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

Inspection report children’s home: 1223491 1 Registered provider: Bryn Melyn Care Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is part of a private organisation. It is a 12-week assessment centre providing up to three placements for young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since May 2017. She has 10 years of experience as a registered manager and holds a level 4 qualification in management.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 22 February 2018

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1223491 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/05/2017 Full Good 22/11/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: 1223491 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 designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(d)) 31/03/2019

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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 staff have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that risk assessments are in place. 31/03/2019

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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 lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 13(1)(2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to resolving the shortfalls in management oversight of this home. 31/03/2019

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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. (Regulation 13(1)(2)(c)) 31/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and 31/03/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 1223491 4 disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23(1)) The registered manager 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 all the points listed under Regulation 35(3)(a)(b) and (c). (Regulation 35(3)(a)(b)(c)) 31/03/2019

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Recommendations

 Records must be kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home (regulation 36 (schedule 3(14)). This information should be shared with the placing authority and, where appropriate, with the child’s parents. Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.31)  When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph

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improvement to be good

The home’s environment has not been maintained to a good standard by the registered manager or staff team. Furniture was broken, the heating was not working because the oil had run out, a window in a children’s bedroom would not close, so she had blocked the draught with a towel and another young person could only get enough water to shower by running the tap in his sink to release pressure. This fails to promote a welcoming environment where children feel valued.

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improvement to be good

Children often arrive at the home at short notice and while experiencing a crisis in their lives. The staff team supports them to re-engage in positive routines, reduce high-risk behaviours and focus on what they want to achieve in the future.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to make healthy lifestyle choices. Children attend medical appointments, they eat nutritious food and participate in outdoor and physical activities. However, staff do not always follow the procedures for recording medication accurately. This could potentially lead to the wrong medication being given to a child. Inspection report children’s home: 1223491 5 After being out of education, or full-time education, for considerable periods of time, staff support children to attend school. Most children gradually increase their attendance and make good progress. They undertake assessments, which provide educators with baselines to support future academic progress.

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improvement to be good

Most children make good progress and their high-risk behaviours (including going missing and their involvement in gangs and criminal activity) reduce. Care and education staff work together to help children to understand risk and make safer choices.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to learn new skills to manage their emotions. This is done through day-to-day discussions and key-work sessions. When children place themselves and others at risk, physical interventions are used. For most children, these quickly reduce in duration and frequency.

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improvement to be good

Records of physical interventions and incidents when children go missing do not provide accurate accounts of these events. Conversations between staff and children reflecting on the incidents are not recorded. Records do not state whether children are offered medical attention after being held. Return interviews, following incidents when young people go missing, are not taking place. As a result, the registered manager does not have the information that she needs to review these incidents effectively and identify ways to prevent future occurrences.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always assess risk effectively or take appropriate actions to safeguard themselves and children. For example, staff failed to prevent children from having access to tools that they then used as weapons to threaten staff. Staff did not move a broken trampoline from the garden even after children had used a section of it to threaten them with.

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improvement to be good

Staff restrict children’s access to certain areas of the home. Specifically, doors to an upstairs sitting room are locked at night to separate sleeping areas. However, staff are not unlocking these doors during the day. This prevents children from having free access to a communal lounge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There have been serious concerns raised about the conduct of some staff at this home. All concerns were referred to the designated officer in the local authority and subsequently managed through the company’s disciplinary processes. The concerns did not involve children. However, several members of staff have left the home as a consequence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Considering the recent serious concerns, there has been a lack of management oversight of this home. The responsible individual had not visited the service for eight weeks and Inspection report children’s home: 1223491 6 has not had face-to-face supervision with the registered manager in the home. The independent visitor knew that there had been concerns but had not been told their nature or the outcome of the investigation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The responsible individual and registered manager are currently working to build a new staff team, including the appointment of a deputy. While this is ongoing, they have made the decision not to have any more than two children living at the home. The registered manager has good insight into the direction that the service now needs to take and is prioritising areas for development, such as ensuring that all staff attend training to make sure that they can meet the complex needs of children.

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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: 1223491 7

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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: 1223491 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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