Children's Home run by Bryn Melyn Care Limited in Telford and Wrekin

Inspection report for children's home: SC372630 1 SC372630 Registered provider: Bryn Melyn Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company and is registered to provide care for four children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has submitted an application to register with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

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

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Compliance notices under regulation 12, the protection of children standard, and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard, were issued following the home’s full inspection on 11 May 2022. The notices were reissued following a monitoring visit on 28 June 2022. They were found to be met during this inspection. Inspection report for children's home: SC372630 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/05/2022 Full Inadequate 23/08/2021 Full Good 12/06/2019 Full Good 15/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC372630 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last full inspection, one child has left the home. One child was living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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improvement to be good

Overall, the home’s environment is well presented and maintained. It has had redecoration work and the decor gives a homely feeling. Areas of the home are personalised and in line with children’s interests. However, there is excessive signage, such as fire exit signs, which creates an institutional feel to the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently provide support to children to meet their health needs. For example, staff have not carried out any work with one child on the effect that smoking can have on their health. In addition, staff have not sought advice from health professionals to provide information to the child on smoking. Although the child is supported to attend routine appointments with the relevant health professionals, the shortfalls mean children’s health and well-being are not fully supported.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to improve their attendance at school. Since the last inspection, one child’s school attendance has significantly improved. This is because staff have supported the child to engage positively, with a personalised timetable suited to their needs. This support means that children feel valued and motivated to engage with their education.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, relationships between staff and the child have continued to improve. This is because a more settled staff team has developed, and they have provided more structure for the child. As a result, the number of significant incidents with the child have reduced. These improved relationships help children to develop their confidence and self-esteem.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to keep in touch with friends and family. Staff make contact with people who are important to children to enable these links to be maintained. This approach works well and means that children spend time safely with their family members. This is essential for children’s sense of self-worth.

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improvement to be good

The quality of children’s risk assessments continues to improve. They provide guidance and strategies to staff for them to follow and keep children safe. Overall, staff have followed this guidance and implemented strategies well. However, on one occasion, staff did not follow a child’s plans effectively and poor communication and supervision levels led to a child going missing from the home. This poor practice has the potential to impact on the safety and welfare of children. However, leaders have Inspection report for children's home: SC372630 4 taken formal action to address this shortfall in staff practice, and further training has been undertaken by staff. Leaders hold staff accountable for their actions and staff learn from their mistakes.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment of staff to work in the home is not consistently safe. Leaders have failed to ensure that the recruitment agency commissioned to provide agency workers to the home always explores the employment history of staff. In addition, leaders have failed to ensure that the agency has explored and verified the reasons that agency staff have left previous roles working with children and vulnerable adults. This leaves children potentially at risk of care from unsuitable adults.

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improvement to be good

Overall, staff manage and de-escalate significant incidents with children well. This means that incidents requiring physical restraint with children are few and staff only use restraint as a last resort. However, children’s views following incidents are not always captured within statutory timeframes. Also, staff have issued consequences to children which have not been recorded. As a result, children miss out on opportunities to learn from their behaviour and staff are not able to assess the effectiveness of the consequences issued.

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improvement to be good

Staff follow protocols effectively when children go missing from the home. On two occasions, they took immediate action, which resulted in one child returning to the home promptly. Leaders ensure that debriefs and follow-up discussions with staff and children take place. Furthermore, return home interviews are now taking place. The manager has creatively ensured that the child receives an interview from an independent manager in the company when there have been initial delays. These actions help to keep children safe and promote their welfare.

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improvement to be good

Staff carry out focused and specific work with children to keep them safe. For example, staff have ensured that work has been done with one child on the risks around child exploitation. Also, staff carry out direct work with the child to raise awareness of local risks. This supportive approach helps to reduce the number of incidents with children.

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good

Since taking on the role, the manager has provided more stability and had a positive impact on the home. Staff and the child said that they feel supported by the manager. This stability has meant that the home has made some progress since the last inspection.

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good

However, some of the leadership systems are not yet consistently effective in making continual improvements to the home. For example, monitoring systems have failed to identify shortfalls in staff recruitment and children’s behaviour management records. These shortfalls have the potential to compromise children’s safety and the quality of care they receive. Inspection report for children's home: SC372630 5 Staff training is up to date and relevant to the needs of children in the home. Since the last inspection, the manager has used training and upskilling opportunities to develop staff practice. This means that staff are more confident and assured in their work with children. However, the manager has not ensured that all staff complete the required qualification to work in the home within the required timescales. This means that not all staff who care for children are qualified to do so.

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good

Leaders in the home ensure that staff receive regular supervision. These supervision sessions are reflective and provide both support and professional challenge to staff. Sessions are also used to reflect on staff’s knowledge of safeguarding practice. As a result, this enables staff to improve the care that children receive.

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good

The manager ensures that the home is suitably staffed. Staff are beginning to work well together, and they have worked hard to provide more structure and consistency. As a result, the child is starting to receive consistent care from staff who know and understand their needs. Inspection report for children's home: SC372630 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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs; and

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Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well- being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff carry out direct work with children on the impact of smoking on their health. 28 October 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 28 October 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC372630 7 (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that monitoring systems used are specific to the home and identify all areas for improvement in the quality of care that children receive.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that agencies commissioned to employ agency staff carry out all the required checks to ensure their suitability to work with children. 28 October 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 28 October 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC372630 8 within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (2) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii) (b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders must ensure that all consequences issued to children and incidents requiring physical intervention with children are recorded. Also, that debriefs are recorded as being completed within required time frames. Inspection report for children's home: SC372630 9

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. While the home must comply with relevant health and safety legislation, it should seek, as far as possible, to maintain a domestic rather than institutional impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that all staff in a care role, including external agency or bank staff, must have the qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). The registered person may extend the period if the member of staff has not worked in the role for a prolonged period, such as sick leave or maternity leave, or if it is not reasonable to expect the member of staff to complete in this timescale due to the nature of the hours they work. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality

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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 for children's home: SC372630 10

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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: Acorn Norfolk Limited, Atria, Spa Road, Bolton BL1 4AG

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Inspectors

Dean Wilton, Social Care Inspector Neil Beaumont, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC372630 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.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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