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

Inspection report children’s home: SC372630 1 SC372630 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

The service is owned by a private company. The home is registered to accommodate four children. Children come to live at the home because of family or placement breakdowns. Some children have difficulties that make their situation very challenging, or they choose not to live in a family setting at this time. Some children have experienced abuse. The home consists of two two-bedded houses. Both houses are detached and share the same garden. They have independent access, in a very quiet residential area. The registered manager has been in post since July 2018 and was registered with Ofsted in December 2018. She is currently working to complete the level 5 diploma in leadership and management for health and social care children and young people’s services (residential management pathway).

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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: 15 January 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC372630 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/01/2019 Full Good 05/12/2017 Full Good 30/03/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 26/07/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC372630 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 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 requires the registered person to ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(c)) 31/07/2019

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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 requires the registered person to ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(e)) 31/07/2019

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Recommendations

 Homes must meet children’s basic day to day needs and physical necessities. Staff should seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7) With reference to the lack of accessible toilet rolls, the broken kitchen waste bin and curtains falling off their tracks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy warm and trusting relationships with staff. They get on well with each other and like the wide range of stimulating activities provided by enthusiastic staff, including horse riding, cycling and climbing. Young people like the welcoming environment and personalise their bedrooms. One young person has recently turned Inspection report children’s home: SC372630 4 down the opportunity to move to a foster placement, instead choosing to remain in this placement until he becomes independent. Young people feel that staff care about them and understand their needs. They benefit from firm boundaries and rules, which give them a strong sense of security. They say that staff listen to them and support them to access the services that they need. Since the last inspection, a new young person has moved in. This was a challenging period for young people and staff. However, the new young person is now making

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

significant progress in managing his own emotions and behaviour, trusting staff and engaging in school. Young people who struggle with their mental health are supported by nurturing staff to communicate their feelings. When young people are in crisis, staff are sensitive and vigilant. One young person writes notes to staff when she is distressed and is confident that staff will respond quickly and appropriately to her. Young people make progress in forming friendships, their independence skills improve, and they engage in interests that support their physical well-being and self-esteem. One young person is currently experiencing a difficult period and refuses to engage in education. Staff work hard to engage him in activities and to encourage him to go to school. He feels well supported by staff, who skilfully undertake relevant key-work sessions with him in order to address a range of difficult personal issues. Staff help him

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

to express his views, wishes and feelings to his placing authority and have offered him an independent advocate. Staff do not always pay attention to important details. For example, they do not always ensure that toilet rolls are always available. The kitchen waste bin in one house is broken and some of the curtains are falling off their tracks. Although these issues do not detract from the good-quality care that young people receive, a recommendation has been made to ensure that staff address these shortfalls.

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

Young people feel safe and staff help them to understand how to keep themselves safe. Family members, social workers and the provider’s clinical psychologist also echo these views. When young people go missing or harm themselves, staff follow clear procedures to ensure that young people are kept safe. Staff talk to each other all the time about the best ways to support young people. The registered manager ensures that risk assessments and behaviour management plans are up to date and provide staff with valuable guidance. Young people engage in key-work sessions with staff which help them to think about important issues, including inappropriate relationships, going missing, and internet safety. Consequently, young people become increasingly safe. Since the last inspection, there has been a significant reduction in the number of times that one young person has gone missing or harmed themselves. The use of physical intervention, which was

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

frequently required for one young person following their admission, has also significantly decreased as he has developed trust in staff. Staff were aware of the need for him to Inspection report children’s home: SC372630 5 ‘test the boundaries’. They have been sensitive and caring towards him, while maintaining the structure and boundaries that he needed to settle. Generally, the registered manager ensures that staff are well trained. All staff are appropriately trained in safeguarding, physical intervention and self-harm. However, a small number of staff are not up to date with training in first aid, fire safety and child sexual exploitation. The registered manager has a plan to resolve this shortfall and there has been no adverse impact on young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak very positively about the registered manager and say that she is supportive and professional. The registered manager knows the strengths and areas for development in the team and addresses shortfalls through supervisions and team meetings. She provides staff with regular supervision that enables them to reflect on their practice. Team meetings are well attended, and staff confidently engage in discussions about the service and the young people. The provider’s clinical psychologist also attends the team meetings, providing staff with valuable insight into the care needs of the young people and enabling staff to explore any issues of concern. The registered manager and staff proactively challenge placing authorities if they consider that they are not meeting young people’s needs. For example, the registered manager calls professionals’ meetings when required and advocates for young people

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

when they need extra support or are facing particular issues. She works well with other professionals, including the psychologist and school staff, and provides placing authorities with relevant information about young people’s needs. Family members and social workers are positive about the quality of communication and support from the team and the registered manager. They have not raised any concerns about the care of young people or the management of the service. The home is fully staffed. However, one young person requires additional staffing which has resulted in a large number of staff from other homes in the company, and staff employed through a recruitment agency, coming into the home. Young people have been unhappy about this at times. Staff recruitment practices are effective and agency staff are properly vetted. The impact of this shortfall is reduced by the relationships that young people have with the ‘core’ team. However, the large number of different

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

individuals threatens the consistency of care that young people receive.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC372630 6 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: SC372630 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

Louise Whittle, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC372630 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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