Children's Home run by Bright Life Living Ltd in Wolverhampton

Inspection report for children’s home: 2746312 1 Registered provider: Bright Life Living (Wolverhampton) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted on 3 January 2024 and is privately owned. It provides care for up to three children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2024 and is suitably qualified and experienced.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2746312 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home registered with Ofsted, two children have moved in and no children have moved out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into the home are carefully managed. Children receive information and photos of the home and the staff before they move in. They can also visit the home, view their bedroom and spend time with staff before they move in. This helps children to understand their future living environment and eases potential anxieties. One child said, ‘When I walked in here on my first day, staff were so welcoming, it was amazing, the staff were so kind to me, I don’t know how to explain it, I walked in, and staff said “welcome to your new home.”’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are settled and happy. They speak affectionately about staff and say that they like their home. One child said, ‘I want to live here forever.’ Interactions between staff and children are warm, reciprocal and natural.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to access appropriate education to meet their needs. Both children are in full-time education and their attendance is excellent. Staff communicate regularly with education providers. One provider said, ‘Communication with the staff is really good, I am really impressed.’ Staff and education providers work together, which helps children to reach their educational goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s individual health needs, and the children enjoy good health. Children are supported to attend all their routine health appointments. The provider’s psychologist also supports staff to develop strategies to respond therapeutically to children’s needs. This helps staff to support children to develop strategies to manage their feelings safely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop their own hobbies and interests. Children participate in a variety of activities, such as football, go-karting and fishing. This not only promotes children’s physical health and emotional well-being, but also gives them opportunities to socialise, have fun and make memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their families. Children are supported to contribute to decision-making about these arrangements, and staff talk to them to get their views. This helps children to stay connected with people who are significant in their lives and supports their understanding of their identity. One family member said, ‘I can’t fault the staff, they show care, every one of the staff. I have a good relationship with the staff.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2746312 3

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

There have been no missing-from-home incidents, allegations or serious safeguarding issues in the home. This is a testament to the positive and trusting relationships staff have formed with the children.

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

Children get on well with each other. They talked positively about their relationship and commented on their mutual kindness towards one another.

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

Staff understand children’s behaviours and are skilled in managing them. They use praise and restorative practice to promote positive behaviour. As a result, the use of physical intervention is rarely necessary. There has been one incident necessitating the use of physical intervention, and this was as a last resort, after staff had exhausted all de-escalation techniques. Following the intervention, the child was spoken to and given the opportunity to express their feelings.

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

Staff help children to understand their emotions. Children receive support from staff who use a therapeutic approach, which helps children to stay calm. This helps children to explore their thoughts and feelings with skilled and empathetic staff.

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

Safe recruitment practices are in place. This ensures that staff are carefully vetted and are safe and appropriate to work at the home.

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

Overall, children’s risk assessments are detailed and provide clear guidance for staff to follow. However, the manager has not thoroughly considered children’s ages and vulnerabilities in their missing-from-home protocols, particularly regarding the timescales for reporting children as missing to the police. This has the potential to increase the risk of harm to children when they go missing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A qualified, experienced and confident registered manager leads the home. An enthusiastic deputy manager supports her. Both complement each other in their partnership working and demonstrate strong leadership in the operation of the home. Both are aspirational for children and staff alike.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they enjoy working in the home and that they support each other. One staff member said, ‘We know each other’s strengths and draw on these.’ Additionally, staff are extremely complimentary about the support they receive from the leadership team. One member of staff described the leadership team as ‘hardworking management that have moulded the team and that care deeply about the children in their care’. The home’s culture promotes teamwork and supports the development and understanding of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a full team of staff. The manager ensures that staff have the support needed to perform their roles effectively. Staff have received various training that has Inspection report for children’s home: 2746312 4 been tailored to the children’s needs. As a result, staff possess the knowledge and skills they need to provide good-quality care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that staff regularly receive good-quality supervision that is reflective and develops their practice. Children are at the centre of supervision discussions and there is an emphasis on improving the quality of care for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although working relationships with partner agencies are good, the manager does not always appropriately challenge children’s placing authorities. For example, a child’s placing authority did not share important historical information with the manager during the child’s referral process. The manager failed to challenge the placing authority about this. This absence of information meant that staff were not prepared in advance to meet the child’s specific needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, the manager’s internal monitoring systems are good. However, they are not always effective in identifying shortfalls. The manager failed to identify and respond to gaps in record-keeping. For example, children’s rewards records do not consistently reflect the reasons for the reward, or the child’s views of the reward. This shortfall limits the manager’s oversight and reduces the opportunities to develop staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2746312 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 maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that all children’s reward records are up to date and clearly detail the reason for the reward and the children’s responses. 17 June 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s ages and vulnerabilities are considered when evaluating their risks in their missing-from-home protocols. This specifically relates to timescales when staff are to report children as missing to the police. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s internal monitoring systems are effective. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should challenge children’s placing authorities when they have not provided all the necessary information. This specifically relates to information about historical safeguarding incidents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.5) Inspection report for children’s home: 2746312 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: 2746312 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bright Life Living (Wolverhampton) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Peak House, Farm House Way, Birmingham, West Midlands B43 7SE

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Inspector

Jas Nahar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2746312 8 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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