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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 1 SC040723

p.1

Registered provider: Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 3 children were living at the home. The children spoke to the inspector about their experiences of living there.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2018. The manager is dual registered with another local authority children’s home.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 16 September 2025

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/09/2025 Full Good 09/10/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/10/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 3

p.2

Summary of findings

Children have positive relationships with staff, which helps promote stability and a sense of belonging.

p.3

Summary of findings

Children are cared for by a consistent and experienced staff team, whose members know them well.

p.3

Summary of findings

Managers and staff understand the children’s needs and take appropriate action to ensure their safety.

p.3

Summary of findings

Children’s risks have reduced, and they are making positive progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have warm and nurturing relationships with the staff, who know them well. Staff are committed to providing the children with a caring and supportive environment where they have positive experiences. Children say they like living at the home and they can talk to staff about their feelings. This helps provide children with stability and a sense of belonging.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school or other educational provision. One child has recently completed their GCSE exams and aspires to attend university. Staff support children with informal learning and developing their independence skills. There is good multi-agency working between staff and education professionals.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in activities and hobbies that they enjoy, such as cooking, baking and gardening. One child has joined a rugby club and is in the school football team. Staff encourage children to be involved in planning activities, including a holiday that they went on last year.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are in good health and staff support them to attend health appointments and access specialist services when required. One child engages with an emotional health practitioner once a week. Staff regularly talk to children about their feelings and help them to develop strategies to manage difficult behaviour. Staff reinforce this by ensuring that there are consistent boundaries and routines in place.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with those who are important to them in a positive and safe way. Children spend time with family and friends, and family are welcome at the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated and furnished to a high standard. The children’s bedrooms are personalised to their individual taste and there are photos of the children and staff Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 4 throughout the home. This provides children with a homely, welcoming and relaxed environment where they feel safe and valued.

p.3

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

Children say that they feel safe living at the home and can talk to staff about any issues. Staff have a good understanding of the children’s risks and vulnerabilities. Risk assessments are in place, with clear strategies for staff to follow to keep children safe.

p.4

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

Children who go missing experience a well-coordinated response from staff. Staff actively search for children and maintain regular communication with professionals, family and friends to help locate them. Staff regularly discuss risk with children and support them to keep themselves safe. There are effective plans in place to help keep children safe online and when they are out in the community. One child’s missing-from-home episodes have significantly reduced.

p.4

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

Staff use effective de-escalation skills to support children with their behaviour. Challenging incidents at the home are rare and restraint has happened on one occasion, which was necessary to ensure everyone’s safety.

p.4

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

Staff are proactive in ensuring that children are protected from discrimination and bullying. They have regular discussions with children about healthy relationships and respect for others. This has helped ensure that positive relationships between the children are maintained at the home.

p.4

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

Fire drills do not take place regularly with children and staff. This means that children and staff may be less prepared to respond effectively and safely in the event of a fire emergency. This places them at risk of harm.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced and compassionate registered manager and deputy manager. Both are child focused, with a clear focus on achieving the best outcomes for children. Staff describe them as supportive, caring and fun.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced and stable staff team at the home, whose members provide consistent care to the children. The staff are committed to developing positive relationships with the children and ensuring that their individual needs are met. The culture at the home is positive and staff say they feel supported by managers and each other.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision that provides them with the opportunity to discuss children’s needs, reflect on their practice and identify areas for development. Staff also attend additional reflection sessions to help improve their practice. Appraisals take place annually. However, feedback from children and colleagues is not always included. This is a missed opportunity for staff to further develop their practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 5 Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended. There are additional meetings for keyworkers to explore the children’s needs in more detail and identify any extra support.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring and review systems are in place. However, these are not always used effectively by the registered manager to ensure that information is recorded correctly and shared with relevant others in a timely way. For example, the statement of purpose is not up to date, and the Annex A report included incorrect information. Furthermore, managers did not ensure that Ofsted were informed of a serious event without delay. This limits the regulator’s oversight of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 6

p.5

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.

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

p.6

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)(h))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that key documents are regularly reviewed and updated and shared with relevant parties in a timely way. 25 Sept 2026

p.6

Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(d))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that regular fire drills take place as set out in the home’s statement of purpose, and where practicable, with staff and children. 25 Sept 2026

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI and make a copy of it available upon request to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

a person who works at the home; 25 Sept 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 7 a child, or a child for whom accommodation in the home is being considered;

p.6

Requirement Due date

a parent of a child, or a parent of a child for whom accommodation in the home is being considered;

p.7

Requirement Due date

in the case of a qualifying school, the Secretary of State.

p.7

Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e) (3)(a)(b))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure the home’s statement of purpose is up to date and a copy sent to Ofsted within 28 days of the changes.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.7

Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child — is instigated; or

p.7

Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

p.7

Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

p.7

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they notify Ofsted of serious incidents without delay. 25 Sept 2026

p.7

Recommendation

 Staff appraisals should consider, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children living at the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5) Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 8

p.7

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: SC040723 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council

p.9

Children’s home details

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

p.9

Inspector

Joy Viles, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC040723 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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10