Children's home run by Brightside North West Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2721206 1 Registered provider: Brightside North West 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 is a private children’s home registered for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 4 April 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living at the home. The inspector spoke to both children.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2721206 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/08/2024 Full Good 04/10/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2721206 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is warm and welcoming. Bedrooms are individualised and reflect the children’s hobbies and interests. Children have an exceptionally strong sense of belonging and have developed strong, trusting relationships with a skilled and consistent staff team. As a result, children say they feel happy and safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are encouraged to be ambitious. One child has been supported to develop a positive affirmation board that identifies the child’s hopes and plans. As a result, children speak confidently about their goals and ideas, with one child aspiring to go to university.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are well supported to make informed and meaningful choices about their care. Children play an active and influential role in shaping and updating their own care plans. Their views, wishes and feelings are consistently captured and reflected throughout planning and reviews. This means children are making decisions and feel fully prepared in planning for their future. One child is now a member of the Children in Care Council. This has led to new friendships and a platform to more widely share their voice and influence services for other children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s education is a priority. One child who previously did not attend education regularly is now attending every day, while another child is opting to attend study classes after school to support preparation for their GCSEs. One professional said that attendance for one child ‘has improved significantly’ since moving to the home. The manager is tenacious in ensuring that children with additional needs have the right diagnosis, which has been fundamental in children receiving the right support and specialist education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have many opportunities which expand their life experiences, and these are captured in detailed memory books. One child also has a memory box and a journal, which have been creatively used to store photos and samples of items which had been cluttering their bedroom.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s relationships with family and friends are valued by staff. Children’s friends are welcomed into the home, and they spend days out together. Staff work exceptionally hard to ensure that children’s time with family takes place, which includes ensuring there are alternative plans in place to prevent children’s disappointment if original plans do not go ahead. This means children’s family links and sense of identity are maintained.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff and managers speak about the children with genuine warmth, affection and pride. When children present with challenges, staff respond with curiosity, empathy and therapeutic understanding. Their reflective and supportive approach helps children feel understood, listened to and accepted. One child said: ‘Staff help me to reflect. Staff listen to me, they’re always there.’ These relationships enable children to process their feelings, build trust and resilience and increase their self-esteem and self-worth. Inspection report for children’s home: 2721206 4

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

Safeguarding practices are robust and children’s online safety is prioritised, with key- work sessions taking place to ensure children can take age-appropriate risks. Children can talk through their concerns and are encouraged to explore alternative strategies to stay safe and reduce incidents. This has resulted in significant reduction in risks for one child. One professional said: ‘There has been a huge amount of progress. This is because they know [name of child] well and use a trauma-informed approach. As a result, children feel safe and protected.’

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

Incidents of children going missing are rare. When these have occurred, staff have liaised effectively with other agencies to ensure the child returned safely. The manager advocates tenaciously on behalf of the children and appropriately challenges professionals to keep children safe. The manager is proactive and thorough in sourcing and facilitating training to upskill staff in safeguarding practices. However, further work is required on whistleblowing procedures. A recommendation has been made to address this.

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

Positive behaviour is consistently promoted and suitably rewarded. Restraint practices are not used in the home. Nevertheless, the staff are all suitably trained and use their relationships with children to de-escalate situations. Children understand consequences and boundaries and are supported to reflect and explore underlying reasons for their behaviours. This has had a significant impact on children’s understanding of any trauma they have experienced.

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

Children know how to complain and share safeguarding concerns. Complaints and concerns are treated seriously and are responded to with the highest priority. The manager and staff liaise with professionals, seek advice and maintain detailed recordings. Children are kept informed and updated. One child said: ‘I don’t have many concerns, but when I do, they are always listened to.’ This efficient response gives children the confidence to share any worries.

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

One-to-one consultation with children is a significant strength of the home. Staff do not shy away from difficult conversations; instead, they approach these with professionalism and empathy, enabling children to feel safe and supported. Risk assessments and individual plans are consistently reviewed and updated to reduce known risks and respond to emerging risks effectively. The voice of the child is evident throughout all aspects of practice and is used to shape decisions and influence care planning in a meaningful way. Consequently, children receive highly personalised support that promotes their safety, well-being and positive outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has strong oversight and the leadership in the home is highly effective. The manager creates a culture of high aspirations. She is motivated in providing Inspection report for children’s home: 2721206 5 outstanding opportunities and outcomes for children and staff. Staff feel valued and extremely well supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive a wide range of excellent training and development opportunities through online and face-to-face training. Research and learning opportunities are innovative and bespoke to the children’s individual needs. The manager and staff know their strengths and weaknesses and work hard to develop their practice through training reviews and in- house workshops. This has a direct impact on how staff care for children, and is making a significant difference to the children’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has embedded reflective practice across all aspects of the home, with a strong emphasis on learning and improving standards. Staff know the children extremely well. They understand their risks and listen to their views. One professional said: ‘They know [name of child] inside and out,’ and another said, ‘[Name of child] clearly feels valued and wanted, which is what we want for our children.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is ambitious for staff to develop. Team meetings take place regularly and are effective, with clear links to discussion that takes place in children’s meetings. Staff receive high-quality, reflective supervision from the manager and senior staff. Supervision has a strong focus on outcomes for children and staff support. Annual appraisals are purposeful and supportive and include feedback from children and professionals which provides staff with a valuable insight into their own practice. One member of staff said: ‘We believe we work to our highest ability at all times, while also understanding that there is always room to learn and improve.’ This demonstrates the continued commitment to providing excellent practice consistently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has successfully created a culture in which staff place the needs of the children at the heart of their practice and aspire to improve the lives of the children. Staff enjoy working at the home and as a result, staff retention is high. This provides children with continuity of care. When staff do leave, children are fully supported and opportunities such as lifelong links are explored to support relationships and long-term social connections. Inspection report for children’s home: 2721206 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are confident about how to respond to any allegation made by a child against a member of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.9)

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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: 2721206 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Brightside North West Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 116 Shotton Lane, Aston, Flintshire CH5 1QS

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Inspector

Julia Edwards, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2721206 8 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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