Children's home run by Brighter Horizons Care & Support Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2822481 1 Registered provider: Brighter Horizons Care & Support Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider owns this home. It offers care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first inspection since registration in May 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

An acting manager has been in post since July 2025.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2822481 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, one child had recently moved to live at the home. Leaders and managers carefully considered the child’s needs to ensure that staff could meet them. The child was welcomed sensitively by staff after moving to the home in an emergency.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and the staff have worked with the child to help them to understand the reasons for them coming to live at the home. Staff talk to the child about matters that are important to them, including their care plan and relationships with family and friends. Caring and attentive interactions were observed between staff and the child during this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to enjoy positive activities, both inside and outside of the home. These include kayaking and going to an adventure park. This has supported the child to develop their interests and build trusting relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff support the child to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Staff have built positive relationships with family members that support them to continue to be involved in the child’s care. One family member said, ‘[The staff] are brilliant, I couldn’t ask for any more from them. They support us to come to the home and spend time with [name of child].’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the child’s health and emotional well-being needs. When the child raised concerns about their health, staff promptly referred them to specialist services. The child has access to a range of specialist support services to assist them to explore their thoughts and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff understand the value of education. Plans for the child’s future education are in their infancy. However, staff talk to the child about their interests and ambitions. This ensures that education remains a shared focus.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well decorated and provides a safe, comfortable environment for the child to live in. The child has been encouraged to personalise their bedroom, which provides a relaxing space in which to spend time.

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

Safeguarding practice in the home is robust. Risk assessments are up to date and provide staff with clear guidance about actions they should take when concerns for the child’s safety arise. These plans are known and followed by staff.

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

A clear missing-from-home protocol is in place. When the child has gone missing from the home, staff have followed the procedures. Staff go out looking for the child and Inspection report for children’s home: 2822481 3 detailed records are kept. The manager and staff work well with the appropriate agencies to ensure that all information is shared in a timely way.

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

Risks in relation to exploitation are known and understood by staff. There is a proactive response to concerns. Managers and staff communicate concerns effectively to police, multi-agency professionals and the child’s family to ensure a coordinated response.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted. Staff talk to the child about making positive choices and the child is praised and rewarded when they have done well. Staff provide consistent rules and boundaries to the child, which supports children to feel safe.

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

There is a new interim manager in post since the home was registered. Leaders and managers are aware of the home’s strengths and areas for development. Senior leaders have identified shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home, and they have plans in place to address them.

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

Systems to ensure the quality of care being provided for children are not fully embedded. Oversight by managers is inconsistent, limiting the identification of patterns and trends. This is a missed opportunity for managers to use information to improve the care of the child.

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

Record-keeping in the home requires improvement. The organisation uses an online recording system. However, the system is not organised in a way which helps staff and managers to access necessary information to fulfil their role.

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

Case records are detailed; however, there are inaccuracies in some recordings which have not been identified by managers. Not all documents are signed and dated by the author. This does not support the child to understand the work that has been carried out with them, or their experiences while living in the home.

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

Safer recruitment practices are robust and ensure that only suitable adults work in the home. Staff receive a well-planned induction. The in-house therapist is available to provide support to staff. The manager ensures that the staff complete all mandatory training. However, staff have not completed all training to help them understand the child’s individual needs.

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

The information in the location risk assessment is up to date. However, it does not include consultation from relevant people. Inspection report for children’s home: 2822481 4

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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;

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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

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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)(c)(f)(g)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they have oversight of all work being completed. Ensure that incidents and work are consistently evaluated to establish patterns and trends and identify areas of learning in order to make continuous 18 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2822481 5 improvements. Ensure that staff receive the training necessary to support individual children’s needs.

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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 signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 18 September

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s records are kept up to date and that recording is accurate, including dates and names. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that they review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home. When conducting the review, the registered person must ensure that information is up to date and consult, and consider the views of, each relevant person. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: 2822481 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Brighter Horizons Care & Support Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 22 Welton Green, Liverpool L24 0SJ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Curtis Martins-Brown

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Inspector

Anna Belshaw, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2822481 7 to 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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