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 and managed by a private company. It is registered to care for up to five children who have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

There were four children living here at the time of this inspection. The inspector spent time with three children.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager in this home.

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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

Date of last inspection: 19 November 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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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

19/11/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 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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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home that is warm and welcoming. Children’s photos are displayed on the walls, and they have plenty of toys and activities that interest them. Children appear relaxed in their home and one child said, ‘it’s fun here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff talk to children each day about their views and help all children to make choices about their own care. Staff work hard to help children understand what is happening in their lives. Staff have worked creatively to help one child understand his journey through care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively support children in exploring their interests by taking them on outings and encouraging participation in clubs and activities they enjoy. For example, one child attends a football club, while another is involved in a musical performance group. Within the home, staff make sure there are plenty of engaging things to do and actively invite children to share their ideas for games and activities. One parent said, ‘[Child’s name] is too busy to talk to me now! It’s really nice to not hear from him, in the nicest possible way, because I know he’s out doing fun things.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When managers assess whether they can meet the needs of a new child, they take a thoughtful and informed approach. They invest time in understanding the child’s individual risks and vulnerabilities, ensuring all relevant information is gathered before a placement is made. Children are given opportunities to visit the home beforehand and are encouraged to share their thoughts and preferences. Likewise, when it’s time for a child to move on, the transition is carefully planned with the child’s best interests at heart. These well-prepared moves help children settle successfully into their new environments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend positive time with the people who are important to them. They keep children’s parents updated about the wellbeing of their child and use the expertise of the parents when they have worries about a child. Parents are happy with the communication from staff and the care of their children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend school full time. Staff and managers work well with schools and advocate in the best interests of the children. There is one young adult living in the home who is awaiting a move to adult services. That young adult is no longer in education as they struggled to engage with formal learning. Staff continue to work with them in the home to improve their understanding.

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

Children are kept safe in their home and community by staff who understand their needs and work to reduce their vulnerabilities. Staff have developed warm and trusting relationships with children. This has enabled staff to help children better understand how to keep themselves safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2593530 4 Some children have complex health needs that require additional support. Managers have ensured that all staff have the skills to meet these health needs. Managers have employed staff to remain awake through the night to check on children’s wellbeing. Most children living in the home take daily medication. There have not been many medication errors, but when these have occurred, managers have responded appropriately and supported staff with further training.

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

Children sometimes have to be held to keep them safe. When this happens, it is done in the best interests of the children. Staff help children to share their views after these holds to ensure that their views and feelings are considered. The manager evaluates all incidents and identifies reflection and learning when needed.

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

Professionals say that staff and managers communicate well with them and work together to ensure that children’s changing needs are met. When other professionals are not putting the children’s needs first, managers challenge this from an early stage and continue to advocate for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager for this home has recently left. An interim manager is in place and has submitted an application to register with Ofsted. Staff report a ‘seamless’ transition from the previous manager to the new manager, with a strong handover to ensure that the interim manager had a thorough understanding of the children and the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are positive about their roles and are clearly passionate about the children’s wellbeing. Staff feel well supported by their management team and are motivated to continue making improvements for children. Staff benefit from reflective time to consider children’s changing needs and share ideas about how to support children in different ways. The staff team has remained stable with an established team now in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager makes effective use of internal and external monitoring. This helps to ensure that staff are well supported, and children are receiving the quality of care they deserve. The manager has identified areas of practice that can be improved and has started implementing changes to address these.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers complete appropriate checks when new staff are employed, to help ensure that staff who come to work in the home are safe to be around vulnerable children. Staff find their early training useful and say that this prepared them to work with the children they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff complete regular training courses to ensure that they keep their skills up to date. They are supported to explore development opportunities in the home and enjoy learning from others in the team. However, some staff have requested further training opportunities to continue to develop their skills, which have not yet been put into place. Most staff are enrolled on courses to complete their diploma. However, there are two members of staff in the home who have not completed their diploma within the required Inspection report for children’s home: 2593530 5 timescales. This does not ensure that all staff have the qualifications they need to care for children to the best of their abilities. 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, 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

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part-time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b)(5)(a)(b)(6)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all staff working in the home are qualified to the appropriate level within 2 years of their start date in children’s residential care. 26 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2593530 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff have the opportunity to complete additional training that helps them to better understand the needs of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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 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 Ltd, Asher House, Barsbank Lane, Lymm WA13 0ED

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Inspector

Aislinn Cooper, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2593530 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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