Children's Home Shut Down After Boy Went Four Months Without A Bath Or Change Of Clothes

According to the Manchester Evening News, a councilor called the story "very alarming and upsetting."

Inspectors claim that on one occasion, workers put a kid in danger by 'carrying out cardiac pulmonary resuscitation on them when this was not necessary.'

And, in a separate incident, staff at the home did not enter a child's bedroom for four months 'despite there being evidence of flies and a pungent smell coming from the room and spreading throughout the home'.

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"Staff is not effective in supporting children’s health and well-being," it read.

The children's home's operator, Achieve, said staff would collaborate with Bolton council to investigate the instances detailed in Ofsted's report.

Ofsted inspectors Chris Scully and Michelle Edge noted in the inspection report, which includes inspections on January 5 and 6, this year, that "the registered manager and employees have failed to meet the fundamental care needs of children."

"One child has been significantly neglected and he has not bathed, changed his clothes, or been provided with a home-cooked meal since he moved into the home in September 2021."

Adding: "Staff is not effective in supporting children’s health and well-being. The registered manager and staff fail to take action when children refuse to take their medication."

A child who refused to leave the house during fire drills for nearly three months was another issue mentioned in the report.

Despite this, personnel failed to put in place measures to assist the youngster in the event of an emergency.

The report added: "Currently, only two members of staff hold a childcare qualification; one of these is the registered manager.”

"The staff team is very inexperienced to care for two very complex children. The staff has not been supported by the manager to safely care for these children."

Bolton councilor Adele Warren said the children's home in question was an illustration of a larger problem in reaction to the dismal results.

"The report is deeply shocking and upsetting. Children who have been through so much already shouldn’t have to go through that as well in a location which is supposed to be safe and secure," she explained.

"I appealed it at the planning committee and it was declined but unfortunately they then applied for a certificate of lawful development, which there’s no recourse to object to. I did write to Ofsted and asked them not to grant registration but unfortunately, they did.”

"It’s a difficult subject because these are extremely vulnerable children and you have to try and find a balance between trying to do the right thing for everybody but in Bolton, we have so many private children’s homes and only 11 percent of the children placed there are local children.”

"This puts massive pressure on the availability of homes for our children and I believe it’s a national scandal what’s happening in the private care home sector and I think a lot of people are just in it to make money. Some children’s placements are £4,000 per week so some organizations are making a hell of a lot of money on the back of vulnerable children.”

"These children deserve the best and to not even have adults that are adequately trained to look after them, it’s just not good enough."

A spokesperson for Achieve said: "We have voluntarily revoked our registration after the incident that occurred in our care home and we are working with the Local Authority to investigate it further."

A representative for Bolton Council claimed the home had gone through "due diligence and all the relevant procedures" before being registered with Ofsted, and that independent visits were conducted regularly.

They added: “Bolton Council are working with Ofsted, health partners, and the provider to review the service that was provided at the home and consider what could have been done differently to inform practice.”

“Children placed in the home were removed as soon as concerns were raised, and alternative placements were sourced within 24 hours.”

“This case demonstrates a broader national issue of sufficiency, quality, and capacity within the care system, especially as children with complex needs are discharged from hospital settings at short notice due to a reduced number of hospital beds.”

“Like other local authorities, we are working with national partners, and the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care, to address this problem and ensure there is a more robust approach to registering providers.”

“There is also a need to enhance the monitoring of the quality of placements for children regularly.”