Children's home run by Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council in Bolton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC369857 1 SC369857

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Registered provider: Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a local authority and is registered to provide care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 3 children were living at the home.

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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: 28 January 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: SC369857 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/01/2025 Full Good 06/02/2024 Full Good 01/03/2023 Full Good 01/12/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC369857 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All three children are settled, enjoy living at the home and are making progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves out of the home are well considered, and they are supported to develop independence skills prior to moving on. Since the last inspection, two children have successfully moved to semi-independent, and two children have moved into the home. However, children’s moves into the home are not always well planned, and their individual needs are not fully considered in relation to living safely alongside other children. Despite this, children are doing well because of the highly skilled and experienced team of staff who support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to enjoy a variety of experiences. One child spoke to the inspector about their sixteenth birthday, when they watched their favourite football team in hospitality and met the players. Another child is looking forward to a holiday to Egypt with friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the barriers that children face in education and work hard to advocate for them and improve their engagement in school. Despite the children’s struggles with education, they are making progress in comparison to their previous experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with the people who are important to them, and family members are welcomed into the home. The manager understands the significance of family relationships and advocates on behalf of the children to maintain these connections. Families acknowledge and appreciate this level of support.

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

The staff team are aware of the risks faced by children and use a variety of resources to help them understand how to stay safe and recognise the signs of exploitation. Staff demonstrate professional curiosity and tenacity when they have concerns about children. They understand their safeguarding responsibilities and work closely with other professionals to ensure that children are protected.

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

Incidents of children going missing from home have reduced. However, when children do go missing, it is not always clear that staff consistently search for them. Risk plans intended to guide staff are not robust, as they are not updated to reflect all new locations where children have previously been found. Consequently, there have been occasions when children were missing, and these areas were not searched. This does not support keeping children safe.

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

Staff know the children well and have developed positive relationships with them. Staff use rewards, incentives and de-escalation techniques to support and manage children’s Inspection report for children’s home: SC369857 4 behaviour. Consequently, there has not been a need to use physical intervention since the last inspection.

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

Some significant incidents have not been notified to Ofsted, which limits the regulator’s oversight of practice at the home. A recommendation has been raised in relation to this shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is qualified and experienced. She is realistic about the home’s challenges and areas for development. The manager demonstrates a commitment to ensuring that children receive the best possible care and opportunities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works effectively with the children’s social workers, and they speak positively about the support and communication they receive from the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular reflective supervision. These sessions provide staff with the opportunity to reflect on their practice, discuss challenges and receive constructive feedback.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive training to support them in their roles. However, not all staff have completed training to help them support children experiencing grief, despite this being identified as a need by leaders and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring tools are not yet sufficiently robust. They did not identify that the strategy meeting minutes for one child had not been received and that several records do not include details of the author. However, the manager took action to address these shortfalls during the inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC369857 5

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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

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

(b)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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s plans contain clear guidance for staff to follow to keep children safe and that they are updated following new information being received.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff search for children on every occasion that they are missing from the home and search all known locations. 3 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and 3 April 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC369857 6 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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that suitability assessments are detailed and robust and that sufficient information is received to assess the suitability of all children living together safely before any child moves into the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all records are signed by the author and that all minutes from strategy meetings are available. 3 April 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access and complete training that is identified to support them in meeting the individual needs of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should cover the action that should be followed if the event arises at the weekend, on a public holiday Inspection report for children’s home: SC369857 7 or during the manager’s absence. (‘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: SC369857 8

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Children’s home details

Provider address: Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Victoria Square, PO Box 29, Bolton BL1 1RU

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Inspector

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC369857 9 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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