Children's Home run by Bradford Children and Families Trust in Bradford

Inspection report for children’s home: 2728982 1 Registered provider: Bradford Children and Families Trust

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by Bradford Children and Families Trust on behalf of a local authority. It provides care for up to four children who may 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 23 May 2025. There is a manager in post who has submitted their application to Ofsted to become the registered manager.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2728982 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/08/2025 Full Inadequate 12/08/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/07/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2728982 3

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improvement to be good

There have been recent changes in the staff team, including new managers at the home. This has caused some children to become unsettled. The interim manager and deputy manager who were brought in to support the home have made the decision that they would like to remain at the home. This will offer the much-needed stability that the children and staff require.

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improvement to be good

However, there are still shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home. Improvements have been made but these are in their infancy and still need embedding in practice. There are also proposals for children to receive support, such as with their education or specialist health referrals. However, it is too early to see the impact of this work.

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improvement to be good

Education has previously been a big challenge for all the children. Recently one of the children has moved schools and is settling in well. They have also enrolled to join army college. The other two children have offers for college places and have imminent start dates.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not always ensured that children have attended routine health appointments with some remaining out of date. Referrals have now been completed for specialists that can support children to alleviate their anxieties.

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improvement to be good

Two of the children are forming meaningful relationships with staff. Observations of one child shows that they are comfortable around staff and enjoy spending time with them. One of the children is finding it difficult to build up a rapport with staff, which has resulted in them spending long periods alone in their room.

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improvement to be good

Children have not always seen their families in line with their plans or their wishes. This has recently improved, and staff are now supporting children to spend good quality time with their families. Staff advocate for children when they have requested to spend more time with their family, or those who are important to them.

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improvement to be good

Staff offer children activities of their liking. However, at times they chose not to participate, but staff continue to make the offers to them.

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improvement to be good

The home is well furnished, clean, and warm. The house is big and looks tired in places which detracts from it looking like a welcoming family home. There are areas in the house that makes it feel institutionalised; however, the children have pleasant communal areas that they can use, and the garden is spacious and private. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728982 4

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments and plans to support children are not always updated in a timely way. Managers have also not been clear about the actual level of risk posed to children. Some risk assessments do not contain all the known risks for children. Furthermore, staff do not have clear guidance about what strategies they should use, for example to ensure that children are safe when they leave the home.

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improvement to be good

The quality of engagement with the children has improved. However, staff lack professional curiosity and have missed opportunities when children have made requests and comments. This lack of further exploration means that staff are not fully aware of whether children are putting themselves at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not always responded to children’s needs. For example, staff refused to collect a child from family time when they requested to be collected a day early. There was no exploration by staff why the child wanted to return home early, even though there are identified risks for the child outside of the home. Furthermore, there was no discussion with the staff involved to look at their response to help develop their professional curiosity.

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improvement to be good

Children still go missing from the home and receive a mixed response from staff. One child that regularly goes missing receives a good proactive response from staff who work with the police to establish contact with the child. This ensures that the child is returned home as soon as possible. However, another child’s missing protocol that is shared with the police is out of date and does not share the most recent increase in risks. This would not support staff and the police to respond in the most appropriate way to safeguard the child.

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improvement to be good

There have been no occasions when children have needed to be held to keep them and others safe. When consequences are used, these are natural to help children to understand how their behaviour impacts on others. Staff respond to children who have harmed themselves with empathy, respect, and nurture.

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improvement to be good

When children make complaints about staff these have been appropriately managed and investigated by either the manager or senior managers. Children know the outcome of their complaint as they receive feedback.

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improvement to be good

One family member said, ‘There is nothing more the home and staff can do. They are just amazing.’

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good

The manager’s systems of oversight are not being used effectively. The manager completes monthly audits, which outline the actions that staff need to take to ensure Inspection report for children’s home: 2728982 5 that the children’s file are up to date. However, this has little effect as children’s records are not updated in a timely way leaving plans and risk assessments out of date.

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good

Staff currently record information in paper files alongside the electronic recording system. This has caused some confusion, but managers are striving to make the necessary changes and support staff in doing so. Recordings by staff have improved. Staff now use therapeutic tones and wording, and open dialogue has been seen between staff and children.

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good

There are still staff shortages due to staff illness. This continues to impact on staffing arrangements, with gaps filled by staff from other homes. Non-permanent staff are also used; however, where possible the same agency staff are used to ensure consistency of care for children.

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good

Leaders and managers work well together, and staff respect their support, guidance, and dedication to making changes. Relationships among staff have significantly improved.

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good

Improvements have been made in respect of the support to staff. Staff receive regular practice-related supervision and attend team meetings. Staff appraisals are out of date but there is a plan to complete these over the next two months. There continues to be some training that is out of date. Priority has been given to training staff in areas that were recognised as significant shortfalls in the previous inspection.

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good

One staff member said, ‘We can see the manager’s vision. They spend time talking to us and teaching us. They empower us to do our jobs.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2728982 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;

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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

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(e)) 1 March 2026

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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

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; 1 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2728982 7 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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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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)(e)(f)(g)(i)(h))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments, paying particular attention to making it more like a homely environment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that there is a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. Notification must include details of the action taken by the home’s staff in response to the event. Paying particular attention to the detail provided being concise and clear. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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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: 2728982 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, West Yorkshire BD5 0QL

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Inspector

Angela Ross, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2728982 9 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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