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

Inspection report children's home: SC456149 1 SC456149 Registered provider: Bright Futures Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, learning disabilities and sensory impairments.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2020.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 18 November 2020, to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 5 December 2018

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC456149 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/12/2018 Full Good 11/10/2017 Full Good 08/03/2017 Full Outstanding 18/11/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC456149 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in relation to their starting points. Progress is made across all aspects of their welfare, physical, social, emotional and behavioural development. Children benefit from well-planned, highly personalised care that promotes their needs effectively and contributes to change and improvement in their lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A social worker reported, ‘The quality of service provided in this placement is brilliant. The child is very settled and his needs are met.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy warm relationships with staff and have developed positive attachments with them. Children have consistency and stability in their lives. Staff promote family time, so children sustain contact with people who are most important to them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with parents, social workers, schools and health professionals to ensure that children benefit from the best possible help and all-round support. An independent reviewing officer reported, ‘A real strength of the home is their relationships… It’s an exceptionally good placement and the [child] has made tremendous progress.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s learning is actively promoted, and their educational needs are met effectively. Staff work closely with schools to support children’s educational achievements. Children enjoy learning, make sustained progress and attend school regularly.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are engaged in a diverse range of positive and age-appropriate activities. They enjoy messy play, sports, trips out, bowling, swimming and visiting the local hydrotherapy pool. A child said, ‘Staff are okay. It is good that I have friends here.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff liaise with health professionals to ensure that the specific health needs of children are met. Children attend their health appointments with help and encouragement from staff. Specialist services are accessible to those children who require any additional support. Medical consent is obtained, and staff are familiar with the types of health decisions that are delegated to them.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children benefit from good support and protection. Risks associated with children are generally well known and understood by staff. However, it was identified that for one child, the risk of them consuming foreign objects, while managed well, was not recorded clearly. Additionally, the need to sleep in a padded bedroom to promote Inspection report for children's home: SC456149 4 their safety and well-being was not regularly reviewed and monitored. A requirement is made in respect of these issues.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff supervise children diligently to ensure that they are kept safe and feel safe. Staff help children to manage their feelings and behaviours safely. The use of restraint is only ever used, as a last resort, to protect children from harm. Children show measurable improvements in behaviour with the frequency of incidents reduced over time.

p.4

improvement to be good

A social worker reported, ‘There has been progress. They have stood by him. All incidents are reported to me and his mother. The placement is meeting his needs and I wish him to remain in this placement. They are very patient, and they can predict his behaviour.’

p.4

improvement to be good

Health and safety arrangements are managed effectively. All children have individual personal emergency evacuation plans. The home is kept free from potential hazards. There is an effective program of repair to address property damage quickly. However, the quality of the accommodation provided for children is not of a high standard. The home is looking worn, old, dated and tired. The home requires complete redecoration and refurbishment. There are no timescales set, but the provider does plan to renovate the property in the new year.

p.4

improvement to be good

In December 2020, a significant incident occurred in relation to an allegation about a member of staff. The home failed to follow its safeguarding procedures by not informing the local authority designated officer. Additionally, Ofsted was not notified of the allegation promptly. Requirements are made in respect of these issues.

p.4

good

The home employs an experienced registered manager who has been in post since July 2020. The manager is currently completing the Diploma Level 5 in Leadership and Management. A high percentage of the home’s workforce is qualified to NVQ level 3 in caring for children and young people. Several staff members are enrolled to complete their qualifications. The home has four permanent staff vacancies presently.

p.4

good

The registered manager and staff benefit from regular, practice-related supervision. Staff benefit from good-quality training to meet the specific needs of the children at the home. A social worker reported, ‘The child is thriving, and his key worker supports him well, as well as the entire staff. I would like to express that I am very happy with the level of support provided.’

p.4

good

Staffing arrangements currently meet the specific needs and numbers of the children at the home. The home currently has vacancies, but the manager has no plans for any further admissions. That said, staff and the registered manager are expected to cover vacant shifts to negate the use of agency staff. This is not Inspection report for children's home: SC456149 5 sustainable in the long term, as these current expectations are having an impact on the manager’s ability to effectively maintain management oversight of the home.

p.4

good

The manager makes good use of the home’s external monitoring activities to understand some of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. These visits are undertaken independently and enables the manager to tackle any shortfalls to secure improvement.

p.5

good

The registered manager completes a six-monthly quality-of-care review to look at the progress and experiences of the children. However, the report is descriptive and lacks evaluation. Additionally, there is no reflection on any learning, nor evaluation of emerging patterns or trends.

p.5

good

There was an allegation made earlier this year, and leaders and managers failed to follow the home’s safeguarding procedures by alerting the local authorities designated officer. There is no recorded learning or reflection on this shortfall. Inspection report for children's home: SC456149 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

p.6

Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the refurbishment and redecoration of the home. 14 May 2022

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe; 3 January 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC456149 7 understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

p.6

Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v)(vi))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This relates to staff’s understanding and implementation of each individual child’s risk assessment, and their role in keeping children safe. Particularly, this is in regard to the risk of self-harm and use of a padded bedroom to promote a child’s safety.

p.7

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—

p.7

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

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;

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(d))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This relates to there being sufficient staff on duty to negate the need for the registered manager to undertake shifts to cover staff shortfalls. 10 January 2022

p.7

Requirement Due date

The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

p.7

Requirement Due date

provide for the prompt referral of an allegation about current or ongoing abuse or neglect in relation to a child to the placing authority and, if different, the local authority in whose area the home is located. (Regulation 34 (2)(b)) 20 December2021 Inspection report for children's home: SC456149 8 This specifically relates to the provider ensuring prompt referral of safeguarding concerns and allegations to the designated officer.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.8

Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

p.8

Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

p.8

Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)(e)) 20 December

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

p.8

Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

p.8

Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

p.8

Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

p.8

Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(b)(c) (5))

p.8

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must improve the evaluative content of the quality-of-care review and provide an analysis of their findings on any emerging patterns and trends. 10 January 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC456149 9

p.8

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all children’s bedrooms are decorated in line with their individual needs. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

p.9

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 for children's home: SC456149 10

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bright Futures Care Limited

p.10

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Bright Futures Care Ltd, Asher House, Barsbank Lane, Lymm WA13 0ED

p.10

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rachelle Russell

p.10

Inspectors

Anthony Kyem, Social Care Inspector Genevieve O’Reilly, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC456149 11 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.

p.10

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.11

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.11

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.11