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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC040719 1 SC040719

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Registered provider: Bolton Metropolitan Borough 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 run by a local authority. The home provides short break care for up to 2 children at any one time and is part of an outreach programme that is designed to support children and families who may be experiencing a period of difficulty or crisis. The primary aim of the service is to help children who are on the edge of care to remain living at home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was accessing the 12-week short breaks programme.

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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: 10 September 2024

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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: SC040719 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/09/2024 Full Good 23/01/2024 Full Good 15/06/2022 Full Good 24/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC040719 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in relation to their health, education, social and emotional wellbeing. For example, one child who was unable to live at home due to a breakdown in relationships is now living successfully with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff complete rigorous assessments of children’s needs prior to beginning work with them. Support is tailored to focus on what matters most to each child and their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a clear focus on building and maintaining positive relationships with children and their families in line with the home’s statement of purpose. Feedback from parents is extremely positive. One parent said that they trusted staff with their child and would ask them for help if they needed it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consistently advocate for children and what is in their best interests. However, attempts by leaders and managers to escalate or challenge a delay in response from other agencies are not always effective.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consider children’s cultural and identity needs and take these into account when supporting them. This helps ensure consistency of care between home and when children stay at the short break provision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Meetings are held with children to ascertain their views, and staff take prompt action to address them when appropriate. Clear explanations are provided to children when their requests cannot be agreed for health and safety reasons.

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

Children feel safe and well cared for by staff. They talk to staff about their worries and say that they feel listened to.

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

Children are supported to develop their independence according to their individual needs. For example, staff are supporting one child to develop a better understanding of their medication, including ordering and collecting their own prescription from the pharmacy. This is helping the child become more independent and confident in managing their health.

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

Staff ensure that boundaries and expectations are clearly explained to children prior to their stay. Children are fully engaged in discussions about these expectations, which supports their autonomy. For example, one child participated in preparing their risk management plan if they go missing from home. This helped them have a clear understanding of what was expected of them and others. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040719 4 Children rarely go missing from the home. When incidents do occur, staff follow the home’s safeguarding procedures to ensure that children return home safely. Managers review the actions taken by staff during incidents and apply any learning to improve and develop practice at the home. However, managers do not always identify shortfalls in staff’s recording of information.

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

Children’s risk management plans do not detail all known risks and vulnerabilities for children. Although this has not impacted on the children’s safety, it does not ensure that staff have clear guidance on how to keep children safe.

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

Positive behaviour is consistently promoted. Children receive praise and rewards for their efforts and contributions to the home and community. The records contain evidence that children respond positively to this and are proud of their achievements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced and suitably qualified registered manager at the home. She is committed to the continuous development and improvement of the service, and uses feedback from children, families and external professionals to make positive changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are committed to their roles, and they speak positively about the support they receive from managers. Team meetings take place regularly and provide staff with opportunities to discuss the children’s progress. Supervision is of good quality, and staff are encouraged to reflect on their practice and identify areas for development. However, supervision does not always take place as detailed in the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training needs are clearly identified. Staff have access to a range of training opportunities to develop their skills and knowledge. However, not all staff have completed substance misuse training, despite this being a known risk for children who stay at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, case recording is good. However, information in some of the children’s records is not clear and there are missed opportunities to triangulate information following incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Shortalls in the number of staff working at the home has impacted on how many children can access short break care. Leaders and managers say that this is job description not reflecting the role and function of the service accurately. Leaders and managers advised that this is due to the job description not accurately reflecting the role and function of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the home. There are effective monitoring and review systems in place and shortfalls in practice are addressed in a timely way. The manager uses feedback from the independent person to help improve the quality of care provided to children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040719 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s risk management plans detail all known risks and vulnerabilities for children and include clear actions for staff to follow to keep children safe. 9 April 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

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; 9 April 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040719 6 ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that there is an accurate job description in place to support the recruitment of suitable staff as detailed in the statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff complete all training specific to children’s risks and vulnerabilities.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (5))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that staff supervisions are completed as detailed in the statement of purpose. 9 April 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff challenge other professionals effectively to ensure their needs are fully met. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC040719 7

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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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Inspectors

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Bethany Riley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC040719 8 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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