Children's Home run by Bryn Melyn Care Limited in Shropshire

Unique reference number SC372652 Inspector Michelle Moss Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Bryn Melyn Care Limited Registered person address 2 High Street Dawley Telford Shropshire TF4 2ET

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Responsible individual Melissa Johnson Registered manager Janet Ann Classon Date of last inspection 18/02/2014 2 of 9 Inspection date 08/09/2014

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Previous inspection good progress Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness good

Outcomes for children and young people good Quality of care good Keeping children and young people safe good Leadership and management good

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are making good progress in relation to their starting point. They are physically and emotionally thriving through having nurturing support and a stable environment. Young people develop personal and social skills, talents and abilities through spending time perusing hobbies and interests. Staff work collectively to create a climate where young people experience mutual trust and respect, which in turn helps them to feel safe. Care plans are carefully linked to assessments of risk and needs and used effectively to secure individualised care.

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Overall effectiveness

The Registered Manager is ambitious and energetic, including being proactive in looking at different ways to improve outcomes for young people. This is best illustrated in the use of a development plan which explicitly focuses on young people’s outcomes. The home has no re-occurring shortfalls, although there is one new breach in regulations as a result of this inspection. This relates to requiring improvement to ensure medication records are brought up to date when young people are prescribed new medication by their doctor. This includes ensuring a risk assessment is in place when young people wish to self-manage their medication. There is also one good practice recommendation to ensure overdue visits by placing authorities are actively chased up and all key reports obtained at the point of admission. 3 of 9

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Information about this children’s home

This is a small private children's home caring for one young person, usually aged from 12 to 17 years, who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/02/2014 Interim good progress 30/05/2013 Full outstanding 13/12/2012 Interim good progress 09/07/2012 Full outstanding

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure there are suitable arrangements for the recording, handling, safekeeping, safe administration of any medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 21(1)(c )) 31/10/2014

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure the home contacts placing authorities to request visits if overdue and for care plans if needed. (NMS 25.6) 4 of 9 5 of 9

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people access a wide range of opportunities to develop their personal and social skills, talents and abilities. This extends to optimising opportunities to pursue interests and hobbies through utilising community facilities. For example, young people are involved in playing rugby and ice skating in the local and surrounding areas.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people access effective healthcare and in some instances, with support, have been able to reduce their dependency towards smoking. By taking on this responsibility, their overall well-being has been improved.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people actively participate in the planning of their care. This in turn is giving them the knowledge, skills, attitudes and values necessary to keep themselves safe. Young people access support services including Children and Adolescent Mental Health services. This in turn is helping them to better manage their health risks and emotions.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

With encouragement from staff, young people are taking positive steps to improve both their educational attainment and progress from starting their placement. This is helping them achieve qualifications and have realistic goals for their future.

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Quality of care good

Staff are committed to improving the well-being of young people. This starts by ensuring young people are valued contributors to their care. For example, staff positively interact daily with young people. These opportunities to talk give young people a sense of self-worth, the ability to make choices and to acknowledge challenges of everyday life. In addition, weekly consultations take place. These discussions help young people to express opinions. For instance, young people have used these sessions to discuss hobbies, recreational interests and sport. The Registered Manager has then taken action on the back of these discussions and ensured opportunities to pursue interests are quickly secured.

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Quality of care good

Professionals hold the service in high regard. For example, they have described the staff as very caring and always working to the pace of the young person. This child centred care approach has in turn helped young people to overcome past difficulties. Professionals remark that as a consequence of this care, young people have become more confident and built resilience to help them face their futures. A parent has equally described the home as excellent and a social worker has commented on the service being ‘exemplary’. 6 of 9 The staff are energetic in helping to improve young people’s educational attainment by encouraging and motivating young people to have aspirations and to gain qualifications. This includes supporting young people to achieve higher academic qualifications through attending college. This level of commitment is enabling young people to take responsibility for setting their own career pathways. For example, one

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Quality of care good

young person has done a health and social care course and is planning to go to university to qualify as a nurse.

