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

Unique reference number SC411142 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 Jonathan David Lokier Date of last inspection 20/02/2014 2 of 11 Inspection date 22/10/2014

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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 adequate Leadership and management good

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are provided with a safe, secure, caring and stimulating environment. They make good progress from their starting points. In short periods of time, young people form strong relationships with staff and benefit from genuine care from people they trust and respect

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Overall effectiveness

Young people’s attitudes to learning improve quickly and mean their school attendance moves from low to high in short periods of time. Care planning is personalised to reflect the uniqueness of each young person. They are listened to and mainly consulted about their care.

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Overall effectiveness

Integrated working is common place to minimise any risks and staff are committed to ensuring the welfare of young people remains their main priority.

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Overall effectiveness

The Registered Manager uses self-evaluation effectively to drive ongoing improvement into care practice. This starts by having a development plan in place. The Registered Manager is ambitious and energetic in getting it right for every young person and this means reflecting on mistakes and learning from them.

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Overall effectiveness

The home has no recurring shortfalls since the last inspection. Nevertheless some improvement is required in some areas of practice. This includes increasing staff 3 of 11 safeguarding awareness, improving the management of complaints and ensuring young people access more diverse activities. There are also slight shortfalls in details recorded in physical restraint and sanction logs and health plans. 4 of 11

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Information about this children’s home

This is a small private children's home for one young person, who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/02/2014 Interim good progress 15/05/2013 Full adequate 10/01/2013 Interim satisfactory progress 31/05/2012 Full good

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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 that within 24 hours of the use of any measure of control, restraint or discipline in a children’s home, a written record is made in a volume which includes the details listed under regulation 17B (Regulation 17B (3)(f)(h) and 4(b)) 28/11/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that a written record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of the investigation. In particular, that young people are informed of the outcome. (Regulation 24 (5)) 28/11/2014

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Recommendations

5 of 11 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 where there has been a physical restraint, young people are able to call on medical assistance and always given the opportunity to be examined by a registered nurse or medical practitioner (NMS 3.16)  ensure specific responsibilities of the home are set out in the health plan. In particular, providing clear details on medication prescribed (Children Act 1989, Volume 5, Statutory guidance chapter 2.46)  ensure that children pursue individual interests and hobbies. This includes taking part in a range of leisure activities and trips. (National Minimum Standards 7.2)  ensure staff are trained, to a basic level of the LSCB’s training programme and should know what constitutes appropriate safe care practice. (Children Act 1989, Volume 5, Statutory guidance chapter 2.74) 6 of 11

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people take interest in looking after their health and well-being. For example, they make sure they are accessing a good balanced diet. This means getting involved in planning menus and preparing meals.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people use the support and encouragement of staff to access appropriate advice and treatment they need to stay healthy. This includes attending health related appointments to improve their physical, emotional and mental health. In some instances, young people arrive with a history of refusing to attend health related appointments. The nurturing support they receive increases their confidence and in turn, they begin to attend. As a consequence, young people get help which improves their physical, emotional and mental well-being.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people participate in meaningful consultation, using this opportunity to reflect on feelings and to begin to trust and respect people around them.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people’s willingness to engage with staff is helping them to re-enter into learning including attending school on a regular basis. This is helping young people to begin to make up for gaps in their education and to start working towards gaining qualifications that will help them be better prepared for life after school.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people’s confidence in accessing the wider community remains an area of ongoing development and encouragement. Despite staffs' attempts to explore a varied range of activities, young people’s insecurities mean they are not participating in a wide range of community based activities. This limits their opportunities to join clubs and participate in activities where they can develop their talents and gain a sense of achievement.

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Quality of care good

Admissions to the home are thoroughly planned to ensure the needs of young people are met from the moment they arrive. This detailed planning results in young people being able to settle in quickly and to begin to develop a positive relationship with staff that only strengthens over time. As a result, young people begin to value the work done by staff to help them stay healthy and safe.

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Quality of care good

Parents and social workers praise the work of care staff. They particularly value the high quality of relationship between staff and young people and how this is enabling young people to get the necessary support they need to overcome their difficulties. Social workers and parents find communication to be highly effective. This allows 7 of 11 them to remain well informed about young people’s achievements and also where they have needed support to manage their emotions.

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Quality of care good

Staff place great value on securing the views and opinions of young people. This is evidenced in the high numbers of conversations that take place during any given day and through regular key working sessions. These sessions enable young people to explore their feelings with the knowledge that someone is listening and cares.

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Quality of care good

The staff ensure particular health needs which may impact on young people’s future outcomes are identified at the earliest opportunity by actively seeking out the services needed to address them. This includes specialist health workers such as Child and Adolescent Mental Health services (CAMHS)

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Quality of care good

Staff are aware of the importance of medication records and the necessity of these being kept up to date. However, the specific details about medication are not always well captured the health plan. This drop in attention to detail creates inconsistency over health information and in turn results in young people’s information being inconsistent recorded. For example, a medication dosage can differ between a medication chart and the health plan.

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Quality of care good

Families, relatives and friends of young people are encouraged to regularly visit so that young people are able to sustain meaningful contact with people who are important in their lives.

