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

Inspection report children’s home: 1276010 1 Registered provider: Bryn Melyn Care Limited

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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 children’s home was registered by Ofsted on 14 May 2018. The service is owned by a private company. The home is registered to accommodate up to three children. Children come to live at the home as a result of family or placement breakdown. Some children have particular difficulties that make it very difficult to live in a family setting, or they choose not to. Some children have experienced abuse. The manager of this home has been in post since the home opened. He is currently completing the level 5 diploma in leadership for health and social care and children and young people’s services (residential management pathway).

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 12 to 13 September 2018

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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

Date of last inspection: This is the children’s home first inspection.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Recent inspection history

This is the first inspection of the home since it was registered in May 2018. Inspection report children’s home: 1276010 2

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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 health and well-being standard is that the health and well- being needs of children are met.

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Requirement Due date

Within 48 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (‘the authorised person’) has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35(3)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 31/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the induction, probation and training of seniors, deputies and managers. 31/12/2018

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide effective and sensitive support for children. This helps children to settle quickly after they arrive at the home. Moves are planned around the specific circumstances and needs of the child and their family. Inspection report children’s home: 1276010 3 Children quickly start making good progress. They are introduced to an education timetable at the home, and are then supported to attend school. Children’s attendance and educational progress are good. They build positive relationships with staff and maintain contact with their families. Children enjoy a range of new, and existing, hobbies and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are leading healthy lifestyles. Staff promote healthy eating and regular exercise, and support children to attend medical appointments. Each child has a health plan, but these documents are missing important information, for example immunisation history and information relating to a hearing condition.

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

Staff always promote the safety of children. They support children to reduce their risk- taking behaviour. As a result, there has been a decrease in children’s previous behaviours of missing from care and aggression towards adults and peers.

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

When children demonstrate high-risk behaviours, staff use a range of de-escalation techniques to defuse situations. As a result, consequences and physical interventions are very low in number. However, records do not consistently show that staff and children have been spoken to by a manager after an event. This fails to ensure that records are accurate and does not provide evidence that staff are reflecting on their practice and learning new strategies.

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

The home is welcoming and well maintained. Children are enjoying living in the countryside. One child has become actively involved in caring for three horses in a neighbouring field to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and the deputy have slowly recruited a staff team and ensured that there is sufficient staffing for the children. Unfortunately, two staff members have already moved on, but these posts have been quickly filled with new staff. Managers are now concentrating on supporting this new staff team to develop.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and the deputy are developing systems to capture children’s progress, staff practice and ensure that documentation is up to date. This allows them to understand the strengths of the home and the areas that require development. For example, the administration of medication was not being clearly recorded and this was subsequently resolved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The organisation does not currently have inductions, probationary periods or mandatory training programmes that are specific to staff who are either new to management or new to management within this company. This means that staff with management Inspection report children’s home: 1276010 4 responsibility may lack appropriate support and guidance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager, deputy and staff team are working closely with other professionals. A social care professional stated: ‘I am very pleased with the partnership working I have witnessed from the staff team. [The child] is a complex young person who has settled very well into this placement. Staff have worked hard to build relationships with [her]. They have maintained excellent communication with myself, the social worker and the education provision to ensure we are all working in a consistent manner to meet [her] needs.’

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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 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 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: 1276010 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bryn Melyn Care Limited

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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: 1276010 6 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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