Children's home run by Bright Life Birmingham Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2730797 1 Registered provider: Bright Life Birmingham Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This privately operated home was registered in June 2023 and provides care for up to 3 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection and were spoken to.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2023.

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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: 17 December 2024

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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: 2730797 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/12/2024 Full Good 07/11/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2730797 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said that they enjoy living in the home and feel positive about their day-to-day experiences. They said they have positive relationships with staff and that they feel able to approach them if they have any worries. One child, who recently moved into the home, said that staff have already provided them with good support. Another child, who has lived in the home for several years, said that staff continue to help them feel settled and secure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The managers and staff show great commitment to the children, and they continue to build strong relationships with them. This helps children to make progress and means that they feel well supported and cared for. One social worker commented positively on the high levels of support received by one of the children and how this has had a positive impact on improving the child's overall outcomes. Staff also played an important role in supporting the child's successful move back home to live with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are consistently supported to engage in their education. Staff take purposeful and sustained action to encourage improved participation and attendance for children. For one child, staff demonstrate a high level of commitment by travelling long distances to ensure that the child can remain in their chosen school during their final year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to build and maintain positive relationships with the important people in their lives. Staff work with professionals to ensure that family time plans that prioritise children's wellbeing are followed. This enables children to spend time with their family in a safe way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use a therapeutic approach to support children's mental wellbeing effectively. The home's therapist provides professional and clinical oversight that informs individual care plans. For one child, who does not consistently adhere to their prescribed medication regime, staff take appropriate and proportionate action. They seek regular guidance from the relevant health professionals, and robust plans are in place to monitor the child's medication, which staff implement to promote the child's health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff demonstrate a respectful approach to children's cultural and religious identities. They talk with one child about their faith and support them to understand when and how to pray. Staff also ensure that food specific to the child's cultural needs is consistently available in the home, enabling the child to follow their dietary requirements in line with their beliefs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean, comfortable and beautifully decorated. There are comfortable spaces for children and a spacious dining area, so children can enjoy meals with staff. However, staff have not supported one child, who recently moved into the home, to keep their Inspection report for children's home: 2730797 4 bedroom clean and tidy. Staff recognise this is an area for development and are working hard to understand how best to support the child to maintain their personal space.

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

Missing-from-home incidents are managed effectively. Staff work collaboratively with external professionals to reduce the risks when a child is missing. The registered manager challenges any response from external professionals that falls short of expectations. This ensures that all agencies work together to safely locate and support children to return to the home effectively.

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

Staff are skilled in de-escalation techniques, and physical intervention is only used as a last resort when necessary. Staff complete room searches when appropriate to do so and remove unsafe items to keep children safe. Children are confident in sharing their feelings with staff, and staff provide support when children struggle with their emotions.

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

Staff carry out direct work with children to support them to develop a better understanding of risk. The direct work focuses on important topics such as substance misuse, being missing from home and self-harm. Staff use a variety of online resources to support children's understanding and learning.

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

Staff are subject to safer recruitment checks prior to working at the home. These checks are carried out to ensure that only individuals who are suitable to work with children are employed.

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

Overall, children's risk management plans accurately assess children's potential risks and vulnerabilities. However, staff and managers do not consistently update these records with all relevant strategies. This reduces the reliability of the guidance available to support and strengthen staff safeguarding practice.

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

While some risks are appropriately identified and responded to, risk management is not consistently effective in practice. On one occasion, a child was able to access a restricted substance, which compromised the child's safety. This shortfall highlights weaknesses in environmental safety arrangements and supervision. It also demonstrates that the manager's systems for recognising, understanding and mitigating risks are not yet sufficiently embedded in everyday practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably qualified, highly experienced and wants to achieve the best outcomes for children. She challenges other agencies to make sure that decisions are made in children's best interests and that their needs are met effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers articulate a clear and ambitious vision for the home. They hold high expectations for what children can achieve and ensure that individualised care remains central to practice. However, managers do not always notify Ofsted of Inspection report for children's home: 2730797 5 significant events as required. This limits the regulator’s ability to maintain effective oversight of safeguarding matters.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable staff team in place, which means that children receive care from staff who know them well. However, at times, temporary staff have worked in the home. To ensure that children receive consistent care, temporary workers attend team meetings and have regular supervision. This helps to ensure that all staff are familiar with the children's needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff shared that they enjoy working in the home and feel supported by managers. Staff say the manager's approach has a positive impact on their practice and how they care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly, during which important themes are discussed. Staff are encouraged to reflect and learn from incidents. Supervision takes place regularly with staff and includes reflection and continuous development. Inspection report for children's home: 2730797 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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that hazardous substances are stored safely and are not accessible to children. 16 April 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they notify Ofsted if one of the situations specified in regulation 40 (4)(a)-(d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home that the registered person considers to be serious (40) (4)(e). ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 63 paragraph 14.10)  The registered person should ensure that staff maintain consistently up-to-date records that accurately reflect any emerging risks of harm to children. This will support staff to recognise concerns promptly and apply appropriate safeguarding strategies to keep children safe. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 43 paragraph 9.10).

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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 Inspection report for children's home: 2730797 7 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: 2730797 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Bright Life Birmingham Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Big Peg, 120 Vyse Street, 503 B, Birmingham B18 6NF

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Inspector

Sharonpreet Kaur, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2730797 9 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 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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Inspector

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