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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC372611 1 SC372611 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 part of a private organisation. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection, one child has left the home and one child has moved into the home. Another child has remained at the home for just over a year. At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2022. She holds a Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare.

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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: SC372611 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/07/2022 Full Good 18/01/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness 16/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/06/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC372611 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make consistent progress in their education. One child is in full-time education and engaging in their subjects. Another child, who is new to the home, has recently been found a new school and is being supported by staff to work towards their GCSE exams. Staff support and encourage children to engage when they receive tutoring at home. Leaders work closely with education professionals to ensure that everyone understands the needs of the children. As a result, children are making progress without obstacles to their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and staff have good relationships with children. The registered manager and staff purchased a birthday card and a present for a child prior to them moving in. This positive touch set a strong foundation for the team to continue to build a positive relationship with the child. Staff provide children with individualised care, which helps children to feel more engaged in their support. Children are trusting in the staff around them, which enables them to feel secure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are being met. Staff support children to attend routine appointments. When children do not feel confident to speak during their health assessment appointments, staff speak on their behalf while keeping them at the heart of the process. As a result, staff understand the health needs of children and can support them better.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to see the people who are important to them. Family time is well planned between leaders and other professionals. When children want more time with their family, the registered manager liaises with professionals to see if this is possible. In addition, staff encourage children to form positive friendships with their peers. Staff also support children to understand healthy relationships through regular key-work sessions. As a result, children make and maintain positive relationships, which provides them with a sense of belonging and identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and staff ensure that children’s moves out of the home are well planned. The registered manager ensures that children know what is happening through a child-friendly version of their transition plan. Staff also support children to learn skills to help them live more independently. This helps children to feel ready to take their next step.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a safe and stable environment for children to thrive. There is sufficient space for children to socialise, while having space for themselves should they wish. There are areas of the home that are looking tired and uninviting. There are plans in place for home to be redecorated over the coming weeks. Inspection report for children’s home: SC372611 4

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s risks. Children’s risk management plans are clear, and staff understand how to support children should incidents occur. Staff know children well and use their understanding of each child to help them to reflect on their feelings and actions. This has helped children to manage their emotions and learn about risk. As a result, there has been a low number of incidents of concern.

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

Staff share information and their practice to help other professionals to better understand the risks to children. The registered manager has shared information with a child’s education provision and is in the process of arranging specialist training for them. This ensures that the child has effective support to keep them and others safe when at school.

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

Staff have a good understanding of how to support children who are at risk of exploitation and grooming. Through discussions, staff are helping children to understand how to keep themselves safe.

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

Since the last inspection, there has been one allegation. The correct procedures for this allegation have been followed. However, it was not recorded why the investigation took a long time to complete. In addition, there was no recording of consultation with the child during this period of delay. This does not show how the child was supported effectively during the allegation process.

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

There has been one consequence since the last inspection. This was fair and appropriate for the behaviour. Vaping devices had been found in the child’s room. Alongside the consequence, staff supported the child through follow-up work to understand the risks relating to vaping. This support has encouraged this child to avoid this behaviour, which increases the child’s safety. However, the manager did not record her evaluation of the use of this consequence until a few weeks later. This practice does not demonstrate that consequences are reviewed in a timely manner to ensure that they are appropriate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is committed to supporting children to achieve positive outcomes. She is very child focused and knowledgeable on the needs of the children and her staff. This knowledge is shared with the staff team during team meetings and supervision sessions to ensure that staff understand children’s needs. This has been effective in helping the children to progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has effective monitoring systems in place. The manager understands the strengths and development areas of the home. She has developed a thorough workforce development plan that covers the key areas of development, including children’s targets, home environment and staff development. As a result, the manager has good oversight of the home and is taking action to improve the quality of care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC372611 5 Staff receive a child-centred training package. The registered manager has sourced bespoke training which has enabled the team to have more knowledge in areas affecting the children who they work with. This includes oppositional defiant disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. As a result, children are supported by staff who have a good understanding of how to meet their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions have improved since the previous inspection. The manager ensures that staff receive good-quality supervision each month. Staff feel supported by the manager and can reflect on their own practice with the manager to develop the care they provide.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager carries out quality of care reviews and shares these with Ofsted in a timely manner. They provide a detailed summary of the home and actions are set for upcoming months. However, recent reports have not included children’s feedback. This does not demonstrate that the manager seeks children’s views on the quality of care or living environment to inform what the home is doing well or needs to improve. Inspection report for children’s home: SC372611 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets children’s needs. Children’s homes will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should carry out a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided at the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. Specifically, the registered person should seek the views of children to inform this report. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: SC372611 7

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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

Chanel Bryant, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC372611 8 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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