Children's home run by Bristol City Council

Inspection report for children's home: 2567722 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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

This home is registered to provide care for up to 2 children. The home is owned by a local authority, which has several other homes in the local area.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in the home.

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Information about this children's home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2024.

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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: 26 February 2025

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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: 2567722 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/02/2025 Full Good 05/09/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 29/06/2022 Full Good 11/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2567722 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector spent time with both children during the inspection and spoke with them to gain their views about living in their home. Children spoken to said that they enjoy living in the home. They have positive relationships with staff and say they would talk to several adults in the home if they were worried. Children benefit from warm and attuned relationships with staff and they are happy, relaxed and settled in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a warm, welcoming and child ‑ centred environment. Communal areas feel homely and are well used by the children, with board games, children's paintings and photographs contributing to a relaxed atmosphere where they are comfortable and at ease. However, the quality of the children's bedrooms does not reflect the same positive standard seen throughout the rest of the home. One bedroom is not maintained to an acceptable level, with concerns about cleanliness and insufficient storage for clothing. As a result, the space does not provide a safe or nurturing environment for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's education experiences differ. One child attends school regularly and is making exceptional progress, supported consistently by staff. The other child is on a part ‑ time timetable, which limits their learning and reduces their opportunities to make sustained progress. Currently, there is no clear plan to support the child to return to full-time education. In addition, staff are not providing educational activities in the home to support the child to learn informally and prepare them for when they are able to attend school full time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's health needs are well managed. Staff help children to attend routine appointments and access the specialist health input they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain their relationships with their families. Parents described the communication by staff as positive and said they are kept well informed about their children's lives and wellbeing. They also said that they can clearly see the progress their children have made since moving into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a wide range of activities, including swimming, cinema trips and gymnastics. Staff offer children opportunities to experience new things, such as going on holidays together. The children get along well, although they do not always choose to spend time with each other, which reflects their different personalities and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff create memory books that capture the children's time living in the home, with the children actively involved in choosing and adding photographs and mementos. These books record meaningful experiences and help the children to build a sense of belonging and identity in the home. However, staff are not consistently promoting children's wider culture and identity, which reduces opportunities for them to develop a deeper understanding of their backgrounds and personal histories. Inspection report for children's home: 2567722 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Planning to support children to develop skills for adult life is not yet fully embedded. There is no structured approach to supporting children to develop age ‑ appropriate independence skills. For older children, the absence of a detailed plan limits oversight of how well they are being prepared for adulthood and how effectively staff are helping them to build essential life skills.

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

Staff have a strong understanding of each child's individual needs and manage these safely in day-to-day practice. They follow routines and remain well informed through handovers, team meetings and clear written guidance. Staff consistently implement agreed strategies to promote children's safety and wellbeing, ensuring a coordinated approach across the team.

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

Safety arrangements in the home are effective and proportionate. Door alarms and online monitoring systems are used appropriately and in line with children's assessed needs. Parental tools, regular device checks and clear expectations around children's phone use help to promote safe behaviour online. Children understand the boundaries in place to keep them safe.

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

Staff manage incidents in the home effectively. The manager provides clear oversight and ensures that learning from incidents is shared with the staff team through supervision sessions and team meetings. This supports consistent practice and helps the team to develop and maintain a coordinated approach.

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

Restraint is rarely used because staff rely on their positive relationships and effective de ‑ escalation skills to manage difficult situations. On the two occasions when restraint has been used, restorative work between the child and the staff member did not follow. This led to missed opportunities to rebuild their relationship and reflect together on what had happened.

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

There has been one incident of a child going missing from the home during this inspection period. Staff did not follow all elements of the agreed protocol at the time, and their response did not fully meet expectations. The manager identified this promptly, conducted a thorough review and took appropriate to improve staff’s responses should a child go missing from the home.

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

There has been one medication error involving a missed dose of prescribed medication. The error had no impact on the child, and the dose was administered the following day. The staff member involved completed further medication ‑ competency training, and no further errors have occurred.

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

Staff have meaningful conversations with the children, but these are not consistently recorded in a way that captures progress or clearly reflects the child's views. This makes it difficult to demonstrate the impact of the work taking place or how the child's voice is Inspection report for children's home: 2567722 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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

influencing their care. Leaders and managers are continuing to support staff to develop more consistent, creative and higher ‑ quality recording practices.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a clear understanding of the home's strengths and the areas that are still developing. They demonstrate commitment, insight and a genuine drive to continue improving the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff describe the manager as supportive, approachable and an effective leader. They feel well supported in their roles and say that supervision is reflective and helps them to think about their development needs. Staff also spoke positively about improvements in communication and team dynamics since the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have attended all their mandatory training to meet children's needs. They have opportunities to access a good range of specialist learning opportunities alongside the mandatory courses. However, not all staff feel fully confident in the use of restraint, and some were also unsure about the process for reporting concerns or allegations to external safeguarding partners. The manager is addressing these gaps to ensure that staff feel informed and supported in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Weekly team meetings, supported by the therapeutic lead, provide staff with helpful opportunities to discuss children's needs and seek guidance. However, the quality of meeting minutes is inconsistent. Some records offer clear analysis and context, while others contain limited reflection. The manager is already working to improve how learning and decision ‑ making are captured.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Assessments completed before a child joins the home are detailed and explore how their needs and routines may affect the existing group. This forward ‑ thinking approach helps staff to plan proactively and supports stability in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals report excellent communication from the home and say that staff work well within the multi ‑ agency network to achieve strong outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The most recent local authority documents are not always available on the children's files, which means that staff do not always have the full and up ‑ to ‑ date information needed to inform day ‑ to ‑ day practice. In addition, there have been delays in raising this as a concern with placing authorities. Despite this, staff work hard to understand children's needs and provide consistent support. Inspection report for children's home: 2567722 6 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child's placing authority effectively in the child's care, in accordance with the child's relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority's or a relevant person's performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child's needs are met in accordance with the child's relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all children have access to up-to-date statutory documentation, including care plans, pathway plans and allocated personal advisers. In addition, the registered manager must escalate delays to the placing authority and strengthen systems to ensure timely receipt and use of essential documentation. 27 February 2026

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child's education and training targets, as recorded in the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers; and 27 February 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2567722 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that when children are not in full-time education, staff work closely with the placing authority so that children are supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. When children are not in full-time education they should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable, structured activities.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home's policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of consistent, careful, objective and clear recording. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that staff increase the consistency and intensity of independence planning for older children, particularly those approaching transition to semi-independent living or returning home. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 17, paragraph 3.27)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff support the children to maintain a clean and tidy bedroom. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 16, paragraph 3.20)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should make sure that they are consistently promoting children's culture and identity, so children have an understanding of their backgrounds and personal histories. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including quality standards', page 14, paragraph 3.2)

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that, following any incident or use of restraint, timely and effective restorative work takes place between the child and the staff member involved, so that relationships are repaired and the child's views are understood and acted upon. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including quality standards', page 39, paragraph 8.12) Inspection report for children's home: 2567722 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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: 2567722 9 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Bristol City Council

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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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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Antionio Moreno Caro

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Inspector

Karen Hallam, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2567722 10 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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