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Quality of care good

Young people are supported through carefully drawn together care plans. The detailed plans help staff to meet the needs of young people with a consistent approach. The plan is pulled together from thorough assessments completed by health professionals. These assessments also help to draw together risk assessments and behaviour management plans so that young people’s presenting needs and associated risks can be safeguarded.

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Quality of care good

To help young people rebuild confidence to re-engage with education, good teamwork between care staff and education takes place. This helps young people to become more self-confident to improve their school attendance from poor to good.

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Quality of care good

Staff encourage young people to enjoy leisure activities. Young people's low self- esteem can mean they struggle with building confidence so that they can access diverse activities in the wider community. When young people are reluctant to take part, staff are too accepting of this reluctance and this leaves young people at risk of becoming isolated from the community.

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Quality of care good

Young people are able to live in a safe, pleasant and homely environment which is well matched to their individualised needs. 8 of 11

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Staff take seriously any concern raised by young people and ensure young people have access to a user friendly complaints procedure. Although complaints are investigated thoroughly, records fail to demonstrate that young people are given feedback. This means, young people are not able to give their formal confirmation over if they are satisfied with the final outcome. This restricts them practicing their rights of consultation.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Young people recognise that staff are concerned about keeping them safe. However, their vulnerability makes them easily influenced by others and can place them at risk of child sexual exploitation, especially when they go missing from care. Although a lot of safeguarding work is done with multiple agencies, there has been one incident when a young person went missing. In this incident young people placed themselves at risk of harm when missing from care. The staff have worked closely with all other professionals including following joint protocols. The work done following the particular incident has significantly sharpened practice around safeguarding. Parents and social workers have been fully consulted and remain assured that the home is the right placement to safeguard young people. Following the incident young people have been willing to re-engage with staff. This in turn, is helping young people to be

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

talk through their problems and look at ways of solving problems so that in future they can make safer decisions.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

The vetting of staff and visitors is comprehensive and thorough to ensure young people are safeguarded from people who can place their vulnerabilities at risk.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

The home has risk assessments for all aspects of safety for the premises, including fire, to recognising issues in young people’s behaviour. As a result, young people are able to live in an environment that remains well maintained to meet their needs.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

The use of restraints and sanctions is low. Young people are supported through nurturing to develop coping skills that enable then to better self-regulate their emotions and control their anger safely. Nevertheless, when sanctions or restraints are found necessary, the required recording log lacks sufficient detail. For example, sanction records fail to capture details over the effectiveness of the measure or to demonstrate young people and staff have been offered debriefing sessions. In areas of physical restraint, records fail to validate the details over the methods used to avoid the need for restraint. Records also fail to show that young people are offered the opportunity to seek medical advice following a restraint, especially where they received an injury, which is also not adequately followed up with the young person and investigated.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Staff are trained in child protection and demonstrate reasonable levels of awareness to safeguarding. However, some staff knowledge of safeguarding does not always extend to being sufficiently knowledgeable in areas of child sexual exploitation, e- safety and in understanding the roles of Local Safeguarding Children's Boards. These 9 of 11 gaps in knowledge mean not all staff are adequately informed to ensure young people have maximum protection.

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Leadership and management good

The Registered Manager has been in post since July 2014 and holds their level five Diploma in Leadership for Health and Social Care and Children and Young People services. The Registered Manager plays a key role in fostering a positive atmosphere within the home. They work particularly well with parents and professionals to ensure communication is effective so that the best interests of young people remains at the forefront of everyday practice.

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Leadership and management good

Young people are supported by skilled and experienced staff, who have achieved a National Vocational qualification or are working towards a Diploma in Working with Children and Young People.

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Leadership and management good

The number of staff on duty is matched against the needs of young people. Each staff member is well supported, supervised and accountable for their work. This in turn ensures young people are getting the right level of support from staff who are themselves well supported and have their practice regularly reviewed.

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Leadership and management good

Staff are committed to helping young people to make progress to overcome their difficulties. This extends to staff being sensitive to the diverse and complex needs of young people. Young people experience genuine care from a consistent and stable staff team. This enables them to develop a secure attachment with people they trust.

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Leadership and management good

Staff attend an array of training events, including areas such as child development and behaviour management. However, although areas of child protection and health and safety are inclusive of training opportunities and taken up by staff, there are some weaknesses in some staffs’ knowledge in areas of safeguarding. This in turn weaknesses their level of insight into how to keep young people safe.

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Leadership and management good

Young people’s individual case files are confidentially stored and are arranged in a manner that makes them readily available to staff. These files hold all the required documentation including plans and reports provided by placing local authorities and social workers. These are all used effectively to ensure young people receive individualised care.

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Leadership and management good

The organisation ensures there is a reflective and systematic self-evaluation which has the explicit purpose of improving the quality of care for young people. The process includes the Registered Manager gathering reliable evidence to assess the quality of care. This extends to having a development plan. There is then an independent person appointed by the organisation who visits the home monthly. 10 of 11 During these visits they evaluate performance and make recommendations on what requires improvement. This in turn helps to drive forward improvement.

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Leadership and management good

The home has a clear, accessible and comprehensive Statement of Purpose that sets out its' aims and objectives.

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Leadership and management good

The home had no shortfalls at the last inspection which 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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