Dozens of youngsters were living in substandard children’s homes in Bristol this summer, according to Ofsted data.
Two homes in the city were rated ‘inadequate’ by inspectors earlier this year, meaning up to 53 children were based in sub-par residences.
One of the homes was run by private company Aurora Care and Education Opco Ltd, while the other was run by Bristol City Council, reports the Reach plc data unit.
The names of the homes have been withheld by Ofsted to protect the young residents.
A spokesman for Aurora told Bristol Live: “We no longer provide the residential children’s service that is referred to by this Ofsted report.”
Meanwhile, a council spokesperson said the home under its control has since been upgraded to ‘improvement required’.
However, the spokesperson conceded that shortly after the Ofsted report was released, council officials found the home’s “management processes fell below the level we want”.
A children’s home is essentially a large house where staff look after children who cannot live with their families, for whatever reason.
Ofsted data published late last month reveals ratings as they were in August. Any homes re-inspected since then will have their new ratings announced next quarter.
After the council was asked to comment on the ‘inadequate’ rating flagged up by Ofsted, a spokesperson said: “As soon as we were alerted to the poor Ofsted rating we took swift action to investigate the issues and improve the provision.
“We were quickly assured that the children supported at the home receive a good standard of care.
“However many of the management processes fell below the level we want, and while the processes and governance has since improved, more still needs to be done.
“Every child in care deserves the very best, and while all other children’s homes in Bristol are rated good (and excellent), this home was clearly not acceptable.”
Two of the children’s homes in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire are run by the voluntary sector, while seven are council-run, with the remaining 10 operated by the private sector.
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