Children's Home run by Bryn Melyn Care Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1276010 1 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 operated by a national private company. This home provides care for up to three children who have been affected by adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has two registered managers; one registered with Ofsted in September 2022 and is currently on paternal leave, and a newly appointed manager registered with Ofsted in March 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 requires improvement to be 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: 7 November 2022

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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: 1276010 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/11/2022 Full Good 06/12/2021 Full Good 10/03/2020 Full Good 12/09/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1276010 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. Since the last inspection, three children have moved into the home and two children have moved out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported to maintain their relationships with people who are important to them. For example, one child recently went on a camping trip with their family. One child said that they like that they can see their friends, in and out of the home. As a result, children maintain important relationships and socialise with others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities, including spending time with friends and going to Cadets, the arcade, swimming and to the cinema. Children have been on holiday with staff; one child chose to go to Devon and another to Spain. Children are having experiences they have not had before.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to build on their independence skills. For example, one child purchased items from the local supermarket to make a meal of their choosing. As a result, children are provided with opportunities to develop their skills and confidence in preparation for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has recently been redecorated. It is now a bright and modern space, and children’s views on how it should look were sought. For example, there are plans to make a communal space a home gym following consultation with the children on what they would like to use the room for. This helps to give children a sense of belonging in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel able to speak to staff about concerns that they have. However, one child said that they would like decisions to be made quicker by staff, as they sometimes wait for the manager to be in the home before the child gets an answer. This impacts on children as it means there can be a delay for them to make plans to do activities or see friends. As a result, children’s views and wishes do not always feel prioritised, and staff are not clear on their delegated responsibilities.

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

Staff know the children well and implement consistent boundaries. When needed, staff are often able to successfully de-escalate situations.

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

One child said that they like living at the home and that they feel safe. The manager is knowledgeable about the risks to children and is aware of their previous experiences and how best to support them. As a result, children feel secure, and staff have developed skills and confidence in managing challenging situations. Inspection report for children’s home: 1276010 4 To keep children safe, staff use physical intervention. Records detail the incident, and children and staff are spoken to following the intervention. Managers have good oversight of records and scrutiny of practice. As a result, physical intervention is only used when needed and as a last resort.

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

On occasion, children have left the home without permission from staff. Staff try to dissuade children from leaving when it is not safe. When this has been unsuccessful, staff have followed the children, sometimes for several hours, to make sure they are safe. On one occasion, a child did not return home when they should have done after being out with their friends. Staff followed the protocols in place and worked with external professionals to attempt to locate the child.

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

Children know how to make a complaint. These are responded to in line with the home’s complaints procedure. Children are informed of the result of their complaint, and the reasoning behind these decisions is explained to them. As a result, action is taken to reassure children, which ensures that they feel listened to.

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

Before children move into the home, managers carefully assess the impact of this move on children already living there. Managers monitored and considered when changes in a child’s behaviour meant that they were no longer able to meet their needs and they recognised the impact of the child's behaviour on the other children in the home. When a child moves out of the home, the manager and staff reflect and learn about what they could do differently.

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

Records do not always reflect the work that is being done to support children. For example, one child made a disclosure about abuse that happened while living in a different home. Although child protection procedures were followed, records of conversations had with the child to share the outcome of actions taken could not be found. Records of direct work and important discussions with the child to show how the staff supported them following their disclosure were missing.

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good

Professionals provided good feedback about the manager. A deputy headteacher said that the home communicates well with the school and that they work in partnership to put in place strategies to support the children. One social worker said that children’s needs are understood well and communication with the home is prompt.

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good

Staff say that their strengths are that they work together effectively and that they are resilient and child-focused. They feel that the home has now started to settle down after a period of difficult challenges and uncertainty, when one child’s placement ended and experienced members of the staff team left. Staff were complimentary about the management of the home and the support given to them.

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good

The manager and responsible individual are aware of the strengths and areas of development for the home. New staff are receiving a revised induction to support Inspection report for children’s home: 1276010 5 them in their roles. There are numerous monitoring systems in place. However, these had not identified that one member of staff had not completed all their mandatory training and that supervision and appraisal records were overdue.

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good

One member of staff is out of timescales and has not completed the relevant qualification. As a result, not all staff who support children are fully qualified and trained.

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good

One child said that they did not like the use of agency staff in their home. They feel that they do not know them well. The manager tries to ensure that the same agency staff are used when they can. This impacts on how the children experience the continuity of care and being able to build positive and trusting relationships with those who care for them. Inspection report for children’s home: 1276010 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, The 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders must ensure that staff receive mandatory training.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders must also have clear monitoring and review systems in place to improve staff practice and identify shortfalls in the home.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 11 November

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. 11 November Inspection report for children’s home: 1276010 7 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—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”).

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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. (Regulation 32 (3)(b) (4)(a) (5)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider should ensure that staff and the registered manager achieve the appropriate qualification to perform their role within the required timescales.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience;

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) 11 November

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff provide continuity of care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.15)  The registered person should ensure that records are maintained and stored to enable children to understand the support and care provided to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are clear what permissions are delegated to them in making decisions about children’s care. ((‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 30, paragraph 6.2) Inspection report for children’s home: 1276010 8

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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: 1276010 9

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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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Children’s home details

Registered managers: Dadrian Powell, Rachel Simmonds

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Inspector

Jade Bradburn, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1276010 10 regulates and 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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