Children's home run by Bright Futures Care Limited in Bolton

Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 1 SC456537 Registered provider: Bright Futures Care Limited T/A Cornerstones Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, learning disabilities and sensory impairments.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is part of a private organisation that also offers specialist educational provision and care and accommodation for adults with learning disabilities.

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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 Good

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Good

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

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Good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make excellent progress from their individual starting points due to the quality of individualised care they receive from the staff team.  Young people have their own core staff team that knows them exceptionally well. As a result, there are positive relationships between young people and staff, which contribute to the young people’s progress.  Young people are safe in this home due to high staff ratios and good risk management planning.  Staff are skilled at managing challenging behaviour in line with young people’s individual behaviour management plans. Consequently, physical restraints have reduced in the home.  Parents and professionals are highly complimentary about the level of care provided by staff and the progress that young people make.  The manager is child-focused and because he takes a hands-on approach, he knows the young people exceptionally well. He is committed to ensuring that

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Key findings from this inspection

the young people receive the best possible care and make good progress.

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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

 Ensure that the young people have personal emergency evacuation plans that detail what action staff should take in the event of a fire in the home.  Ensure that staff receive a full debrief within 48 hours of carrying out a physical restraint.  Ensure that prompt action is taken in response to any maintenance issues that may pose a hazard to young people’s health and well-being.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/03/2017 Full Outstanding 02/12/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 30/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 06/01/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that— the premises used for the purposes of the home are maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12(2)(d)) 15/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

In order to ensure the care planning standard is met the registered provider must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14(1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in reference to ensuring that young people’s care plans include personal evacuation plans which identify the action that staff should take to ensure that young people are kept safe in the event of a fire. 15/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

Behaviour management policies and records

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— within 48 hours of the use of the measure of control, discipline or restraint, the registered person, the authorised person, or a person authorised by the registered person to do so has spoken to the user about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(b)(i)) 15/12/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s day-to-day experiences of living in the home are positive. They live in a homely and nurturing environment with good structure and routine. Young people receive care from their own core staff team. This offers young people consistency and enables the young people to develop trusting relationships with staff, who in turn know young people exceptionally well. This approach supports the young person to make progress in all areas of their development. One social worker said, ‘All staff are very in tune with [name of young person’s] individual needs. The way in which the home is run and organised with each young person having their own staff team means that staff really get to know the individual children, and they are able fully understand, support and progress the child to reach their full potential.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make excellent progress from their individual starting points. For example, one young person who has not attended school for a significant period is now transitioning into the organisation’s school three days a week. He has also made exceptional progress in his health by getting to the point where he is able to attend health appointments and has an improved sleep pattern. This is because of the well- planned and nurturing care he receives from staff. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘[name of young person] has made a massive turnaround; he is now eating, drinking, socialising, showering and participating in a variety of activities with staff.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning is robust in the home. Staff set achievable individual targets for young people based on their individual plans and developmental level. There is clear evidence that staff review, monitor and follow all identified targets. This work is fundamental in supporting young people to develop new skills and make continued progress. A private multi-agency consultancy service assesses each young person and produces an individual, sensory diet, based on the findings of the assessment. This details individualised strategies for staff to use with each young person, including sensory approaches for keeping young people calm and managing negative behaviour. This ensures that young people receive a consistent individualised approach from staff, which has contributed to young people making progress in all areas of their development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that young people’s individual healthcare needs are met. Young people have an individual healthcare passport identifying their health needs. Staff are proactive in obtaining health appointments for young people. For example, for one young person who is in urgent need of dental treatment, the manager has been proactive in obtaining an earlier appointment for him due to the impact this was having on his everyday life. Medication procedures are safe and staff are trained in administering medication. For young people who have conditions such as epilepsy there are clear plans in place, which are drawn up in conjunction with the epilepsy nurse to ensure that staff know the actions to take to manage this condition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are all engaged in education. There is good communication between Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 5 school and home and staff from the home support the young people in school. This ensures that young people receive a consistent level of care that encourages them to reach their full educational potential. Staff support young people to engage in a range of experiences and activities tailored to their individual interests, such as swimming and walking. This ensures that young people have the opportunity to widen their experiences and develop new skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions into the home are planned meticulously. For one young person who had recently move to the home, staff visited him in hospital and attended multi-agency meetings. This provided the staff with all relevant information and helped them to prepare the young person for his arrival at the home. This level of child-centred planning has ensured that he settled well and has contributed to the excellent progress he has made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that young people take part in day-to-day decisions about their lives, wherever possible using their individual communication methods. Because staff know the young people, they understand the best way of supporting young people to communicate. Staff recognise the impact of communication difficulties on behaviour and they ensure that wherever possible young people receive support to communicate their views. For one young person, staff had sourced an alternative communication aid called the Liberator. This device is unique to the young person’s level of understanding and enables him to communicate his basic choices. A social worker said, ‘[name of young person] has made really good progress with his care staff’s support to communicate. He is now signing much more and responding to signs. This enables his carers to allow [name of young person] to make choices about his day and to have a greater

