Children's Home run by Brinscall Care (NW) Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2710949 1 Registered provider: BRINSCALL CARE (NW) LIMITED

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with social, emotional or learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in March 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home.

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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: 11 October 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2710949 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/10/2023 Full requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2710949 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a clean, safe and welcoming environment. Staff help children to personalise their bedrooms, including displaying photos of people who are close to them. One child said that they love their bedroom as it is ‘so big and the view is amazing’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children feel that they have good relationships with staff and key workers. They say that the manager is helpful and supportive, and they would go to the manager if they were unhappy or wished to make a complaint. This demonstrates that children feel confident that the manager will ensure that their needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to develop interests and hobbies. One child has been able to continue to be part of their local rugby team. This means that they have been able maintain links with their friends and community. Staff promote positive activities for the children. The children enjoy trips to the beach together and regular takeaway evenings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children regularly attend school or other education provision. They are learning and making good progress, considering their starting points. Leaders and managers are proactive when challenging education settings to ensure that they provide the best education opportunities for the children. Education professionals say that staff from the home go above and beyond to support children’s learning and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to see their families and people who are close to them. The staff maintain regular communication with parents and carers and keep them updated. This helps children to maintain their identity and continue to see people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to take safe age-appropriate risks. One child benefits from being able to visit the local shop without supervision. This approach helps to develop children’s independence skills and ensures that children are able to gain valuable experience in the community.

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

There have been no incidents of physical restraint since the last inspection. Leaders and managers say that restraint is only used as a last resort to safeguard children. Staff are all trained in physical intervention techniques.

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

Recruitment procedures and practices are safe and effective. All staff are checked and vetted before starting work. These checks ensure that only suitable adults are employed to work with children in the home.

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

Leaders and managers regularly review risk management plans to ensure that they meet children’s needs and keep them safe. Staff update risk management plans to reflect any Inspection report for children’s home: 2710949 4 changes to children’s needs and risks. This helps staff to provide a safe and consistent approach to managing risk.

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

Children have bespoke missing-from-home plans, and staff are aware of the procedures to follow should any child go missing from home. Missing-from-home incidents are managed consistently and effectively, leading to a reduction in the number of incidents.

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

Children have clear, consistent and appropriate boundaries that they understand and respect. Children receive positive consequences for their good behaviour, which include good levels of verbal praise. This helps to increase children’s confidence and self-esteem.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is an experienced and ambitious leader who has good oversight of the home. The manager understands the needs of the children and staff well. Staff say that the managers are supportive and that they enjoy working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular supervision with managers. However, the quality of the supervision is variable and does not always consider how children’s behaviour impacts on staff. Staff have regular appraisals. Appraisals do not always consider the views of professionals or children on individual staff practice. This is a missed opportunity for the manager to gain full insight into staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular training, which helps them to better understand the children’s needs. This means that staff develop their skills to ensure that they implement best practice. Training is reviewed regularly to ensure that it meets the changing needs of the staff and children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers meet regularly to share information, make decisions and problem solve. This helps them to share good practice and results in children receiving high-quality care from staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working with relevant professionals is a key strength of the manager and staff team. One social worker said, ‘The manager’s communication is excellent and she always ensures that meetings are held where needed to make sure we are all on the same page.’ One independent reviewing officer said, ‘The knowledge and experience of the manager is a key strength’ and that ‘empathy is really strong in this home’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Paperwork is reviewed and monitored by managers. However, not all paperwork is signed and staff do not always sign paperwork to demonstrate that they have read it. This compromises staff being able to provide consistent care for children. The manager completes a quality-of-care review every six months. However, this lacks the voice of the children and analysis. This is a missed opportunity to showcase the positive work and feedback gained. Inspection report for children’s home: 2710949 5

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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 registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

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

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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)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff receive good-quality supervision that consistently takes into account the impact of children’s behaviour on the staff.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should also ensure that feedback from children and external professionals is considered in preparation for individual staff annual appraisals. 23 July 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the quality-of-care review is evaluative and contains feedback from children and wider stakeholders. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next six months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraphs 15.2 and 15.4)  The registered person should ensure that all paperwork is signed and dated by the author and that staff consistently sign to say they have read any updated documentation. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3) Inspection report for children’s home: 2710949 6

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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: 2710949 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Brinscall care (NW) limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Mailboxes Etc, Peel House, 30 The Downs, Altrincham WA14 2PX

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Inspector

James Meeks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2710949 8 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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