Children's home run by Bright Futures Care Limited in Bolton

Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 1 SC456537 Registered provider: Bright Futures Care Limited, t/a Cornerstones Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, learning disabilities and/or sensory impairment.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is part of a private organisation that also offers specialist educational provision and care and accommodation for young people who may have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since 2016 and has the required qualification.

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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: 14 November 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/11/2018 Full Outstanding 08/11/2017 Full Good 27/03/2017 Full Outstanding 02/12/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive sensitive, personalised care from staff who know them well. The feedback from professionals and families of children confirms this. One parent told the inspector that the staff ‘care so much… nothing is too much trouble. [Staff] know his quirks and little ways’. One child has been seriously unwell and had a lengthy hospital stay, and the staff were praised by a psychologist caring for the child, saying that they were an ‘extraordinarily dedicated team’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from stable and long-term placements and have lived at this home for a number of years. The manager is committed to meeting their needs and is proposing to change the purpose and registration of the home to continue to care for the current group as they reach adulthood and is currently caring for one young person who is over the age of 18. However, the current statement of purpose has not been updated to reflect how it meets the needs of adults living alongside children and, as a result, there has been no assessment of any impact that this may have on children or any potential risks have been identified. Furthermore, a young adult has not had his care plan regularly reviewed by the professionals involved in his care and, despite having a recent education health and care plan review, the home does not have a copy of this plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have clear, regularly reviewed targets for children to help them to learn new skills and improve their independence, for example using a washing machine and choosing and paying for their own shopping. This work is underpinned by assessment from a specialist multi-agency service to support the staff in providing the personalised care that best meets the individual needs of children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have excellent attendance at education. One child, who had missed long periods of school due to being unwell, is supported with a reduced timetable so he can progress at his own pace to help to reintegrate him. A headteacher spoke positively of the communication between home and school staff, telling the inspector: ‘Staff have excellent relationships with the education team and take education progress very seriously… the care teams ensure that all homework tasks are complete and support the young people to ensure that they have all the resources that they need during the day.’

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

Children benefit from well-planned behaviour management plans, collated by a multi-agency approach that clearly evidences the triggers and escalated responses to guide staff in how to manage such behaviour.

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

The risk assessments, however, do not consider all risks to children and how staff should respond to all risks to keep children safe. For example, one child has had bullying identified as a risk. The risk assessment is not clear on whether the risk is of the child being a victim or of the child perpetrating the bullying, and there is no Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 4 guidance in the risk assessment on how staff should manage the risk. Furthermore, staff were unable to tell the inspector how they would manage this risk, and said that they would refer to the risk assessment.

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

One child has complex medical needs that required a hospital stay and ongoing intervention by health professionals, including dietary support. The child’s health plan has detailed dietary instructions and advice to ensure a certain nutritional and fluid intake, however the records kept by staff do not always detail exactly what the child has eaten and drunk to permit oversight by the manager and health professionals. The manager recognises this issue and has systems in place to establish a more robust record.

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

Records of restrictive physical intervention are detailed and subject to intense scrutiny by the registered manager, who uses reflective practice and questioning to improve practice. However, not all staff involved in restraints are always debriefed, which means that not all staff benefit from this management oversight.

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

Staff at the home do not impose consequences or sanctions to manage the behaviour of children. Due to the high level of supervision, there are no incidents of children going missing from home. Where children are at risk of running off from staff, there are clear plans and staff are proactive in their approach to prevent it.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is dedicated, and child focused, and he knows the children well. As a result, he has high expectations of staff and the service that is provided for children. He is supported by robust internal and external quality assurance partners and, together, they appropriately challenge local authorities when required. The professional feedback was overwhelmingly positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff like working in the home and feel well supported in their roles. New staff told the inspector that, following an in-depth induction and support from colleagues and managers, they feel confident. The home has excellent retention of staff, and some members of staff have worked in the home for a significant amount of time. This means that they know the children well, helping them to mentor new starters and giving children an opportunity to develop positive relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision and annual appraisals to support their professional development. The manager and other senior staff have undertaken training to enable them to be ‘mental health first aiders’ to provide support and signposting for staff to help with their emotional well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training for staff is good, and a range of face-to-face and online courses are available to them. Staff receive specialist training to ensure that they can meet the complex needs of the children. Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 5

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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 care planning standard is that children–

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure–

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14(1)(a), (2)(b)(ii)) 06/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16(5)) 06/03/2020

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Recommendations

 Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) In particular, ensure that clear guidance and strategies for staff are recorded in risk assessments. Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 6

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC456537 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bright Futures Care Limited, t/a Cornerstones

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Regency House, 45–51 Chorley New Road, Bolton, Lancashire BL1 4QR

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Inspector

Jessica Forshaw, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 8 to 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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