Preston Springs Farmhouse

Inspection report children’s home: SC441080 1 SC441080 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 three children. Children come to live at the home as a result of family or placement breakdowns. Some children have particular difficulties that make their situation very difficult, or they choose not to live in a family setting at this time. Some children have experienced abuse. The registered manager, who is suitably qualified, was registered in February 2019.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC441080 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/07/2018 Full Good 06/03/2018 Full Good 02/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 27/07/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC441080 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are very settled. They enjoy warm and trusting relationships with staff who provide hugs and share jokes and laughter with them. Children benefit from a welcoming home, which has recently been redecorated and refurbished with new sofas, photographs of young people and a sensory room with a drum set and lights. The dining room provides a focal point for children and staff to eat together, talk and experience themed nights when they cook meals from around the world.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff strongly support children’s individual interests and provide them with a wide range of stimulating and fun activities. For example, one child enjoys trips to a local airfield to watch planes; he is also keen on collecting stamps and doing magic tricks. Children play darts, go horse-riding and go-karting and enjoy watching films. Staff take children bowling, to play pool and to vintage shows. One child attends Cubs weekly. These activities support children’s social, physical and emotional well-being and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children see their family when this is appropriate. This helps them to understand their background and stay in touch with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in regular children’s meetings. They also receive feedback on their individual achievement charts. There is a theme of the month and they will do activities related to that theme. For example, a recent theme was ‘reflection’. These approaches help to engage children in positive activities and celebrate their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress and respond well to firm boundaries. They learn to manage their emotions and use strategies to calm themselves when they become distressed. They also make progress in attending and engaging in school. For example, children no longer need support from staff in school. One child has progressed from attending school for two hours a week to attending full time. He now enjoys school and wants to learn.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children understand their plans, which they discuss with staff. Staff listen to children and support them to express their views, wishes and feelings to their social workers. For example, when a planning meeting was cancelled for one child, the registered manager went to see the head of care at the placing authority to make a complaint on the child’s behalf. This resulted in a visit to the child from his social worker to discuss his needs.

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

Highly trained, vigilant staff keep children safe at all times. Children say that they feel safe and can identify how to keep themselves safe. Staff are clear about their safeguarding roles and responsibilities and skilfully undertake key-work sessions with children to help them to understand risks relating to bullying, fire safety, behaviour and relationships.

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

Staff understand the causes of children’s behaviours and respond sensitively to them to de- escalate situations. Incidents are rare. Staff are confident in their ability to use physical Inspection report children’s home: SC441080 4 intervention if necessary, but they have not had to restrain a child for the past eight months.

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

When one child was involved in setting fire to a piece of paper in the bathroom, the registered manager responded promptly and robustly. She conducted a thorough investigation, focusing on the needs of the child. She requested that the provider’s psychologist undertake a written assessment of the child’s behaviour and needs. This was shared with the placing authority at a planning meeting and confirmed that the child could safely remain in the home. The fire service came to meet the child and did a PowerPoint presentation with him about the dangers of fire. He responded well and there have been no further incidents. The registered manager then creatively appointed him to be the fire representative for the home and he now completes all the fire safety checks with staff.

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

Staff are clear about the procedures that they need to follow if a child goes missing. However, there have been no incidents of children going missing since the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is hard working, dynamic, passionate about her work and child- focused. She is proud of the children in her care and wants the best for them. She expects high standards of herself and of her staff team. The registered manager tenaciously ensures that children receive the care that they need, and she provides strong leadership for the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff love working in the home and feel supported by the registered manager and each other. Staff benefit from regular supervision that is reflective and provides them with targets to improve their practice. Supervision is child-focused and supportive. Attendance at regular team meetings is good and staff knowledge of the quality standards is tested by quizzes and discussions. Staff training is up to date and if a child has a specific need, training is delivered to ensure that staff can meet that need. Staff say that the registered manager listens to them and is open to suggestions about practice and the running of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is aware of the strengths of her team and the areas for development. She has plans in place to drive up the standard of practice even further through training, supervision and team meetings. She has successfully established a stable team and promotes the ethos of the home, ensuring that children receive consistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Social workers, independent reviewing officers, teachers and childcare managers provide excellent feedback about the team and the registered manager as well as the quality of care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager benefits from good support from her own manager, who encourages her clear vision for the service. The home is very well run, files are in good order and staff are confident in their roles. There have been no complaints since the last inspection. The registered manager responded positively to the requirement from the last inspection and now actively challenges other professionals if they are not meeting the Inspection report children’s home: SC441080 5 needs of the 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: SC441080 6

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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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Inspectors

Louise Whittle, social care inspector Dawn Bennett, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC441080 7 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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