Young people at a council-owned children’s home were found to have tattooed themselves and others with illegally bought kit, a government watchdog found.
An Ofsted inspector discovered staff at the home in Salford had “failed to act” when a child repeatedly tattooed themselves, other children in the home, and “reportedly peers in the community”.
The home was rated ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted and handed three compliance notices to improve children’s safety and welfare.
A Salford City Council spokesperson said: “We accepted the findings of the inspection in full and have already taken swift action to address the issues raised, resulting in recent positive feedback from Ofsted.”
“Children now have multiple permanent tattoos which may impact their future choices and opportunities,” the inspector wrote in their report.
“And children did not receive appropriate medical support and remained exposed to potential health risks.”
The report also found that staff applied consequences “punitively”, with children’s bus fares regularly withheld, including for travel to family contact.
Inspectors described the practice as “excessive and unreasonable” and noted the type of punishment “does not promote children’s welfare or relationships with their families”.
Children at the home “were also known to smoke in their bedrooms” and during the inspection one child’s room smelled strongly of stale smoke, while another child’s bedroom was unclean and contained a bed that had been broken for several weeks.
The report concluded that “serious and widespread failures” had been found, with a lack of stability, routine, clear boundaries, or consistent care.
As a result, some of the children were falling behind in school attendance, or left the home “without a college placement of clear plans for their future, leaving them uncertain about their next steps”.
The young people were found to have spent “most of their time in their bedrooms” and staff efforts to provide structure were “minimal”, the report found.
Children who spoke to the inspectors also felt they “weren’t listened to” by staff, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.