Children's Home, Residential special school run by Bryn Melyn Care Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report children’s home: 2501555 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 privately owned provision is registered as a children’s home to accommodate up to 12 children and young people with special educational needs and learning disabilities, including autistic spectrum disorder. This was the service’s first inspection after being registered in March 2019. The inspection was aligned with the education inspection of one of the provider’s schools, which is on the same site. The registered manager set up the service and was registered in March 2019. She is a very experienced registered manager and holds the registered manager’s award.

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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 home’s first inspection since registration in March 2019.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2501555 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. 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 and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(i)) This specifically relates to ensuring that the day-to-day access to the children’s home is only for those children who live there. 31/12/2019

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff gather detailed information about a child before they move into the home. They talk to the child, their family and other professionals. They visit and spend time with the child and support them to visit the home. The staff team members skilfully use the knowledge that they have gained to plan and prepare for the child’s arrival and ensure that they feel welcomed. Children quickly settle and quickly begin to make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build positive, nurturing relationships with children through play, activities and consultation. Staff have high aspirations for children and consistently praise success. Staff continue to work closely with parents and other professionals, such as teachers, social workers and doctors to ensure that children’s needs are identified and met. As a result, children grow in confidence and self-esteem. Those children who have historically had poor school attendance now go to school full time. Children develop their social skills and experience new social situations by joining and participating in clubs in the local community. Children learn new personal care skills, which increase their independence and safety.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are effective communicators. They use communication tools that are specific to each child. These include visual aids, signing, or verbal prompts that support each child Inspection report children’s home: 2501555 3 to successfully progress through the day. These tools are also used to support children to cope with difficult or exciting times of the day, for example settling at night-time or waiting for a parent to visit. One child is now successfully settling at bedtime. Part of her night-time routine involves staff sitting with her and looking at her photo album. This ever-growing book of photos records the child’s participation in events and activities and her achievements since moving into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and staff are proud of their home. It is a warm and welcoming environment which ensures children’s safety. As children move into the home, staff personalise rooms. For example, children, parents and staff ensure that bedrooms are full of toys, pictures, photos and pieces of furniture from home. However, the home’s dining room and kitchen are currently being used by the neighbouring school’s staff and day pupils. Allowing this access compromises the rights and privacy of the children who live in the home.

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

Staff ensure that the safety of children is their paramount concern. The registered manager and deputies support staff to consistently reflect on their practice through handovers, supervisions, team meetings and training. This ensures that staff provide a secure, safe environment with clear boundaries from which children can explore and grow and which consistently promotes their well-being.

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

Staff support children to take appropriate risks that consider their individual circumstances and understanding. If children are struggling to appropriately express an emotion or manage a situation, staff increase their support. They use tools such as social stories or key-worker sessions to explore worries or difficulties and introduce new solutions and coping strategies. As a result, children learn new skills and become better informed. For example, one child who had a history of going missing, and making herself vulnerable to risk of harm from others, has not gone missing since moving into the home.

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

Staff are well trained, and they are well supported by managers when serious incidents occur. Staff are patient and sensitive to children’s needs. Managers talk to staff and children after incidents, to reflect on the issue and develop support mechanisms for the future. When necessary, to ensure children’s safety, staff work with other professionals. The registered manager has a detailed understanding of children’s needs and takes decisive actions when she feels that children need additional support or when staff can no longer meet a child’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and two deputies are ambitious and motivated. They use a range of systems to quality assure and monitor the home. This ensures that they continue to learn about and develop the service. This improves support to staff and outcomes for children. For example, the registered manager has recently developed a comprehensive life plan for all children. Consequently, all staff have immediate access to up-to-date and detailed information about each child that they support. Inspection report children’s home: 2501555 4 The registered manager works in close partnership with a range of other professionals and organisations. She is not afraid of giving robust challenge when necessary to ensure positive outcomes for children. For example, she made a formal complaint after a pharmacist issued incorrect tablets in a correctly labelled box. She also undertook an internal practice review and strengthened the medication systems within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported. They feel that the induction, probation and training that they have experienced since joining this new service has been ‘comprehensive’ and ‘informative’. Their practice continues to be developed by support systems overseen by the management team. The registered manager asks for staff feedback and continues to develop the service. For example, recruitment, induction, probation and training plans continue to be developed around the specific 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: 2501555 5

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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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: 2501555 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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