Children's Home run by Bramley Care Limited in West Sussex

Inspection report children's home: SC484133 1 SC484133 Registered provider: Bramley Care 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

The home provides care for up to six children and young people of the same gender with social and emotional difficulties. There were six children and young people living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The manager of the home registered with Ofsted in February 2017 and is suitably qualified.

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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 children's home: SC484133 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/06/2023 Full Good 21/03/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/09/2021 Full Good 12/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC484133 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people enjoy warm and nurturing relationships with staff who understand their individual needs. Staff talk about, and to, children with respect and work with them to help them progress and approach challenges in their lives. They are guided to provide good quality care by care plans and assessments that are clear, relevant and regularly updated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to support children to have positive relationships with each other and with people who are important to them. They work well with other professionals and family members and this good communication helps plans for family time to work well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people have made good progress in relation to their individual starting points, including in relation to their independence skills. One young person is taking driving lessons, while others have started to have more time unsupervised in the community or are making progress with their routines and self-care. Progress is encouraged by the appropriate use of incentives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children and young people are engaging in education or training. Staff maintain good communication with education staff to promote progress and ensure the right support is in place. For one young person who had missed a lot of school before joining the home, this has helped them to sit their first GCSE exam.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain good overall physical and emotional health. All have access to an in-house therapist and are encouraged to utilise the support available. Staff encourage young people to participate in activities that support a healthy lifestyle, such as football and cycling.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people’s views are important to staff, and children feel listened to. One child said, ‘I can always talk to [staff member], she really listens.’ Children and young people are supported to express their wishes and participate in decisions. Regular boys’ meetings provide one opportunity for this, and all children and young people take part actively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to promote successful transitions for young people moving on and, when agreed, keep in touch with them. For one young person this has allowed staff to support them in finding new accommodation when arrangements with their family broke down. When children and young people are placed a long way from their home area, they are helped to maintain relationships. Staff work creatively and proactively with other professionals to support arrangements in line with young people's wishes. This has recently helped one young person to spend a weekend with a family member. Inspection report children's home: SC484133 4

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

Responses to specific risks are thoughtful and well-considered. Staff work alongside other members of the children's network to determine the most appropriate steps to re- duce risk. Plans and actions are then well disseminated to the staff team so that the child receives a consistent response.

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

When children and young people come to live in the home, this is well planned and supported, so that staff understand their individual needs. For one young person, who has recently come to live in the home, their family stated that the move had been very positive for them and they are ‘beginning to thrive.’

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

There have been few concerns about staff conduct. However, when they do arise, the registered manager takes steps to ensure that they are investigated and addressed thor- oughly and appropriately.

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

Staff are competent in their roles. Training is relevant to children’s known needs. A re- cent development is that the minority of staff employed via an agency are also now in- vited to participate in the training schedule provided by the home’s therapy team. This helps to ensure that children receive care from a skilled staff team.

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

Medication processes are safe and systems are effective at identifying any errors swiftly. Errors are seldom made, but when they are the response to reduce the likelihood of fu- ture occurrence is timely and effective. Medication storage is secure and records are clear.

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

On-going renovations have greatly improved the overall safety, as well as the comfort, of the home. Fire safety is taken seriously and children and young people understand their individual evacuation procedures. The registered manager ensures that there is sound monitoring of health and safety issues.

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

When children or young people raise concerns, staff listen and their responses help to resolve the issues raised. However, it is not always clear that complaints are identified formally, or that children have been regularly reminded of their right to complain.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a resilient and perceptive leader, with a keen understanding of the strengths and areas for development in the home. The registered manager has shown a willingness to embrace recent organisational changes and is a strong advocate for the children and young people. She has good relationships with the children and a thorough knowledge of their individual journeys. Staff describe a supportive and commu- nicative manager, who fosters a good team ethic.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager benefits from the support of an approachable and supportive leadership team. The registered manager has now had an updated appraisal and there are focused targets for her to build on her professional development and continue to Inspection report children's home: SC484133 5 raise standards within the home. The Responsible Individual is new in post, but has forged positive relationships with the registered manager, staff and children, which ena- bles her to offer well-targeted guidance. The Responsible Individual seeks support when required and both leaders and managers have a transparent working relationship with the independent visitor and the regulator.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has introduced additional systems for monitoring and oversight and is supporting staff to be more reflective in their practice. The introduction of base- line assessments is also a helpful tool to track children's and young people’s progress more closely. This complements the existing risk matrix review, which is undertaken in tandem with individual children and young people to help them to understand their vul- nerabilities and recognise their own progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that staff receive regular supervision and encourages staff to maintain their continued professional development. She promotes transparent working relationships among the staff. This contributes to a positive working culture and children benefit from a cohesive team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are policies in place to safeguard young adults living in the home and they live harmoniously with children. However, risk assessments do not always clearly outline the potential specific risks that adults may pose to children when living in the same home. Inspection report children's home: SC484133 6

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that complaints are recorded according to the home's policy. They should also ensure that children and young people are aware of how to make a complaint and be reminded of it as necessary. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', pages 22-23, paragraph 4.13)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

In particular, ensure that the risk of adults living alongside children is fully considered.

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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 children's home: SC484133 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Bramley Care Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Malvern View, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove B60 4AD

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Inspectors

Tash Williams, social care inspector Jacob Robson, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC484133 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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