Children's home run by Bryn Melyn Care Limited in Telford and Wrekin

Inspection report children‟s home: SC372611 1 SC372611 Registered provider: Bryn Melyn Care

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered for two children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is owned and managed by a private company.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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Good

How well children and young people are helped and protected Good

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Good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Outstanding

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Good

The children‟s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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Good

Date of last inspection: 12 December 2016

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Good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Declined in effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection

None Inspection report children‟s home: SC372611 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children are making good progress towards meeting their aims and objectives.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff have an excellent understanding of children‟s specific needs.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children‟s school attendance has increased and they are achieving good academic outcomes.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children learn skills that reduce incidents of high-risk behaviours and help keep them safe.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Leadership and management in the home are outstanding.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The new registered manager has successfully driven up standards, developed a knowledgeable professional staff team, and ensured improving outcomes for children.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children‟s home‟s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Records of consequences do not contain the required information.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/12/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 24/05/2016 Full Good 25/01/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 28/05/2015 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC372611 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children‟s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the „Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes the name of the child; details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure. Within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so, has spoken to the user about

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Requirement Due date

the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)–(viii) and (b)(i)(ii)) 31/08/2017

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress in most areas of their lives. They have positive, sustained relationships with staff who are excellent role models. Children are in full-time education. Both their attendance and academic achievements are good. Staff have excellent, up-to-date knowledge of their actual and predicted outcomes in subject areas. They communicate with school staff on a daily basis. They proactively support one child in school. This has successfully helped him to settle and engage more constructively in lessons. As a result, staff are now gradually reducing their input. Children lead healthy lifestyles. Staff educate them on a wide range of topics including nutrition, exercise, relationships, personal hygiene, emotional and physical well-being. Recently, particularly good progress has been made with regard to the promotion of the Inspection report children‟s home: SC372611 4 individual‟s and group‟s emotional well-being. The organisation‟s clinicians work directly

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

with children, their families and the staff team. A member of this team is linked directly to this service and attends all staff meetings. His attendance successfully facilitates discussions, which enable staff to reflect on their current (and develop their future) practice. Children develop a positive sense of self. They are encouraged to experience new activities and opportunities, such as camping, or raising money for charity. Personal successes are rewarded and landmarks are celebrated. The registered manager and staff team regularly ask children for their ideas, views and opinions and, where appropriate, act on them. One child said, „I told the manager that the first school I went to wasn‟t for me. She listened to me and found a new school. Now I am working towards going to a mainstream school. She is helping me with that, too.‟ Children have positive aspirations. They have clear plans in place that are effectively

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

supported by the registered manager and staff team. Children learn a wide range of practical and emotional skills that prepare them for their futures. Staff work in close partnership with families and other professionals. For example, there is a plan in place for a child to move home. Staff are sensitively supporting increased visits to the family home. They provide transport and initially stayed near the family home to offer additional support if needed.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children feel safe. They identify members of staff who they feel confident to talk to if they have a problem or concern. One child stated, „They are not like staff. They are like family. People you can talk to and know that they will solve a problem if they can.‟ Children are learning skills to keep themselves safe. Since the last inspection, there have been no missing from care incidents and no physical interventions. Staff effectively use the playfulness, acceptance, curiosity, empathy (PACE) model of parenting to develop children‟s emotional stability and coping strategies. Consequences are sometimes used to help children think about their actions. Records of use of these consequences are not robust. They do not contain all the information required. In addition, the registered manager does not regularly review the records to ensure the effectiveness and appropriateness of the measure. However, this has had little impact on young people, or

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

the quality of care that they receive. Staff promote children‟s well-being at all times. They attend regular mandatory training that ensures that they know the procedures to follow if a child is at risk of harm or being exploited. Staff are well informed of children‟s historical risks and work closely with partnership agencies, such as the police, when necessary. They use emerging information and patterns of behaviour to regularly reassess risk. Staff also promote children‟s own understanding of the impact of their behaviours on themselves and others. Children develop skills that help them negotiate living alongside others. Staff encourage understanding of other cultures through discussions and culturally themed evenings. Clinical and key-worker sessions facilitate discussions about being a member of a family. Inspection report children‟s home: SC372611 5 House meetings and mealtime discussions promote discussions about living alongside a

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

peer. Staff are skilled negotiators and sensitively steer conversations that successfully support children to listen and learn. Significant work has been undertaken by the children and staff team to improve the standard of the home‟s environment. This work is ongoing, but the rooms that have been revamped so far have been completed to a very high standard. This work has been valued by children and staff alike. A child stated, „The decoration is going really well. I wasn‟t sure about the colours, but now I really like them.‟ A member of staff stated, „The sleep-in rooms are no longer dumping grounds. The time and effort that has been put into them makes you feel valued as a staff member.‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager started on the day of the last interim inspection. The home was judged to have declined in effectiveness at that inspection. As a new registered manager, she has given excellent focus to addressing serious shortfalls and has developed this service significantly. All three requirements and one recommendation made at the last inspection have been met. Her success in driving up standards of record-keeping, developing a welcoming homely environment, improving staff practice and ensuring that good outcomes for children is unanimously recognised by the responsible individual, her staff team, children, the independent visitor and partner agencies. There is now a consistent, professional staff team. The staff members value having excellent systems in place that challenge and promote their professional development. The registered manager has reviewed each individual staff member‟s development needs

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

through supervisions. She has ensured relevant training has been undertaken, or is scheduled to take place. She has supported staff struggling to finish the level 3 professional qualification, helping them to achieve it. This has resulted in six out of seven staff in the staff team being qualified. Over and above the company‟s training, the registered manager has set staff monthly quizzes. These have focused on the children‟s homes regulations and quality standards. This learning has given staff confidence and insight into how they relate specifically to the children living at this home. Staff are also being supported by the registered manager and clinician attached to the service to further develop their knowledge of the parenting model and PACE. Each month, the whole company works though a set topic. This registered manager and staff team are really embracing their learning and resulting discussions. They are proactively

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

considering how they might adjust and develop their practice to improve outcomes for children. The registered manager is continuing to develop the service. She invites and welcomes feedback from internal and external quality assurance processes. She has an excellent user-friendly development plan with short and long-term aims and objectives. The plan also clearly evidences successes and progress on a monthly basis. She confidently liaises with partner agencies, such as the police and placing authorities. Where necessary, for example, where the outcomes of children are possibly being compromised, the Inspection report children‟s home: SC372611 6 registered manager is not afraid to give robust challenge to illicit appropriate change.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children‟s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the „Social care common inspection framework‟, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children‟s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the „Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟. Inspection report children‟s home: SC372611 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Edward James House, Hadley, Telford TF1 6QJ

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Inspector

Dawn Bennett, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC372611 8 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children‟s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children‟s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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