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 Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides cares for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties, special educational needs and/or disabilities and/or sensory impairment.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2021. She is working towards her level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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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.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 12 February 2020

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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: SC456537 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/02/2020 Full Good 14/11/2018 Full Outstanding 08/11/2017 Full Good 27/03/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home that is comfortable and welcoming. Since the last inspection, improvement works have taken place. The home has been repainted and has had new carpets fitted. During the inspection, children were observed to be comfortable and relaxed at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children access education and are making progress. Staff work with education staff to create bespoke timetables to ensure that consistent routines are established. This has meant that attendance is high, and children enjoy attending. More recently, one child joined the education council. As a result, children learn new skills and make friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are understood and supported. Each child has a comprehensive ‘health passport’. This document provides details on children’s individual health needs, their likes and dislikes, and tracks changes in weight and fluid intake. Medication is safely stored and administered. Staff consult with health professionals when changes are required, for example changing the type and dose of medication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to take part in a variety of activities, including visiting sensory play centres, enjoying meals out, going to the cinema and playing with sensory art. Staff enjoy seeing the children have fun and they take photos of their experiences. These photos are used to make memory books. Activities encourage children to have fun and make happy memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to develop their independence skills at a pace that suits them. Each month, staff set targets for children and review their progress towards these. This helps staff to identify where additional support is needed. These targets support children to develop skills across different aspects of their lives, such as helping with daily tasks around the home, brushing their teeth and preparing snacks. The progress made is documented through photos and their individual plans. This also supports children to recognise the progress they are making.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consult regularly with children through daily key-working sessions. These take place using a range of formats, including visual aids and verbal prompts. This type of support has helped children to learn new communication skills and alternative ways to manage their emotions. However, children have not been supported to prepare for their annual reviews or gain an understanding of their care plans. This compromises the children’s ability to fully influence their experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children moving into the home are well supported. Children and family members are provided with the opportunity to visit the home. Staff create welcome books with information about staff members working in the home. This helps to reduce anxieties and promotes new relationships with children and their families. In Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 4 addition, staff support children who are moving to new homes. For example, for one child, staff completed specific training for his new staff team to explain his individual needs and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to keep in touch with their loved ones. Staff support children to visit their families, and family members are welcomed into the home. One parent said that ‘the staff go above and beyond to help. They provide excellent care’. Because of this support, important relationships are maintained.

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

The staff have a good understanding of children’s needs, risks and vulnerabilities and the actions they are expected to take to keep children safe. However, risk management plans do not always include the most up-to-date information about the child’s care. For example, one risk management plan stated that a child was monitored in her bedroom by a camera, and this was not the case. Despite this recording shortfall, the safety of children has not been compromised.

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

Physical intervention is only used as a last resort, to protect children from harm. The manager is proactive when monitoring and reviewing interventions. In addition, incidents are scrutinised by the organisation’s positive behaviour support team. This oversight helps to identify additional training for staff and any other strategies that can be used to support the children.

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

The manager works well with partner agencies and social workers and keeps them updated about children’s care and progress. Feedback from social workers is positive. One social worker said, ‘The home is excellent. This is the most settled and happy [name of child] has ever been.’

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

The registered manager ensures that staff who are recruited to work at the home are subject to all necessary checks. This helps to ensure that staff who work at the home are safe to do so.

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

Regular health and safety checks take place. All children have personal emergency evacuation plans that are specific to their individual needs. However, the manager had not ensured that remedial action set by the fire risk assessment has been met. During the inspection, it was identified that fire exit doors were being locked by a key. This may have hindered evacuation from the premises in the event of an emergency. The manager took immediate action to rectify this at the inspection.

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good

The newly registered manager is suitably experienced and is working towards a level 5 diploma in management. The manager is passionate about developing the home and making improvements to the care provided. The manager recognises areas for development at the home and took some action during the inspection to address shortfalls raised by the inspector. Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 5 Staffing arrangements at the home currently do not meet the full needs of the children living there. For example, one child requires additional support when out in the community and there have been occasions when there have not been enough staff on duty to ensure that the child can attend activities. This has impacted on the child’s experiences. There are currently four permanent staff vacancies. The manager has recognised the impact of this shortfall and has no plans for any new children to move into the home until recruitment is completed.

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good

Staff spoken to were complimentary about the support they receive from managers. They receive regular supervisions, which consider how staff are working with the children, their own well-being in work and how improvements can be made at the home. However, when staff are subject to a period of probation, supervisions are not provided in line with the home’s policy. This is a missed opportunity to reflect on practice and for new staff members to receive an effective induction into the home.

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good

Staff benefit from good-quality training. Their mandatory training is up to date. However, the staff have not completed training to meet the specific needs of the children currently living at the home. For example, one child uses Makaton to communicate in school. However, no Makaton training has taken place with the staff team.

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good

Children’s case files do not contain all the information required. These shortfalls have not been addressed by managers. This means that staff do not have all the information they need to provide coordinated care. Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 6

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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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

help each child to prepare for any review of the child’s relevant plans and to make the child’s views, wishes and feelings known for the purposes of that review. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to staff supporting children to understand their care plans and prepare for their annual reviews. 22 April 2022

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that there are sufficient staff on duty to provide care for each child. 22 April 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 7 After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

provide adequate means of escape from the home in the event of fire. (Regulation 25 (1) (b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager always ensuring that there is an adequate means of escape from the home in the event of a fire. 22 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1)(a) (4)(b)

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to all employees receiving practice- related supervision. In addition, the registered manager must ensure that each staff member receives an induction into the home. 22 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the need for a child’s up-to-date care plan and education plan to be in place. 22 April 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them and ensure that plans are kept up to date. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 8  The registered person should ensure that staff have access to appropriate resources to support their training needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bright Futures Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Asher House, Barsbank Lane, Lymm WA13 0ED

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rachelle Russell

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Inspector

Sophie Hills, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC456537 10 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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