Children's home run by Keys Child Care Limited in Telford and Wrekin

Inspection report for children’s home: SC372602 1 SC372602 Registered provider: Bryn Melyn 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 large, private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who may experience social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of inspection, three children were living at the home. One of the children was away from the home on a holiday.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

Staff in the home are referred to as adults. This is reflected in the report.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 13 February 2024

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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: SC372602 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/02/2024 Full Good 07/03/2023 Full Good 27/10/2021 Full Good 13/08/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC372602 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusted relationships with the adults caring for them. Two of the three children were spoken to and said that they can talk to certain adults. Children made jokes with adults during the inspection. One child enjoyed playing football with one of the adults and eagerly got his boots in preparation to play, showing the close relationships that exist. Adults regularly have conversations with children about sensitive topics and discussions on how to keep safe. Both children spoken with rated their home as a nine or ten out of ten.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children have made good progress from their starting points. Adults support children well to develop independence skills, with one child planning to return home to family soon. Another child has a workplace apprenticeship and earns regular money. This is helping them to develop important life-skills. All the children attend school or work, and the adults have high aspirations for them. Children are supported to have varied and balanced diets. They are supported to eat healthy foods and encouraged to cook balanced meals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to complain, and they are responded to quickly. Complaints made by children have been about each other, and the relationships between some children have been difficult. Support from adults to repair relationships between the children is lacking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to have tidy and clean bedrooms. Bedrooms have been personalised with things that matter to children on display, such as photos and trophies. There are some scuff marks, scrapes and stains around the home which gives an uncared-for feel.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all areas of the home have a homely feel. Some cupboards and doors are locked, without any assessed need. Cleaning products, knives and sharp items are locked away, with no clear rationale for this or suggestion for when such restrictions could be reduced. The office does not feel welcoming for children and has adult-based displays and information. There is a separate staff fridge, boxes for staff supplies and even staff snacks. This does not support children to feel included and at home.

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

Children were able to say that they feel safe here. For one child, risks relating to exploitation have significantly reduced. This child has been supported by the adults to manage their family time well and they now make choices to stay at the home. Building relationships and supporting this child into work have enabled the risks to be managed.

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

Close working relationships with children’s social workers exist and information is shared effectively with other professionals. Adults working in the home know the risks Inspection report for children’s home: SC372602 4 to the children well. Planning around family time is clear and children are supported to take appropriate risks in line with their age and development. There has been one incident of a child going missing since the last inspection. There was some delay in notifying children’s services about this. The impact on the child was minimal.

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

Restraint has mainly been used to guide children away from each other when there have been difficulties between them. Adults try to prevent situations escalating and stop children from hurting each other. Adults reflect after incidents on what could have been done differently, and children’s views are sought. This enables the adults to think about what they could do differently if a similar situation occurs.

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

Positive behaviour is encouraged, children can earn extra time on their devices, for example when things go well. There is confusion among the adults about natural consequences and whether loss of time on a device or removal of an activity should be a response to behaviour. This is confusing for children to understand. Children replace or pay a percentage for damaged items appropriately. However, it is less clear how children are encouraged to repair relationships with one another. Adults do not always have a consistent approach to this.

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

Some incidents have involved racial abuse to one child and while this is challenged by the adults, there is a lack of an agreed and robust response. Key-work sessions have taken place to help children understand the impact of the words they use and creative ways to relate this to children have been used (for instance linking this to racism in football). However, guidance to the team and a clear and consistent approach to managing this is lacking.

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

Children’s health needs overall are well supported. However, for one child, action taken to access specialist support has been slow. There is uncertainty from adults about how to respond to this child’s needs. This means that the child is not receiving a consistent response from the adults who care for them. Adults are just starting to seek external advice for this child, although this is delayed. Children are supported to understand important issues such as contraception and consent.

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

The home has a new manager who took over as manager six months ago. They are registered with Ofsted. There have been some changes within the team, with new members creating a mix of experience.

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

Managers have systems to review care and reflect on practice. Management oversight is seen in all serious incidents. There is a strong emphasis on completing key-work sessions and holding learning discussions with children.

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

However, guidance from managers for adults about clear, consistent boundaries for children is lacking. This lack of consistency means that children experience different responses, and this can increase children’s anxiety and difficulties. Inspection report for children’s home: SC372602 5 The required training has taken place, and the manager has a system to monitor completion. Despite this restraint training has lapsed for three members of the team. While there are usually three adults working so that one person is suitably trained, this could leave children at risk. As restraint has been used so rarely, this has not had an impact on the children.

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

Supervision takes place routinely and actions are agreed and reviewed. The manager is keen to develop and promote a cohesive team as there is some separation between the adults. Some adults have spoken about being closed down when they have raised issues. As a new team, with a new manager, agreed ways of working together are not yet embedded. Team meetings demonstrate how learning is taking place and upskilling sessions and quizzes help to embed that learning.

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

Language used in children’s records is not always meaningful to children, for example use of words such as debriefs, dysregulated and house peer. Work to address this has been started but is not yet embedded. Inspection report for children’s home: SC372602 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, 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 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 work as a team where appropriate;

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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’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this means that staff have clear and consistent methods of responding to children’s needs and boundaries are in place so that children know what is expected of them. 30 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. 30 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC372602 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this means that all areas of the home should be welcoming and accessible to children. There must be consideration of why items are locked away and restrictions or locks are in place, with strategies to remove these when safe to do so.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that each child’s day-to-day health and well- being needs are met. Staff should have a consistent approach to supporting children’s sexual health needs and the registered person should ensure that specialist advice is sought when staff are unsure of how to support a child fully. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3)  The registered person should ensure that expectations of standards of behaviour should be high for all staff and children. These standards should be clear and unambiguous. Children should be supported to develop understanding and empathy towards each other. In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff have the skill and support to help children manage their relationships with each other positively, and that where necessary they can intervene to stop others being harmed

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Recommendations

physically and emotionally. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11)  The registered person should ensure that children’s records are ‘living documents’ and that staff are recording information in a way that is meaningful to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: SC372602 8 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: SC372602 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bryn Melyn Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen, United Kingdom B63 4AH

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Inspector

Nickie Doney, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC372602 10 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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