Children's home run by Bright Life Birmingham Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2730797 1 Registered provider: Bright Life Birmingham Ltd

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection and were spoken to by the inspector.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 2023, when the home was registered.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 7 November 2023

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2730797 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/11/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2730797 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming and has a family atmosphere. Staff work hard to create a safe environment for children. Children’s artwork is proudly on display and staff encourage children to personalise their bedrooms. The decor and upkeep of the home demonstrate to children that they are valued.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build trusting relationships with children, which helps children to talk more easily about their feelings and lived experiences. Staff have a kind and caring approach which allows them to support children effectively. The manager explores mental health support provisions for children and speaks to all children about healthy relationships and well- being.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and the manager take a detailed interest in children who are new to the home. This helps children to settle more easily into their new home environment. Staff have meaningful conversations with children and take a genuine interest in what they say. Children also enjoy various activities, including baking, exercise and art with staff. One child described staff as ‘nice’ and another child said that they ‘talk more’ because staff care about them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager prioritises children’s education and escalates matters when children need additional support to engage fully in education. When children are not in full-time education, staff encourage them to engage in educational activities and healthy routines.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s uniqueness and diversity by celebrating their religious and cultural heritage. Staff also ensure that children have what they need and are able to access the necessary services to meet their personal care needs. Staff have used haircare as a creative way of allowing children to bond and build positive relationships with one another in the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager strives to ensure children have positive experiences and maintains contact with children who have left the home. Two children who left both moved closer to their families, which was in line with their views and wishes. The manager organised a leaving party and bought presents for each child, to create memories for them and support them to have a positive ending.

p.3

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

Staff are clear about their responsibilities to protect children. They understand the child protection policy and know how to report safeguarding concerns. Staff and the manager have good communication with safeguarding professionals and share information quickly, to ensure children are protected from harm. Inspection report for children's home: 2730797 4 Due to the positive relationships that staff build with children and their understanding that physical intervention should only be used as a last resort, physical intervention has only been used once since the last inspection. When it was used, it was to keep a child safe.

p.3

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

Children’s risk assessments and behaviour support plans are detailed and clear. These plans provide staff with information and guidance to support children’s individual needs effectively. Staff follow this guidance, including when children are missing from home. Staff actively look for and try to contact children and provide a caring response when they return home. This is an area of practice which has improved due to the manager learning from one incident when staff were not as responsive as they could have been in meeting the child’s needs. This demonstrates that the manager has effective oversight of how staff work and seeks to learn from this.

p.4

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

Staff support children to engage with specialist support to meet their needs and keep them safe. For example, one child receives external support from drug and alcohol services. Staff work with these professionals in the home, which builds a collaborative atmosphere. This has resulted in the child making positive progress since their improved engagement with this service.

p.4

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

Staff do not always follow medication procedures. For one child, there have been errors in recording, administering and disposing of their medication. The child has not come to any physical harm as a result of this and the manager has taken prompt action to address the issue, however, these mistakes have left the child at risk of harm.

p.4

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

The manager and staff recognise children’s positive progress, encourage their interests and provide regular praise. Children have reward charts, and they look forward to planned activities when they achieve successes. One child wants to be a beautician and staff encourage this interest. This boosts children’s self-esteem and creates an environment where children show ambition for their futures.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is enthusiastic and children are at the forefront of everything she does. She has a clear desire to improve outcomes for children and speaks enthusiastically about them. She is honest and transparent and clearly recognises the home’s strengths and areas for development, which drives improvements.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff support one another and feel listened to and supported by the manager. Staff feel able to share their opinions with the manager, which provides them with a greater sense of security and job satisfaction. Team morale has improved in the home due to the manager prioritising effective staff recruitment. New staff have experience in residential care and have appropriate qualifications, which has alleviated pressures on existing staff. Agency staff are used as a last resort and the manager covers shifts to support the team when necessary. Inspection report for children's home: 2730797 5 The manager wants to ensure that the right staff are employed so that children receive high levels of nurture and love. Some staff have been working in the home since it opened, which has provided stability during challenging times and demonstrates their high levels of resilience and commitment to children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has experienced a lot of change due to staff turnover, children moving on and children with new presenting risks and behaviours moving into the home. This has resulted in the manager’s oversight sometimes being inconsistent. Oversight of children’s documents lacks effective analysis and does not always identify missed opportunities or practice that needs to be improved.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff undertake a variety of training, to help ensure they have the skills needed for their roles. However, the manager has not escalated the need for all staff to attend specific training about the therapeutic parenting model outlined in the home’s statement of purpose, or training in supervising children’s time with family. This is despite the need having been identified by the manager. The delay means that there are some gaps in staff’s knowledge.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The review of quality of care was submitted outside of timescales and the manager accepts this is an area for improvement for herself and senior leaders. The review does not include direct feedback from children and does not provide consistent critical analysis or action points. Therefore, the review of quality of care has not been effective in driving improvements for children. Inspection report for children's home: 2730797 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23 (1))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring all staff record, administer and dispose of medication in line with procedure. 3 January 2025

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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)(h))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager having effective oversight of children’s documents and identifying where staff practice can be improved. 24 January 2025

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children; 24 January 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2730797 7 the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

p.7

Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

p.7

Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a) (5))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the quality of care review being submitted within timescales and considering feedback from children, their parents, staff and professionals.

p.7

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose. This includes being clear about models of care that staff are trained in and which are used at the home and training for staff in relation to them supervising children spending time with family. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)

p.7

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: 2730797 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bright Life Birmingham Ltd

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Big Peg, 120 Vyse Street, 503 B, Birmingham B18 6NF

p.8

Inspector

Caoimhe Richards, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2730797 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9