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

understanding of his wishes and feelings.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prepare young people well for adulthood by ensuring that young people have the opportunity to develop skills that will support them as adults. This work is incorporated on a daily basis, for example supporting young people to become more independent in their self-care skills or through activities such as teaching them the basics of road safety when they are in the community. Staff complete independence plans for young people that include clear targets based on their individual need. There is clear evidence that the progress of these targets is monitored and evaluated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in ensuring that young people have contact with family members in line with young people’s care plans. Staff transport young people to contact with family members at some distance on a regular basis. Staff provide support to young people during contact sessions when required. This ensures that young people can maintain relationships with family members and enjoy this time together in a safe way. Staff appreciate the importance of young people understanding their family background. They keep individual photo books and life story boxes for each young person. This includes photos and personal memorabilia to help young people understand their life story. Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 6

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

Young people are safe in the home due to good risk management plans and a high staffing ratio. Plans and staffing levels are agreed with the local authorities on admission. Individual risks and vulnerabilities are identified in plans, with clear actions for staff to follow to reduce any known risks. Effective planning in this respect manages and minimises risks inside and outside of the home. This ensures that young people with complex and challenging behaviours can enjoy activities in a way that also keeps them safe. There have been no missing from home incidents since the last inspection or incidents that required notification. Young people who are at risk of absconding are supported by two-to-one staffing and carry identity cards to minimise risk if they do abscond.

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

Since the last inspection, the level of restraint in the home has reduced significantly. This reflects the staff’s skill at de-escalation and managing challenging behaviour in accordance with young people’s individual behaviour plans. One social worker said, ‘[name of young person] exhibits challenging and aggressive behaviours. However, staff have the experience and skills and work together in order to support the young person and manage this well. This has meant that [name of young person’s] behaviours have significantly reduced and he is not only much happier and content within himself but also any risk of injury has significantly reduced.’

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

When staff restrain young people, this is carried out in accordance with the legislative framework. All staff are trained in team-teach, which is the model they are expected to use to manage challenging behaviour. Staff routinely observe young people after a restraint to ensure their well-being. However, staff involved in a restraint are not routinely debriefed after the incident. This does not give the staff involved the opportunity to discuss the incident or reflect on their practice.

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

Staff ensure that the environment is warm, welcoming and homely for young people. There are photographs around the home and pictures in protective decorative frames. However, there are some issues with damp in a young person’s bedroom. The manager had arranged for the work to be completed, but in the intervening period had not considered the potential risks to the young person’s health as he remained in the bedroom.

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

Staff conduct regular fire checks and evacuations to ensure that staff and young people know what action to take in the event of a fire. However, young people do not have personal evacuation plans to identify the actions that staff are required to take to support the young people in the event of a fire. This is important due to the complex and changing behaviours of the young people alongside their individual health needs. This lack of detailed planning around fire safety has the potential to leave the young people at risk of harm in an emergency.

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

There have been no complaints or allegations since the last inspection. All staff have undertaken safeguarding training. Staff are clear about the procedures they are required Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 7 to follow in response to any concerns about the safety of a young person. Careful recruitment and stringent vetting ensure that young people are kept safe from unsuitable people being recruited into the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced manager who is registered with Ofsted manages the home. He has undertaken the level 5 diploma in leadership and management and has substantial experience in residential childcare. He is a child-focused manager who is very committed to supporting young people to reach their full potential. He takes a hands-on approach to his role and will work shifts in the home. This means that he has an excellent understanding of the young people and he is able to support staff with their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team is continually thinking of child-focused ways of developing the service. For example, they have considered plans to change the service to ensure that young people maintain stability through their transition to adulthood. Managers are responsive to any areas of development identified through external monitoring. They take prompt action to address these areas, which demonstrates an ability to learn and develop practice to ensure that young people get the best possible care. Professionals are complimentary about the management team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that the home is highly staffed to meet the needs of the young people. The recruitment process is robust and the manager uses this process effectively to ensure that staff recruited are suited to the role. New staff receive a well-planned induction, which ensures that they receive the correct support and training to support them in their role. Staff like working in the home and feel well supported by each other and the management team. This is reflected in staff retention rates within the organisation. Staff reported that it was ‘brilliant working in the home’ and staff said that they liked ‘how the team works and the team ethos’. Another staff member said, ‘Honestly, it is good support that you get.’ All staff receive regular supervision and there is clear evidence that this is linked to practice. Staff are all up to date with mandatory training and training specific to meet the young people’s individual needs. This ensures

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

that staff have the skills and knowledge to meet the complex needs of the young people they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has robust internal monitoring systems to continually improve the quality of the service. Recently there has been an additional layer of monitoring regarding certain areas, such as restraint, to ensure good practice. The manager has completed a development plan, which includes plans for the improvement of the home, such as having an extension built so there is more living space for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff work proactively with other agencies and professionals, such as education staff, placing authorities and health professionals. This ensures that they work together to support the young people to develop in all aspects of their care. Managers and staff have positive relationships with parents and placing social workers, who were all consistently complimentary about the home, the level of care that staff provide and the progress that young people make in the home. An independent reviewing officer Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 8 said, ‘Everyone at [name of young person’s] last review in July spoke very highly of this provision. I feel they offer a very homely environment and focus on the individual needs of [name of young person]. I have been impressed with the level of care and support of [name of young person].’

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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 differences 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, 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 whom 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: SC456537 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bright Futures Care Limited T/A Cornerstones

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Regency House, 45–51 Chorley New Road, Bolton, Lancashire BL1 4QR

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Inspector

Sarah Billett, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 10 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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