Children's home run by Bright Futures Care Limited in Bolton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC456157 1 SC456157 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 registered to provide care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties, learning disabilities and/or sensory impairments. The home is part of a private organisation that also offers specialist educational provision.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2023.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC456157 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/03/2022 Full Good 11/02/2020 Full Outstanding 24/10/2018 Full Good 20/09/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC456157 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. Their individual personalities and interests are clear from the photos and toys around the home. The home is warm and welcoming and furnished to meet the needs of each child. Door frames are painted in bright colours to support one child’s specific health needs. Children have a sense of belonging and are comfortable in their home and with the staff who care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know children well. They talk about children warmly and want the best for them. One professional said: ‘The staff do everything so well. They are so child- centred; I could not ask for a better placement.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with staff, who spend quality time with them. Staff provide children with a variety of positive experiences and activities. These include bowling, trampolining and football, and trips to animal parks and to the beach. All staff are aware of local resources and activities available for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and access these when required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend education provisions that meet their individual needs. The manager advocates for children’s specific needs. This has resulted in one child moving to a college placement to enhance their opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made considerable progress with their communication skills, including children who are non-verbal. Staff use different strategies effectively to communicate with each child based on their specific needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff offer children choices to develop their identities and independence skills. The manager collaborates with external professionals to ensure that communication aids for children are appropriate. Language Acquisition through Motor Planning Communication systems for two of the children work well. Parents said: ‘[child’s name] is getting extra things as he is now able to ask for them,’ and ‘Communication for [child’s name] has developed since being here, which is fantastic.’

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

Staff have a good understanding of the strengths and vulnerabilities of each child. The manager and staff have strong links with external professionals. Information is shared in a timely manner to enable risks to be identified, and when appropriate plans are introduced to reduce the risks to children. Parents and professionals say that children are safe in the home.

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

Placement plans, risk assessments and behaviour management plans are of a good quality. These documents support the staff to understand the individual needs of Inspection report for children’s home: SC456157 4 each child and their risks. Staff provide children with clear, consistent routines and boundaries, which provides children with a sense of security.

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

Children are cared for by staff who offer protection and can identify vulnerabilities for each child. The manager ensures that she obtains any court orders that may restrict a child’s liberty. The manager regularly reviews any restrictions to ensure that these are proportionate and necessary for the child.

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

Staff use positive behaviour management strategies to promote children’s feelings of safety. Staff use a variety of de-escalation techniques, helping children to feel safe and secure. Staff understand triggers for children’s behaviour and reflect on these regularly to ensure that they are consistent in their approach.

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

Physical restraint is used as a last resort to keep children safe. This is appropriate and proportionate. However, recording is not always consistent across the staff team and there is a lack of management evaluation of these incidents. This prevents reflective practice and limits learning from incidents for the staff team. Training on the recording of restraint is being arranged for staff to increase their knowledge and skills in this area of practice.

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

The manager ensures that recruitment practices are safe and effective. These checks ensure that only suitable adults are employed to work with children. Allegations against staff are managed effectively by leaders and managers. There has been one allegation during this inspection period. The manager ensured that appropriate action was taken and this was recorded. Children’s safety was prioritised by the manager and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is new in post. She registered with Ofsted in January 2023. She has worked in the home for several years and is well supported by the area manager, the responsible individual and the deputy manager. The manager has an exceptional understanding of the children’s needs and wants the best for them. She has high aspirations for the children and is committed to achieving good outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team shares the manager’s high aspirations for the children. Its members feel supported by managers and enjoy being in the home with the children. One staff member said: ‘It is like one big family; it’s lovely.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff take part in regular supervision, team meetings and daily handovers which provide opportunities to reflect on the care of the children. There are robust induction procedures in place that provide newly appointed staff with a detailed programme of training and orientation in their new role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has not ensured that children’s plans reflect the current ways in which staff communicate with children. Plans identify previous communication aids, such as lanyards, which are no longer in use. However, this does not detract from children’s needs being met by staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456157 5 The manager has monitoring systems in place to ensure that she has a good overview of the home. However, the quality of care review does not include feedback from children, staff or professionals. The manager had also not updated the statement of purpose with the changes in the staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456157 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 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

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 18 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC456157 7 a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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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, the registered person must ensure that staff understand and apply the behaviour management strategy at all times. The registered person must ensure that all incidents are recorded appropriately, signed and evaluated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5)) 18 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC456157 8

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children’s records are accurate. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is reviewed regularly. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraphs 14.3 and 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: SC456157 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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Inspector

Jenni Gadsby, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC456157 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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