Children's Home run by Bright Futures Care Limited in Warrington

Inspection report for children’s home: 2593530 1 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 is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to five children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2020.

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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: 9 November 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2593530 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2593530 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children live in a clean and warm home that is personalised to their interests. Staff are flexible but persistent in their approach and help children to make positive progress. One professional who works with a child living there said, ‘It really feels like he’s in the right environment to flourish.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health is prioritised, and their individual needs are carefully met. Staff prepare children for appointments and support them to attend these in a positive way. Staff challenge health services to ensure that children are receiving clear and positive care for both their physical and mental health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their families. They help children to communicate their wishes and feelings about their families’ visits to the home and planned phone calls. One parent said, ‘We are made to feel very welcome when we visit. There’s always a happy atmosphere, which is lovely.’ This supports children to develop positive relationships and understand their family identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively work to support children with their education. They develop positive relationships with education professionals to support the children effectively. When needed, staff provide respectful challenge and advocate for children’s needs to be better met. This encourages children to make progress with their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with individual targets to help them develop their independence skills and learn to keep themselves safe. Staff are creative in supporting children to engage with this learning in an enjoyable and playful manner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to share their views using methods that work for each individual child. This ensures that children’s views are heard and that they are taken account of in their daily lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support thorough and child-centred transitions to enable children to move in and out of the home in a positive way. Children are carefully prepared for upcoming changes at a level they can understand. One professional said, ‘I can’t speak highly enough of the introduction process.’

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

Children demonstrate that they feel safe living in this home. The manager promotes a nurturing environment to ensure that children feel safe to express their feelings and emotions. Staff are strong advocates for the children in their care.

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

Children have individual support plans with clear steps for staff to follow to ensure that each child’s needs are met. Risks to children are managed carefully and staff work closely with other professionals to ensure that children receive the best Inspection report for children’s home: 2593530 4 possible care. Due to staff’s careful management of risk, children do not go missing from this home.

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

Physical interventions are used as a last resort. When staff have had to guide or hold a child to keep them safe, this was done for as short a time as possible. When children have been held, they are then supported to share how they felt about this.

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

There has been one allegation made in the home. There was a delay in referring this to the relevant local authority designated officer as managers were not informed of the allegation in a timely manner. This is not in line with the home’s own policies and procedures. When they were informed, managers acted appropriately to safeguard the children and followed the necessary procedures. Managers completed additional work with the staff to support them to better understand this procedure. Ofsted were not notified of this allegation.

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

Staff working with children are suitably qualified. Managers complete thorough checks on all new staff to ensure that they are safe to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced and suitably qualified for the role. She has high expectations of her staff team and high aspirations for the children. One staff member said of the manager, ‘She is a fantastic leader,’ while a parent said, ‘It is an extremely well led home, staff seem very attentive, caring and enthusiastic.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported by the managers and feel confident in sharing their views. One staff member said, ‘The managers have just been amazing. I feel very well supported. I can always talk to them.’ Staff are encouraged to reflect on their practice through regular supervision and team meetings. They use these as opportunities to continue developing their own practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are supported to attend training relevant to the needs of individual children. When considering whether the home would be a good match for children, the manager identifies what skills the staff and what training they would benefit from to best meet the needs of each child. Staff commented that they receive high-quality training opportunities that enable them to continue to improve their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Family members and professionals report excellent communication from managers and staff. People who are important to the children are kept fully informed about their progress. Records in the home are child-focused and relevant to what matters most to each child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has clear monitoring systems in place to ensure that practice is positive and child-centred. The manager makes good use of internal and external monitoring processes and has sought additional independent audits to ensure best practice for children. The manager uses these systems to evaluate trends and patterns to see what works best for individual children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2593530 5 Managers and staff enjoy their roles and have a clear passion for the work they do and the children they care for. One staff member said, ‘I genuinely do enjoy my job. I absolutely love it,’ while another said, ‘I love working here. We’re very homely, very family orientated.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2593530 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 procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

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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;

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Requirement Due date

provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response;

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Requirement Due date

describe the measures which may be necessary to protect children following an allegation of abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

describe how and to whom staff are to report, without delay, any concern about abuse or neglect of a child. (Regulation 34 (2)(b)(d)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that staff know appropriate procedures to follow when an allegation is made. 27 March 2023

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 27 March 2023

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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: 2593530 7

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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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Inspector

Aislinn Cooper, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2593530 8 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. 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

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Inspector

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

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Inspector

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Inspector

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

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