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

Inspection report children’s home: SC372621 1 SC372621 Registered provider: Bryn Melyn Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. The home provides care for up to three children aged between 10 and 17 years with complex social and/or emotional needs.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2018.

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 good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC372621 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/10/2021 Full Good 09/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/08/2019 Full Good 10/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC372621 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the previous inspection, one child has moved into the home, and no children have left the home. At the time of the inspection, three children lived at the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and staff develop positive relationships. Children told the inspector that they feel supported and cared for. Children are able to share their wants and wishes with managers and staff, who advocate on their behalf. For example, the manager advocated for one child to access an educational provision that the child had chosen. In addition, staff help children to follow their interests, such as sourcing the opportunity for a child to walk dogs for a local dog shelter.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and staff encourage children to keep in touch with those who matter to them. Managers and the staff team take children to a range of places across the country to ensure that they see family. Children have gained more family time due to the support from the staff, thus creating more positive memories for them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop their independence skills. The registered manager has created an independence toolkit to support children who are transitioning to independent living. Staff help children to learn about areas such as budgeting, managing their health and what to do in an emergency. Children develop confidence in their skills. One child explained that they have confidence in their skills and abilities to live independently.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is safe and homely, and the atmosphere is calm. Children are able to decorate their room how they want to. During the inspection, staff helped a child to choose new items for their bedroom, including a new rug and curtains. However, there are areas of the home that remain tired and in need of redecoration.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and staff work well with education professionals to ensure that children’s needs are met, and they progress. One child is on target to achieve in their GCSEs. Staff have helped another child to access education that is suitable for them. Feedback from an educational professional explained, ‘We’ve never had to ask the manager to come in – she’s always there. The staff are really good.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children are valued and respected in the home. Staff ensure that their practice promotes equality and diversity and they appreciate each child’s differences. Children are encouraged to develop their own identity. As a result, children feel empowered and able to be themselves.

p.3

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

Children rarely go missing from home. When children do go missing, staff follow the correct protocols. Staff ensure that the appropriate professionals are notified, Inspection report children’s home: SC372621 4 including the police, family and social workers. Staff are relentless in their search for children when they go missing. Children are greeted and supported warmly by staff when they return home. Leaders and staff ensure that return-home interviews are completed within the appropriate timescale. Children are educated on the risks of going missing from home. As a result, children have few incidents of going missing.

p.3

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

Since the previous inspection, there has been a high number of incidents resulting in physical restraint. The registered manager has oversight of the incidents, and appropriate debriefs take place with the children and staff within the correct timeframe. However, on one occasion, staff’s recordings had not detailed how they had come to the decision that physical intervention was a necessary action.

p.4

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

Children understand how to stay safe when online. Staff have internet safety and exploitation training. They use their knowledge to educate the children on keeping safe while online. The home has systems in place so that children are always protected and only able to access safe and age-appropriate content when using the internet.

p.4

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

Children understand the complaints procedure. When complaints have been raised, the registered manager has responded with appropriate actions and feedback. This has created an environment in which children feel able to express any concerns.

p.4

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

Allegations from children are not always managed well. Staff have not reported allegations of harm from children within the correct timescale on a few occasions. This has led to short delays in actions to increase children’s safety being put in place and investigations starting.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good vision for the home. The manager is passionate and advocates for the children. She challenges where appropriate to ensure that the children’s needs are met well.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a culture of learning and development in the home. The manager is committed to providing each staff member with learning opportunities that will develop them. This includes the manager carrying out workshops around de- escalation techniques and managing complaints appropriately. As a result, staff understand how they can support the children more effectively.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most of the members of the staff team are qualified to a level 3 diploma or equivalent. However, there is one staff member who has fallen outside the timescale.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff value their relationship with the manager, and there is mutual respect and a positive morale among the team. This encourages the staff to do well when supporting children. Staff receive good-quality supervision sessions. Staff are provided with opportunities to reflect on their practice and are also provided with constructive feedback on their work. When practice issues arise, the manager Inspection report children’s home: SC372621 5 responds appropriately by addressing this in supervision. Staff use the information they gain from supervision sessions to improve their practice. This contributes to the good care that children receive.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has worked well with the professionals involved in the children’s care, including social workers, health-care professionals and education teams. She engages with professionals to continually review the progress of the children. As a result, children’s needs have been identified and met more efficiently.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Recruitment processes are effective. The manager has a good knowledge of safer recruitment processes and monitors these to ensure that new staff meet requirements. This provides reassurance that new staff members coming to work in the home are safe to work with the children.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring systems capture shortfalls well. The manager has designed a new system to increase her own and staff’s monitoring of the quality of practice in the home. As a result, staff are more proactive in ensuring that set tasks are completed daily. The manager has close oversight of the service, which enables her to upskill the staff team, highlight development areas and make continuous improvements. Inspection report children’s home: SC372621 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 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager is to ensure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities relating to allegation management and the use of physical intervention. 23 February 2023

p.6

Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma); or

p.6

Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

p.6

Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

p.6

Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. 23 February 2023 Inspection report children’s home: SC372621 7 The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

p.6

Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

p.7

Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part- time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) 6(a)(b))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager is to ensure that all staff complete their level 3 diploma or equivalent qualification within two years of their starting date.

p.7

Recommendation

 The registered manager should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meet the needs of their children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

p.7

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: SC372621 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bryn Melyn Care Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Atria, Spa Road, Bolton, Greater Manchester BL1 4AG

p.8

Inspector

Chanel Bryant, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC372621 9 inspects 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.8

Inspector

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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9