Children's Home run by Bright Futures Care Limited in Warrington

Inspection report for children's home: 2593530 1 Registered provider: Bright Futures 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

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to five children who have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, five children were living in the home. Inspectors spoke with three of the children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager of this home registered with Ofsted in July 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2593530 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/03/2024 Full Good 25/01/2023 Full Good 09/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2593530 3

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improvement to be good

Children live in a large home that has sufficient space for each child to spend time alone or with their peers. When children move into the home, their bedrooms are personalised to their interests. However, children who have lived here longer are living in bedrooms that have damp issues, which need significant input from the maintenance team. This does not provide these children with the positive environment that they deserve. During this inspection, the communal areas of the home were being prepared for a full repaint due to damage throughout.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to manage their health and take them to appointments as needed. Staff seek and follow advice from medical professionals and ensure that each child has their health needs met in a way that works for them. Staff share a clear understanding of children’s health and medication needs. However, the documents that should detail this information are not consistently updated. Staff do know where to find the most up- to-date information on children’s medication, so this has not impacted on any children.

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improvement to be good

All the children who live in this home are enrolled in education which is meeting their needs. Managers challenge schools when there is more that they can do to support children to progress. However, some educational documents are missing from children’s files. This makes it unclear whether educational reviews have taken place.

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improvement to be good

Staff and managers support children to improve their self-care skills at a pace that works for each child. This is integrated into children’s daily routines and monthly targets. When children have prepared to move on to adult services, the registered manager has challenged other professionals to better prioritise the child’s individual needs. This has ensured more positive outcomes for children.

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improvement to be good

Staff and managers welcome children’s families into the home and support them to spend time together in the community. One parent said: ‘They’re always accommodating when we come to visit. They’ve taken us on days out, which can be really difficult for us.’ Managers supported one family to implement a transition plan for their child to help the child understand that his family had moved to a new home. This enabled the child to have a positive visit to the new family home.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy a range of activities and are encouraged to choose these themselves. The registered manager works well with the local community to help children enjoy more opportunities for new activities. this enabled all five children to go ‘trick or treating’ together for the first time this year. This helps children to enjoy new experiences and discover new interests. Inspection report for children's home: 2593530 4

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improvement to be good

Staff recognise when children are becoming distressed and know how to help each child when they struggle. New staff benefit from detailed support plans for children which identify what strategies work for each child. Staff are trained in advanced techniques to enable them to keep everybody safe when children need to be held. Staff use these techniques as a last resort and complete detailed records when they do have to hold children. However, staff and managers do not routinely seek children’s views after they have been held. This does not enable children to share how they feel.

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improvement to be good

Managers challenge poor practice when this occurs and take appropriate action to safeguard children when concerns arise with members of staff. However, when staff are recruited to work in the home, gaps in their employment history are not always fully explored. In addition, international background checks have not been completed for staff who have lived overseas. This does not ensure that all staff are safe to work with vulnerable children.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide children with close supervision to ensure that their safety and well-being are safeguarded. When incidents occur, staff seek advice as appropriate and inform the network around the child. However, follow-up after incidents is not always thorough. An example of this is when the NHS recommended a child be monitored following the ingestion of a non-edible fluid. There are no records to indicate that this monitoring happened. In addition, the incident was not included on the child’s risk assessments, which means newer staff may not know that this is a concern they need to be aware of.

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improvement to be good

When children hit out at each other, staff redirect them appropriately to keep each child safe. However, staff do not complete any further work with children to help them understand the importance of being kind to others, or to help the child who has been hit understand that it is not acceptable for other people to hurt them. This does not ensure that children are provided with an understanding of how to keep themselves and others safe.

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improvement to be good

Children are comfortable with their staff, who interact with them in fun and nurturing ways. One parent said of the staff that their child ‘really loves them all’. Children have developed close and trusting relationships with the staff, who are able to communicate with each child in a way that works for the child. This helps children to feel safe and ensures that children can share their views and wishes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Recent months have been very challenging for staff, which has led to significant staff shortages. This means managers have frequently had to cover staff shifts. Despite the challenges, two more children were moved into the home during this period. This has led to further pressure on the staff team and a drop in the quality of management oversight and evaluation within the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2593530 5 Staff supervision has been inconsistent and many staff have not received their annual appraisals. This has not provided staff with the space to reflect on their practice or identify development opportunities. Team meetings have occurred more frequently and enable the staff team to come together and discuss children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are provided with training to meet the needs of the children they care for. The registered manager has done her own research on specific needs and developed bespoke training sessions for the staff team to further improve their knowledge and skills. Due to the difficulties with staffing over the past few months, not all staff are up to date with their training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager uses internal and external monitoring to make improvements in the quality of care provided to children. However, internal monitoring has been inconsistent and external monitoring has not picked up several of the shortfalls identified. Many documents are missing from children’s files and have not been followed up due to the pressures on the management team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has the experience and skills to manage the home and is passionate about the care provided to children. The manager provides emotional and practical support to the staff team, who describe her as ‘extremely supportive’. The registered manager is aware of the strengths and shortfalls of the home and is taking action to address these. Inspection report for children's home: 2593530 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; and

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v)(vi)(vii)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that welfare checks are completed and recorded when children require additional monitoring.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that risk assessments are updated when new risks arise. 14 February 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2593530 7 The registered person must ensure that staff teach children about positive relationships, appropriate behaviour and their right to a life free from harm.

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Requirement Due date

Finally, the registered person must ensure that children live in a positive environment that contributes to good physical and mental health.

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; 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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they have oversight of all work being completed.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that work is evaluated to establish patterns and trends and identify areas of learning in order to make continuous improvements.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that when children move into the home, this is informed by the experiences of other children living in the home and that any decision to move another child in is in that child’s best interests. 22 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— 22 January 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2593530 8 full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that gaps in employment are fully explored. Additionally, when necessary, that an overseas certificate of criminal history is provided prior to employment.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all staff receive regular, practice-based supervision and that their performance is appraised annually. 22 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vi)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children are spoken to following a restraint to determine their thoughts and feelings. 22 January 2025

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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 kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that each child’s records are completed and maintained. 22 January 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2593530 9

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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: 2593530 10

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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: Asher House, Barsbank Lane, Lymm WA13 0ED

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Inspectors

Aislinn Cooper, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Genevieve O’Reilly, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2593530 11 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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Inspectors

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