Children's home run by Birtenshaw in Bolton

Inspection report children's home: SC483533 1 SC483533 Registered provider: Birtenshaw

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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 part of a large charitable organisation. It provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional needs and learning disabilities.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living at the home and they spent time with the inspector.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 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

Date of last inspection: 4 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 children's home: SC483533 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/02/2025 Full Good 16/01/2024 Full Good 20/03/2023 Full Good 20/07/2021 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC483533 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The Children have lived at the home for over two years and benefit from consistent and predictable care. Staff provide stability, which helps children feel secure and supports their emotional well-being. Staff take a child-centred approach and demonstrate a strong understanding of each child’s individual needs. They speak confidently and enthusiastically about children’s progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build trusting and positive relationships with children. All children are supported to express their views and feelings. Staff use each child’s preferred communication methods, such as Makaton, individualised symbol systems and social stories. This approach enables children to participate fully in their day-to-day lives. One professional said, ‘[Name of child] has made lots of progress since moving to the home. A particular strength has been the development of the child’s communication skills. I can see progress every time I come to visit.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children regularly take part in activities both at home and in the community. Staff offer meaningful choices and plan activities around children’s interests. They celebrate children’s achievements and display their artwork and photos throughout the home. Children enjoy looking through memory books, which helps promote positive self-identity and a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff maintain positive relationships with parents and actively support children to have regular family time. This ongoing support nurtures the relationship between children and their parents and ensures that their time spent together remains positive and meaningful. To further promote family involvement, the manager provides parents with monthly updates, keeping them informed and engaged in their child’s life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly. Staff work closely with educational providers and maintain strong professional relationships that support children’s progress and safety. They share information appropriately and sensitively each day ensuring continuity of care for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met. Children receive highly personalised care tailored to their individual needs. Staff are supported in their role by working with health professionals, ensuring that they have the appropriate knowledge and skills to support children to manage their lifelong conditions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children sensitively to develop independence and essential life skills, such as personal hygiene and meal preparation. They use clear visual prompts and step-by- step picture guides to support learning. This approach helps children develop their confidence and skills that promote increasing independence. Inspection report children's home: SC483533 4

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

Children are safe at the home. Staff prioritise children’s safety and demonstrate a strong understanding of each child’s individual needs and vulnerabilities. Staff provide high levels of supervision and support in line with children’s assessed needs, both in the home and in the community. This approach significantly reduces the risk of children being exposed to harm. Parents and professionals say that staff keep children safe.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the children’s individual risks and underlying needs. Risk assessments and behaviour support plans clearly identify children’s vulnerabilities and provide comprehensive guidance and strategies for staff to follow. There have been no incidents of children going missing from home.

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

Staff are calm and nurturing in their approach and consistently promote positive behaviour. They understand the behaviours children display when they feel frustrated or are attempting to communicate their needs. Staff use effective de-escalation strategies to meet the individual child’s needs and to communicate with them so that the child’s concerns are addressed. There have been two complaints and these have been managed appropriately.

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

Staff protect children from harm and follow robust safeguarding procedures. All staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities. When concerns arise, the manager acts promptly and escalates them appropriately to ensure that children are safeguarded.

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

All staff have completed training in the safe administration of medication. When a medication error occurred, the manager responded swiftly to ensure the child’s safety and introduced improved recording systems to reduce the risk of recurrence.

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

Staff have used physical intervention on a small number of occasions and only when necessary to prevent children from harming themselves or others. Staff are appropriately trained and follow good practice. They record incidents clearly and in detail. However, when the manager is directly involved in a physical intervention incident, there is not a clear system in place to ensure that there is independent management oversight. This compromises the quality of management oversight and scrutiny.

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

Children benefit from a physically safe, nurturing and comfortable home environment that is maintained to a high standard. Children access a wide range of toys, sensory resources and play equipment. The manager carefully plans bedroom furnishings and décor around each child’s individual needs and adapts the environment effectively to promote their safety and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a qualified, dedicated, and ambitious manager. She is supported by a capable deputy manager, who shares the same aspirations for children. These qualities are reflected throughout the whole staff team. All staff spoken to are child centred and share the same commitment for improving children’s lives. Inspection report children's home: SC483533 5 The management team has effective systems in place that provide clear oversight of the day-to-day practice at the home. The manager has completed a quality-of-care review and gathered feedback from others. This process has given her a clear understanding of the team’s strengths and areas for development, supporting continuous improvement in the care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A stable core staff team provides consistency and continuity of care for children. Staff understand children’s needs well and know how to support them effectively. Staff speak positively about their roles and feel well supported by the manager and the wider team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a comprehensive training programme, including the organisation’s mandatory training. They value the training and say that it helps them develop their practice. However, the manager has not ensured that all staff complete training in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which limits their ability to fully meet children’s specific needs. In addition, some staff have not completed their required children’s residential qualifications within the required timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager actively supports staff development. She provides regular supervision and annual appraisals, which give staff opportunities to reflect on their practice and identify further learning and development needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular team meetings, which enable them to share information, reflect on practice and work consistently as a team. The manager uses these meetings effectively to provide additional learning and reinforce expectations, which helps ensure that consistency in meeting children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has established positive and effective relationships with external professionals. She acts as a strong advocate for children, escalating concerns and appropriately challenging other professionals when they do not meet their responsibilities. Inspection report children's home: SC483533 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 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;

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications, and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must have systems in place so when the manager is involved in a physical intervention an appropriate person who has not been involved in the incident is providing the appropriate management oversight.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have received training on ADHD, so they have the required knowledge and understanding to meet the needs of the children. 27 March 2026 Inspection report children's home: SC483533 7 The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”);

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Requirement Due date

or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff that work at the home in a care role have obtained their relevant qualification by the relevant date. 27 March 2026 Inspection report children's home: SC483533 8

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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 children's home: SC483533 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Birtenshaw Darwen Road, Bromley Cross, Bolton BL7 9AB

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Inspector

Simon Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC483533 10 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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