Children's home run by Bright Futures Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2691624 1 Registered provider: Bright Futures Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company and is registered to provide care for up to four children who may have learning disabilities and sensory impairments.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, four children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 30 January 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 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: 2691624 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2691624 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During this inspection, three children were seen by the inspector, and one child left written feedback. One child has recently moved out of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is bright and warm with plenty of space for children to play inside and outside. The home is generally kept clean and tidy. However, some maintenance tasks have not been addressed quickly, and marks on children’s bedroom walls have not been cleaned off. This does not give children the high-quality environment that they deserve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in this home and have made good progress. Staff have developed warm and trusting relationships with children. One child described staff as ‘funny, sometimes annoying, supportive, and fantastic with banter’. This helps children to enjoy a family-like home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s time with their family is prioritised. Staff frequently travel long distances to ensure that children can spend quality time with their families, but also welcome families into the home. Parents and grandparents feel confident in the care their children receive in this home. One family member said, ‘When I visit him, he’s just got a great big beaming smile on his face. He’s happy to see us, but he’s equally happy when we go.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a variety of activities to choose from. Staff encourage children to try new things and visit new places but are equally happy to spend time with children in the home when they prefer. Staff seek children’s views and build plans around their choices. One parent said, ‘He has a voice there.’ Another said, ‘He actually has more freedom there because he’s out and about so much.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with education professionals to better understand children’s needs and ensure consistency across different settings. Because of this consistency, children have improved in their ability to communicate their views. This has helped some children to reduce frustration and improve their general well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are prioritised, and complex diagnoses are managed well. Staff are supporting children to be more active and eat a healthier range of food. One health professional said, ‘The difference I see in the children from when they first move in to when they’re living there and settled. It’s really incredible.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to improve their independence skills at a level that is right for each child. Staff see the potential in each child and have positive aspirations for their futures. One family member said, ‘The staff have a real affinity with [name of child]. They see him as more than his disability, they see the individual first.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2691624 4

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

Children appear to feel safe with their carers, with one child confirming, ‘I feel very safe here.’ Staff show excellent commitment to children, providing them with loving, nurturing care even when children take out their frustrations on their carers. This provides a calm environment for children to relax and grow.

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

Staff know each child well and understand their risks and vulnerabilities. Staff know what strategies work for each child when they are upset, and they are able to help them to calm. However, children’s documents are not always kept updated when their behaviour changes. Due to staff knowledge of children, this has not affected their safety.

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

Staff understand children’s individual communication methods and respond accordingly. Because staff understand children well, they do not have to hold children often to keep them safe. When this happens, it is a last resort to prevent harm and is clearly documented.

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

Professionals and family members say that staff and managers communicate well with them and keep them up to date on how children are progressing. Staff work well with other agencies to ensure that children’s needs are being met in the best way. This helps children to make continual progress.

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

Complaints and allegations are rare. When these have happened, staff and managers have acted quickly and effectively to ensure that children’s safety and well-being are prioritised. Staff understand safeguarding procedures and can identify senior managers who they would raise concerns with.

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

Recruitment practice is generally robust. However, on one occasion, references were not verified in line with the organisation’s safer recruitment practices. This limits opportunities for managers to ensure that all adults employed at the home are safe to work with vulnerable children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has the relevant skills and experience to safeguard children and run this home effectively. Staff say that their ideas are listened to and that they enjoy working in the home. Shortfalls in staffing levels have increased pressure on the team but staff and managers have stepped in to ensure that children receive consistent support. One family member said of the staff team, ‘They’re all just so enthusiastic and knowledgeable.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff appreciate the training and development opportunities that they get and say that they can ask for further training when needed. Newer staff say that their training prepared them well to care for the children in the home. However, there have been times when required training has not been renewed on time, which has impacted on which children they are able to work with. Inspection report for children’s home: 2691624 5 Staff enjoy the time that they get with their colleagues to reflect on practice. They find supervision sessions useful to consider their own well-being and value the opportunity to come together as a team. The team regularly talks about practice, but staff say that they would benefit from meeting together more often to discuss the specific child that they work with. The manager is already working to implement more regular meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has worked hard to introduce more robust monitoring systems into the home and makes good use of internal and external monitoring. The manager has a good understanding of each child’s strengths and vulnerabilities and can consider emerging patterns and trends. Inspection report for children’s home: 2691624 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, 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; 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)(d)(e)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they are leading the home in a way that supports staff to care effectively for the children. The home must always be adequately staffed, 26 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2691624 7 and staff training must be completed within the relevant timescales. In addition, the manager must ensure that children’s current needs are known by staff and reflected in children’s documentation.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that organisation’s safer recruitment practice is followed to minimise risks to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a clean, well-maintained environment that supports children’s physical, mental and emotional health. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3)

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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: 2691624 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bright Futures Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: C/o Bright Futures Care Limited, Asher House, Barsbank Lane, Lymm WA13 0ED

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Inspector

Aislinn Cooper, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2691624 9 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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