Children's home run by Bryn Melyn Care Limited

Interim inspection report children’s home: 1255147 1 Registered provider: Bryn Melyn Care Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

Since October 2018, this home has been registered to provide care and accommodation for up to eight girls who have learning disabilities. A private provider operates the home.

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has declined in effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children are not supported by a staff team that is skilled and able meet their specific needs. This service’s registration changed in October 2018 to provide care and accommodation to girls with learning disabilities. Since then, one child has lived at the home. The decision to admit this child to the home was flawed. Managers did not fully consider the resources, skills and experience needed by the very new, and still developing, staff team to meet the communication and behavioural needs of this child. As a result, notice was quickly given on the placement and the child moved on after only three weeks.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

During the three weeks at the home, the staff did not adequately meet the child’s needs. The child was unable to access the local community or school as the home did not have a suitable vehicle for her to travel in safely. Furthermore, she had limited access to clinical support, and no access to occupational or speech and language therapy. There were minimal toys, games and activities in the home’s grounds to stimulate her sensory Interim inspection report children’s home: 1255147 2 needs. These shortfalls limited the child’s learning, experiences and progress.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The child did begin to make progress in some areas of her life. She formed positive relationships with some staff, her behaviours that caused harm to herself and others reduced, and her levels of communication increased. This indicates that with the right professional support from an experienced staff team, the child may have made good progress. However, a lack of some staff members’ experience, skill and resilience resulted in the child’s placement ending sooner than anticipated.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff failed to understand and meet her needs safely. In one challenging incident, staff used restraint techniques which were outside of the child’s behaviour plan. This resulted in distress to the child and injury to the staff. After this incident, three staff refused to return to work in the home. This meant that in the final week of the child’s placement, she experienced a high number of cover staff, whom she did not know, working alongside a permanent member of staff working long hours.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This is a new staff team, and for some team members, it is their first experience of working in residential care and/or with children who have learning disabilities. Staff did not receive effective debriefs after incidents to support them to consolidate learning, reflect on practice or develop new skills. All staff participated in induction and probation for working with children with learning difficulties. However, this training was not adequate to equip them to consider ways of better engaging the child and managing her self-harming behaviour. This inexperience and the lack of support and guidance failed to fully promote the child’s safety, welfare and progress.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the child moved out of the home in February 2019, the responsible individual and registered manager have made a strategic decision not to move any more children into the home for the foreseeable future. They are in the process of investigating staff practice, reviewing a complaint and looking at lessons that can be learned to inform the future of the service. The registered manager has already reviewed the statement of purpose, staff recruitment and interview criteria, and staff induction. She has also met with a director, responsible individual, a member of the clinical team, a newly appointed occupational therapist and the behaviour management trainer to develop systems and practice in the home. The registered manager is in the process of writing her six-monthly quality review report and developing an action plan to progress the service forward.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/04/2018 Full Good 05/12/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Interim inspection report children’s home: 1255147 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 enable, inspire and lead a culture in relation to the children’s home that helps children aspire to their 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; ensure the staff work as a team where appropriate; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on feedback on experiences of children, including complaints received; and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b), (2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(g)(ii)(h))

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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. (Regulation 10(1)(a)(b)) This specifically relates to children receiving the advice, services and support they need in relation to their health and well-being. 30/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that child receive care from staff who understand the children’s home’s overall aims and objectives it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)) 30/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationship standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on mutual respect and trust; an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c)) 30/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the 30/06/2019 Interim inspection report children’s home: 1255147 4 registered person to ensure that staff help each child to make a positive contribution to the home and wider community. (Regulation 9(1)(2)(a)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to children having access to transport to take them out on activities in the community and to school. It also relates to children having access to toys and equipment that stimulate their sensory development.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. (Regulation 8 (1)) 30/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that 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 has spoken to the user about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(b)(i)) 30/06/2019

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Requirement Due date

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive or unreasonable may be used in relation to any child. (Regulation 19(1)) 31/05/2019

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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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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’. Interim inspection report children’s home: 1255147 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 Interim inspection report children’s home: 1255147 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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