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Quality of care good

Staff ensure young people are receiving well-coordinated, high quality healthcare, including securing appropriate advice and guidance on health related matters from health professionals. This includes, receiving guidance on things such as sexual health, healthy eating and immunisations; plus ensuring young people are receiving annual health assessments from the Looked after Children Nurse service. These steps are giving young people effective healthcare in which their physical and emotional well-being is safeguarded.

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Quality of care good

Care plans evolve over time so that they match the progress of the individual young person. This enables the young person’s journey to be formally captured. The care plans links carefully to assessments of risk and need and the Registered Manager remains diligent in ensuring the relevant people contribute to the development of the plans. As a consequence plans are effective in addressing aspects of welfare, safeguarding and well-being. However, risk assessments are not always completed when young people wish to self–medicate. Also, staff are not always ensuring that records for administering medication are brought up to date when a doctor has prescribed new medication. This leaves gaps in procedures that are necessary to ensure that the safe management of medicines is consistently achieved.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The staff are skilled in applying re-direction and de-escalation techniques to defuse situations. This supportive approach means that young people are helped to apply thinking skills to self-guide and manage their behaviour. These effective measures have resulted in the home not having to use any form of physical intervention for over three years.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The number of occasions when young people go missing is very low, with young people preferring to be involved in community based activities, or spending time with staff in the home. Nevertheless, the staff remain alert to the risks that young people can face.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The physical environment is safe and takes into account the needs and characteristics of young people. The home has effective arrangements in place to ensure all health and safety issues relating to the accommodation are identified and addressed. These measures are enabling young people to live in an environment that 7 of 9 promotes their health and well-being.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The home continues to have a very stable staff team. However, the Registered Manager remains mindful of the importance of safe recruitment procedures and ensuring suitability checks are repeated at set intervals. This ongoing surveillance means the Registered Manager can be assured that only suitable staff continue to work with young people.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

All staff are trained in aspects of safeguarding children and are alert to young people’s vulnerabilities and risk of harm. This includes how to implement child protection procedures when necessary.

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Leadership and management good

The Registered Manager has been in post since 2008 and holds a National Vocational Qualification at a level 4 in Care and Management. The Registered Manager is a visible leader that takes time to not only support staff but equally to listen and to consult with young people. The Registered Manager promotes positive working relationships between staff and young people and also placing authorities. The Registered Manager places great importance to ensuring every young person is able to access their social worker and other important people in their lives and will challenge delays in any missed visit or reports from other professionals. However, on one occasion when the Registered Manager was recently away an admission was agreed and challenge the placing authority on this occasion was not as robust and this meant statutory visits and reports were not chased or secured in a timely manner. This has left a young person without being able to access key people in their

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Leadership and management good

life early in their placement and staff not having all the necessary intelligence from the beginning to help them draw together a comprehensive care plan.

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Leadership and management good

The home has a well-established workforce and the Registered Manager has a clear understanding of their role and responsibility to work in the best interests of young people. The deployment of staffing ensures young people receive one two one support. The Registered Manager and staff pride themselves on getting things right for every child and learning from mistakes.

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Leadership and management good

There is a well-established system in place to check on the quality of care. This process ensures the home remains subject to quality assurance visits to determine if the home continues to meet minimum standards and is striving to raise these standards to improve the quality of practice.

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Leadership and management good

The Registered Manager ensures there is a supportive working environment whereby staff feel supported and receive regular supervision. A range of training is provided on a regular basis. This in turn ensures that staff continue to improve their skills and working practices so that young people experience effective and safe care. 8 of 9 The home’s arrangement for assessing, planning, recording and reporting are in the main clear and concise, with the exception being medication. The home has a clear development plan in place which summarises key strengths and areas for development that is focused on outcomes for young people. The home had no requirements or recommendations at their last inspection, which have required following up. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management good

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Judgement Description

Outstanding A service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Good A service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Adequate A service that only meets minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Inadequate A service that does not meet minimum requirements.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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Information about this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the framework of inspection for children's homes.

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