult. Staff have not taken effective steps to ensure that the child learns practical skills to equip them to live independently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager completed outreach work to prepare the child for their move into the home. This included meetings and activities with staff to ensure that there was robust planning and to help the child feel welcome and comfortable moving into their new home. One professional said that the move was well managed by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well presented, welcoming and homely for the child. There are a range of soft furnishings, and the child’s bedroom is personalised. However, the bedroom is very cluttered and untidy. Furthermore, staff carry bunches of keys in the home and there is a fire exit sign, which feel institutionalised and detract from the homely feel.

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improvement to be good

Inspection report for children’s home: 2850975 3 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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improvement to be good

The child requires significant staff support to help them stay safe. There have been multiple episodes of the child going missing from the home. Staff maintain strong partnerships with external agencies and implement robust safety planning to reduce risk. Staff understand safeguarding procedures and follow protocols. Staff have used restraint on three occasions. However, interventions are proportionate and applied as a last resort to prevent harm.

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improvement to be good

Despite safety planning, a serious safeguarding incident due to poor risk management. Following this, concerns escalated. Since the incident the registered manager and staff have worked together with professionals to address risks and support the child in understanding concerns to prevent further concerns. Professionals said that staff discuss all safety plans with the child.

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improvement to be good

Staff engage the child in regular, meaningful conversations covering healthy relationships, emotional well-being and exploitation. This helps the child to develop knowledge to make informed decisions. Care plans include effective strategies to guide staff, so they know how to respond.

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improvement to be good

The child has the use of devices with internet access without filtering systems and device checks in place. Staff have not taught the child how to keep safe online to ensure they understand the risks surrounding the use of social media. Both staff and professionals said they are worried about the child’s online safety.

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improvement to be good

There have been no complaints made by the child or any concerns raised about staff. However, the child understands how to complain and feels able to speak to staff for support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a good advocate for the child and challenges other professionals in the child’s best interests. He is committed to staff development and ensuring that the child lives in a stable and secure environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has an in-depth understanding of the homes strengths and areas to improve. He is receptive to challenge to improve the quality of care for the child. Effective monitoring and review systems are in place. Leaders and managers complete quality assurance audits to evaluate the standard of care. The registered manager has oversight of incidents and regularly discusses concerns with staff so that they can reflect on and learn from incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders are confident in the registered manager. They describe him as a good manager who is open to feedback and seeks support from other professionals. They say he is always looking at ways to improve and focuses on the strengths of the team and their development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2850975 4 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are suitably qualified for their role. Staff complete a range of training, and they have access to additional training so they can meet the child’s specific needs. This includes health conditions and understanding mental health and well-being needs. However, there are staff whose training is out of date. Furthermore, the registered manager does not maintain an accurate overview of workforce development needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff said they enjoy working at the home and spending time with the child because they have built strong relationships with them. They give examples of progress that the child has made. However, not all staff have the confidence to meet the child’s complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals said that the staff communicate well and that they have clear processes for handling safeguarding concerns. Additionally, they said that they maintain regular contact and ensure that they share relevant updates promptly, which supports a consistent and coordinated approach to meeting the child’s needs. However, one parent said that staff do not always inform them of serious incidents. Inspection report for children’s home: 2850975 5 SENSITIVE-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 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

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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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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;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. 1 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2850975 6 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children are supported in recognising online risks and understanding how to stay safe online. Additionally, staff must have the knowledge and skills to understand online safety risks so they can monitor and protect children when using devices with internet access.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children are not placed into situations where there are risks surrounding child sexual exploitation and other concerns related to exploitation. The registered manager must ensure that staff are trained and understand the risks in relation to these concerns so that there is robust safety planning in place that reduces and minimises harm to children.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff support older children’s progress and teach them practical independence skills in preparation for adulthood and living independently. 1 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2850975 7 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff have the skills and confidence to understand and support the children that they care for. Furthermore, the registered person should ensure that all staff have access to the necessary training to achieve this and that they increase their skillset to meet children’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.10)  The registered person should ensure that they maintain a workforce plan that outlines staff training and qualifications and supports the manager to identify areas for continuing professional development. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that the home environment is nurturing and does not feel institutional. In particular, this relates to consideration of the impact of staff carrying bunches of keys around the house and the use of fire exit signs. (‘Guide

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Recommendations

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: 2850975 8 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Bristol City Council, Director of Legal Services, City Hall, College Green, Bristol BS1 5TR

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Inspector

Emma Fryer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2850975 9 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

regulates 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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