Children's home run by Bristol City Council

Inspection report for children's home: SC061232 1 SC061232 Registered provider: Bristol City Council

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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 owned and managed by a local authority. The home is registered to care for 5 children with social, emotional and/or behavioural difficlulties. At the time of this inspection, 3 children were living in the home. The inspector spoke with 2 children.

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Information about this children's home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 2025.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC061232 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/06/2024 Full Good 27/06/2023 Full Good 04/01/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/10/2021 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC061232 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in the home. They are happy and make progress because they have good relationships with the staff who care for them. Children said that they can talk to the staff openly if they are worried about something. Children enjoy spending time with the staff to play games, watch movies or have days out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make timely progress because the staff understand children's needs and how best to support them. The staff have shown a strong commitment to the children who live in the home. They recognise when children are upset and talk to them about what has happened. They support children well and have good conversations about issues that are important to each child. This has included exploring children's wishes about their education, activities and time with family or friends. Staff build strong relationships with children's friends and their parents. All of this supports children to feel safe, knowing that they are loved and cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been some changes made to the home, with significant renovations taking place inside the home. When this happened, children and staff moved to live at another address on a short-term basis. This was an unsettling time for the children and they looked forward to returning home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to have good routines and consistent boundaries are in place. They encourage children to access education and attend their health appointments. Children do activities in their local community, and one child has been attending the local gym. Children enjoy going away for holidays. One child has enjoyed attending a concert with the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported as they move towards independence. One child has been supported to develop their skills in using public transport safely and is now able to do this independently. Children learn to cook and how to do their own laundry. They are encouraged to manage their own budgets in preparation for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When one child moved into the home, it was quickly identified that the staff could not meet their needs. Although information was gathered from the social worker and the child's previous home before the child moved in, this did not give an accurate picture of their needs. The child left the home after several weeks. When a subsequent child moved in, a more-robust assessment and transition plan were completed to ensure that the child had a positive start in the home.

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

There have been some serious incidents and children have been missing from the home. This has included incidents where children have been missing overnight, or staff have not realised that children have left the home. One child has been involved in physical Inspection report for children's home: SC061232 4 fights, which the police investigated. Some children have been encouraged by peers to take part in anti-social behaviour. The frequency of incidents has reduced over time. The staff have worked hard to build positive relationships with children and their friends. This means that when children are missing, the staff know where to look for them or the places where children might be. The staff use positive strategies to manage these situations and go looking for the children to ensure that they are safe. This dedicated support helps children to feel safer and be able to trust the adults who are caring for

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

When safeguarding concerns are identified, they are reported promptly to social workers and other agencies. There is effective communication between staff and social workers, which helps to keep children safe. Staff understand what they need to do to keep children safe. Following incidents there are positive levels of reflection and oversight from the manager; this has enabled staff to develop good practice. The manager recognises when children's behaviour changes and what this might be trying to communicate to the staff.

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

Regular conversations take place with children when there are worries for their safety. This helps children to learn from their experiences and think about their own behaviour. The staff are respectful to children and listen to children's views about the arrangements that are in place for them. Through listening to the children, staff adapt the support that is provided to them. This means that children feel valued and know that the staff will listen to them and respond to their views.

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

Social workers said that meetings are held regularly and there is effective communication with the manager and the staff. They say staff members are easy to get hold of and they respond to emails in promptly. They will chase things up when needed. The manager initiates contact when something is not right, and she will advocate strongly for the child. One child has recently moved into the home. The social worker said that they have settled in well and feel at home. The social worker commented, 'This is credit to the staff, who have spent a long time building that relationship with the young person.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the children well and has strong aspirations for them. She is ambitious for the children, the staff and the home. The manager has shown a strong level of commitment to the children and is regularly involved in their day-to-day care. She takes time to build strong relationships with each child. The manager creates a positive culture in the home through developing the skills and knowledge of the staff team. She advocates strongly for children when something is not right.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a core team of staff who are working consistently with the children. The staff have a good understanding of the children's needs and they know how to support them effectively. Staff said that they enjoy working in the home and they can work consistently as a team. They feel valued and well supported and consider their manager to be approachable. They have access to regular supervision and training. Staff understand their roles and are keen to develop good levels of practice. Professionals are Inspection report for children's home: SC061232 5 positive about the care that is being provided to children. They say that the staff meet the needs of children well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the home. When areas of concern are identified, there is a strong level of reflection and analysis to support staff in improving their practice. The manager understands what works well in the home and any areas for development and makes changes as needed. The manager recognises occasions where children might be struggling and puts strategies or interventions in place to support them. There are regular discussions about how to improve practice during team meetings, handovers and in supervision. Inspection report for children's home: SC061232 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 care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children's home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child's placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

and that each child's relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that a full and robust assessment is completed prior to a child moving into the home and that any transition plans for children to move in are suitable. 27 February 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC061232 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: SC061232 8

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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

Sarah Sheffield, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC061232 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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