Children's home run by Bramley Care Limited

Inspection report for children's home: SC068272 1 SC068272 Registered provider: Bramley 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 can provide care for up to 14 children who require specialist support. Every child who is admitted must agree to engage with the home's therapeutic services.

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Information about this children's home

The children attend the organisation's school on the same site. Inspectors only inspected the social care provision.

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Information about this children's home

The manager of the home was registered with Ofsted in July 2020. The responsible individual has been in post since March 2024.

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Information about this children's home

There were 10 children living at the home at the time of the 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 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC068272 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/07/2024 Full Good 17/10/2023 Full Good 14/12/2022 Full Good 05/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC068272 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff show genuine care to the children in this home. This helps children to develop a sense of belonging. Staff invest time with the children. They listen to them and are curious about their lives, without judgement. Through these interactions, the children develop trusted and secure relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Where possible, children move into the home at a pace that suits them. Children have the opportunity to visit the home before they move in. They are welcomed into the home. Children who move on from the home are supported to have positive endings. There have been no unplanned endings for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are offered opportunities in line with their interests and to develop their life skills. For instance, children enjoy going to theme parks, cooking and attending community clubs. Memory books are completed to reflect their positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Almost all children attend the on-site education provision. They are making educational progress and, for some children, their progress has been exceptional. Children who have not attended education provisions for lengthy periods now attend regularly. One child has progressed onto college after completing their GCSE exams. There is effective working between the home and the education provision to support the children's progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Therapeutic interventions delivered by an external team of therapists positively impact children's lives. Interventions help children to process their previous experiences and move forward in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to health services, as needed, and staff support them to attend appointments. Action has been taken to improve the management of one child's complex needs. Medication storage is safe. Staff receive training to administer medication. Staff are clear about the medication arrangements in the home. However, the records sampled demonstrate that changes in medication are not always recorded clearly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to have time with those people who are important to them. Staff work positively with parents and carers to promote meaningful and safe contact. Additionally, children are helped to develop safe relationships with peers outside of the home.

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

There have been inconsistent responses provided by staff to reduce harm to children. Interventions in response to self-harm are effective and when a child was missing from the home, the response was well coordinated to ensure that the child returned home safely. Inspection report for children's home: SC068272 4 However, a significant incident has occurred between children living together. Managers took prompt action to increase the children's safety. However, staff failed to follow plans with rigor, and management oversight of the care provided was not comprehensive to identify gaps in the care provided. This contributed to further incidents of harm between children. Managers have since increased safeguarding measures, and no subsequent incidents have occurred.

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

There are permitted restrictions in place in the home. Electronic monitoring is agreed with the children's placing authorities at the earliest opportunity, and children are informed about its use. The use of window restrictors is necessary to keep some children safe. However, these restrictions are not reviewed regularly to ensure that they continue to be necessary for all children.

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

Staff have restrained one child to prevent harm. Records demonstrate staff using techniques to support the child and attempts to de-escalate the incident before the use of restraint. The child's views were sought, and management oversight of this incident provided future learning for staff to improve children's care and experiences.

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

The quality of risk assessments is mixed. In the main, risk assessments lack detail about the strategies that staff should use to reduce harm. When children move into the home, risks are identified but they are not well integrated into robust risk assessments. There is little rationale about how risks will be mitigated to ensure that children live together safely.

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

One investigation into an allegation of harm has been responded to appropriately and in a timely manner. This includes action taken to safeguard the child. When staff practice concerns arise, information is shared with the relevant agencies to inform decision- making appropriately.

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

Recruitment procedures are in place, including for agency workers, that reduce the risk of unsuitable individuals working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a permanent and suitably qualified registered manager. They are aspirational for the home and the children's futures. Managers understand the plans for children and make a positive impact on their life chances. They, and staff, look beyond the children's presenting risk factors to help them to succeed in their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works proactively and positively with other agencies for the benefit of the children's wellbeing. They build and maintain relationships with children's placing authorities to directly support positive outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feedback is positive about the management of the home. They report feeling well supported and happy in their roles. New staff team members, including agency workers, Inspection report for children's home: SC068272 5 report positive induction processes that help them to prepare for their roles well. Some staff have worked in the home for many years. This provides consistency for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The systems in place assist managers to track children's progress effectively. Additional support is implemented as needed to help children to achieve their goals. Children are regularly involved in discussions about their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The training provided to permanent staff helps them to develop their knowledge and skills about children's specific needs and risks. Additionally, the therapeutic team provides specific staff training and deliver sessions to reflect on the safeguarding aspect of children's care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight of the quality of care is not comprehensive. Daily records do not contain sufficient detail about the care and support provided to children. Additionally, supervision and training for agency staff are delivered externally, and the associated records are not all readily accessible. As a result, managers cannot be assured that all staff have the skills required to meet children's needs and to keep them safe before incidents occur.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The main areas of the home are homely and welcoming. The communal areas, including the outside area, are spacious. In the main, children's bedrooms are personalised with certificates and reflect their interests. They are provided with furniture in line with their stages of development. A very few children's bedrooms lack a homely feel. Inspection report for children's home: SC068272 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 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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff understand and follow plans to ensure that children live together safely. Assessed risks and strategies to mitigate risks must be recorded clearly before and after children move into the home. 2 March 2026

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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

promotes their welfare. 2 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC068272 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that records about children's care provide sufficient detail about the care and support provided to them. The registered person must understand the quality of care provided by all staff and ensure that they have the skills necessary to meet the children's needs and keep them safe.

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Recommendation

 The registered manager should ensure that all areas of the home are homely, domestic environments that are well suited to the needs of the children. In particular, the registered person should ensure that children are provided with the support they need to reduce clutter and maintain homely bedroom environments. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 56, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC068272 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Bramley Care Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Malvern View, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove B60 4AD

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Inspectors

Hannah Spencer-Townesend, Social Care Inspector Louise Bacon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC068272 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.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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