Children's home run by Bright Futures Homes Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2840674 1 Registered provider: Bright Futures Homes 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

The home is privately run and provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties or mild learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in July 2025. This is the first inspection of this home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left the home in August 2025. A new manager was appointed in September 2025 but has yet to apply to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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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 requires improvement to be 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2840674 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have moved into the home since registration. Both children were seen and spoken with during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child had a settled period while they lived at the home on their own. A new child moved in, in October 2025. There has been an increase in incidents since two children have lived together at the home. While there are some shortfalls in help and protection the overall care the children receive is good.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have good relationships with the children. Staff spend time getting to know them when they first move into the home. Staff know the children well and have developed positive relationships with them. The children feel well cared for and can identify staff they can easily talk to and spend time with.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making educational progress from their starting points. One child is in a full-time education setting that meets their needs. Staff continued to support this child’s school attendance when moving to the home to ensure they could maintain this for their final school year. One child has been in an educational assessment placement. The manager has been proactive in speaking with the virtual school lead in the local area to understand next steps for this child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has supported the children to access an independent advocate so they can share their views about their care plan. This is helping the children to express themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy spending time with staff and are having new experiences. Staff support the children to engage in activities locally. Children have joined local clubs and participate in activities, such as cadets or quad biking events. This is helping to build their confidence and social competence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers gave careful consideration to a new child moving into the home. A social worker said, ‘I think they [the staff] have been really good at the transition. They were committed to being as open as possible to make it a smooth transition.’ Despite good planning, unpredictable circumstances have led to an increase in incidents between children. On occasion, staff have used language in records about children that is not thoughtful or helpful to children.

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improvement to be good

On several occasions, staff have not been sufficiently vigilant with staff keys and this has enabled children to go missing from home together. Children have accessed the staff office when staff have left this left unlocked. This has allowed children to access keys Inspection report for children’s home: 2840674 3 and other items they should not. This has also allowed children access to a window through which they were able to go missing.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing, staff search the local area and encourage them to come home. Staff have called the police in line with the children’s safety plans. Generally, children have not travelled far from the home and have returned quickly.

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improvement to be good

Staff manage children’s behaviour without using physical restraint. However, on two occasions staff have not recorded clearly how they have responded to keep children safe. Leaders and managers have not fully explored these incidents to help them understand children’s experiences and the actions by staff. Not all staff in the home have had training in the behaviour management method used by the home. This lack of training does not help staff to make informed and safe choices about the ways in which they support children.

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improvement to be good

Children have sometimes had harmful items, or staff keys in their room. Staff have encouraged children to hand in these items. However, on some occasions despite it being identified as a safety measure to search a child’s room, staff have failed to do this when it is not clear if children have returned all unsafe items.

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improvement to be good

The manager shares serious incidents with Ofsted and the local authority designated officer quickly. They communicate with relevant professionals about these concerns. However, management oversight of some incidents is not always thorough and does not always fully investigate concerns about staff practice. This does not help leaders and managers to fully identify potential risk or learning from these events. When children have shared worries about incidents it is not always clear how any actions taken in response and the outcome has been communicated with children.

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improvement to be good

Staff are helping children to make safer choices about what they access online. Children’s gaming devices have suitable age-appropriate restrictions. The manager is working with one child’s social worker to create a plan for them to have safe access to a mobile phone suitable to their age and stage of development. This is helping children to explore age-appropriate risks.

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improvement to be good

Staff regularly talk to children about their feelings. Staff help children understand changes to their care plan, such as who they can spend time with and when.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The previous registered manager left within a month of the home being registered. The new manager appointed in September 2025 has not yet applied to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite these leadership challenges there has been stability for staff and children. During this time of transition, the children and staff were supported by a deputy manager who knows the service well. The deputy was confident in their approach to supporting the team at a time of change. The responsible individual has routinely visited the home to provide additional support. Inspection report for children’s home: 2840674 4 Feedback from children’s social workers has been positive about children’s moves into the home. The manager and deputy maintain good-quality communication with partner professionals, including updates about the children’s needs or any incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers oversight of records is generally good. The manager and deputy regularly comment on records and have an understanding of incidents that have happened in the home. However, on some occasions managers have not effectively challenged some staff practice issues. This does not help the manager to monitor and drive improvements in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The majority of staff are new to working with children and do not hold a relevant qualification. The manager has identified that this new staff team does have learning and development needs. Staff undertake a variety of training modules as part of their induction to the home. However, staff that have joined the home have not all received training on the homes model of physical intervention, nor have they had training on emerging self-harm risks for children living at the home. This does not give staff the skills and confidence to meet children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy have led regular team meetings that have helped staff to explore children’s needs and understand what is happening in the home. Staff have supervision and say they feel supported by leaders and managers. The new manager has identified these conversations with staff need to be more regular as one member of staff has not had a supervision session since August. This does not help staff’s learning or development at a time of change within the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2840674 5

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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 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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(b)) 28 November 2025

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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; 28 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2840674 6 demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— 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)(ii)(h))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that immediate room searches are carried out only when there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the child’s or another person’s safety or well-being. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)  The registered person should ensure staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand that the home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history and that records made by staff use language that is child friendly and respectful. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2840674 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bright Futures Homes Limited

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Inspector

Rebecca Hannell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2840674 8 regulates and inspects 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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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted Inspection report for children’s home: 2840674 9

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