Children's home run by Keys Child Care Limited in Telford and Wrekin

Inspection report for children’s home: SC449245 1 SC449245 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

This home is now owned by a large national provider. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who have a variety of complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager started in February 2019 and became the registered manager in September 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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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: 17 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: SC449245 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/11/2021 Full Good 24/09/2019 Full Good 13/03/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 30/04/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC449245 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children currently live in this home. Since the last inspection, one child has undertaken a successful planned transition to independence. The feedback provided by the child’s social worker stated that: ‘ The independence skills the child had gained were really good. As well as budgeting, she cooked, kept her home clean and tidy and looked after herself.’ The social worker stated that: ‘These things had been well taught and role modelled by the care team.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed and supportive of children and advocate for them well. The staff are adept at building and maintaining positive relationships with the children and those people who are important to them. Because of these positive relationships, children are safe and making good progress in staff’s care. One parent commented that since living at Marhaba, her child was no longer introvert and was becoming more sociable and had recently started attending a youth club with another child living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff know the children well, and children share secure trusting relationship with them. Staff are nurturing and provide all children with individualised care. Consequently, all children living at the home have made good progress, considering their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children with their interests and to develop links with others outside of the home. For example, staff helped one child to develop his interest in skateboarding and have helped them progress to becoming part of the local skateboarding community, where he has friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school and are making excellent progress. The registered manager and staff work in partnership with the school to ensure that children receive additional support when they need it. For example, one child had a reduced timetable to support her emotional well-being, due to struggling to manage peer relationships. The therapeutic support provided by the home in partnership with the school supported the child’s emotional well-being and enabled them to return to a full timetable and remain positive about school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in meetings when staff consult with them about any changes in the home and listen to their ideas. Children know how to complain. However, complaint forms are not easily accessible to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean and tidy with a family feel. The newly decorated lounge brings a warm, cosy and relaxed feel to the home. Children are invested in the home; one child proudly told the inspector how she had personalised her room and chosen all the colours for it. Inspection report for children’s home: SC449245 4

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

Staff respond to safeguarding incidents well. For example, when children go missing from home, staff contact the relevant professionals, such as social workers, the police and parents. They search local areas and consider potential areas that the children might have travelled to, in order to bring the children home safely.

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

Overall, staff record incidents well. However, some incident reports do not always reflect all of the steps taken in line with the home’s safeguarding protocols. This means it is not always clear in the records if or when the registered manager or on- call manager has been alerted to an incident taking place. Despite this, staff talk confidently about how to respond to incidents and show knowledge of the reporting protocols.

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

The children say that staff keep them safe. This is echoed by their social workers. Staff engage children in key-work sessions to help them understand how to keep themselves safe and promote healthy relationships and behaviour. As a result, there are very few incidents in the home.

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

Allegations against staff are managed well and all relevant professionals are notified. When children make an allegation, the staff and the manager give children a lot of reassurance about what happens next and feedback the outcome of any investigation appropriately. As a result, children feel listened to and valued, and this contributes to them feeling safe.

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

Staff have positive relationships with the children. When children display challenging behaviours, staff respond with empathy and are able to successfully de- escalate children’s behaviours. When staff need to physically intervene as a last resort, interventions are proportionate, and records are completed for management oversight. This ensures that staff practice is reviewed to ensure that children are safeguarded effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is child-focused, thoughtful and understands each child’s needs. She has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses and is committed to improving the experiences for children. The manager is ambitious for the children and is proud of the progress they make.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported and receive regular supervision that considers their well- being and professional development. Staff speak positively about the manager. They say she is very approachable and supportive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a range of training that is mostly online and reflects the complex needs of the children they care for. The manager is keen to embed reflective practice to promote learning and development. She is working alongside the therapist in team meetings to progress this. This keeps staff motivated and focused on the way they respond to children’s needs and contributes to consistency in their practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC449245 5 The registered manager and staff team have developed strong relationships with all the relevant professionals, including social workers, school staff and parents. As a result, there is good communication between them that promotes a collaborative approach to progressing children’s care plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has monitoring systems in place to have oversight of practice and review incidents and learning. However, gaps in staff incident reports regarding the documentation of all of the steps taken when responding to incidents requires improvement. A recommendation has been made to ensure the required improvements are made.

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Recommendation

 The registered persons should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. In particular, that all steps taken when responding to incidents are clearly recorded. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC449245 6

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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: Atria, Spa Road, Bolton, Greater Manchester BL1 4AG

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Inspector

Sharon Bourne, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC449245 7 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 looked after children, 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 medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit

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Inspector

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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