Children's Home run by Brighter Stays Limited in Central Bedfordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2798556 1 Registered provider: Brighter Stays 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 is operated by a private company and provides care for up to 2 children who may have experience of trauma and social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager of the home registered with Ofsted on 3 January 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 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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2798556 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/04/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2798556 3

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Summary of findings

Children have positive experiences at this home. They form warm bonds with staff. Children are making progress in education and learning new skills. Staff keep children safe. They provide children with consistent routines and boundaries, helping their engagement with education.

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Summary of findings

A new responsible individual has been appointed, strengthening the quality of support provided to managers. The home is sufficiently staffed with a permanent workforce. Feedback from professionals is unanimously positive.

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Summary of findings

Shortfalls identified are in behaviour management. Debriefs for staff and children are not completed by an impartial person, reducing transparency. Managers do not always quickly review the use of consequences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children were living at this home at the time of the inspection. Since the last inspection, 2 children moved in and 2 children have moved out. One child returned to the care of their parent, and another child moved to supported accommodation in line with their local authority care plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel happy living at this home. They have trusting relationships with staff and feel safe. Staff spend good-quality time with children. The interactions between staff and children are warm, helping them to feel settled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support regular school attendance by maintaining consistent routines for children. One child has achieved expected progress in maths and English. Staff promote children’s aspirations. The newest child aspires to be an engineer. Staff quickly identified an apprenticeship course for them in line with their career choice. This helps children to feel valued and engage with education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in enjoyable activities that broaden their social experiences. Staff arrange activities such as swimming, trampolining, bike rides, go-carting and visits to the cinema. The children have experienced holidays with their families and staff, which they have enjoyed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff respect children’s cultural backgrounds and identity. Staff provide children with diets that reflect their cultural upbringing and preferences. Staff support children to explore their faith and religious beliefs at the home and in the community. Children regularly spend time with their families, and staff welcome visits to the home. This enhances children’s sense of belonging and identity. Inspection report for children's home: 2798556 4 Children are well prepared for their futures. Staff help children to learn independence skills such as cooking, shopping and safety in the community. Tasks such as going into the community unsupported are broken down into stages, helping children to develop their confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for in a warm and cosy environment, with ample space for them to spend time together and individually. Children’s bedrooms reflect their tastes and preferences.

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

Children have dynamic risk assessments to reflect their current situations. The staff offer children individualised care. Staff consult the home’s therapist on strategies to support children and work closely with other professionals. Consequently, incidents are reducing and children are safer. For example, one child who was frequently missing from home has not left the home without adult permission.

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

Children experience consistent care and clear boundaries from staff who know them well. Staff use a nurturing and therapeutically informed approach. One child has sessions with the home’s therapist to help them understand their emotional journey. Staff also provide structure and diversion activities for one child. This has helped to reduce the child’s involvement in criminal activity and has improved their safety.

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

Managers respond appropriately to concerns in staff practice. They keep children safe and quickly notify relevant professionals, such as local authority designated officers (LADOs) and children’s social workers. Managers complete internal investigations as guided by the LADO, and any practice concerns are addressed with staff.

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

Staff support children to calm down. However, when this has not been effective, staff have used restraint with clear rationale. However, children are spoken to by the staff involved in the restraint, limiting opportunities for children to express themselves freely. In one incident, the manager and the deputy manager were both involved in a restraint along with other staff. They completed the debriefs and management analysis. This practice does not allow independent scrutiny and reduces transparency.

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

Staff use consequences that are natural following incidents. They have restorative conversations with children. However, management team does not always quickly review the use of these consequences. Opportunities to reinforce good practice or address the use of inappropriate measures are missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably experienced and working towards the relevant qualification. She is supported by the deputy manager. Since the last inspection, a permanent responsible individual has been appointed, offering consistent oversight. This has helped to improve the support offered to managers and engagement with stakeholders. Inspection report for children's home: 2798556 5 The home is sufficiently staffed by a permanent workforce. There is no use of agency staff. Staff have positive morale, and they feel valued and supported through regular supervision sessions. Consequently, children receive continuity of care and achieve a sense of stability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals indicate that there are positive and effective relationships with the manager and staff team. Professionals receive regular updates and say that communication is good. The manager advocates for children, ensuring children access the services they are entitled to. For example, the manager ensured one of the children secured a school place after a short period of moving into the home. The manager advocated for child and adolescent mental health services involvement for one child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager leads a culture of learning. The manager has reflected on strategies to improve relations with neighbours while prioritising children’s needs. The manager and staff reflect on endings for children and identify learning to improve practice. The manager has met the one requirement and 3 of the recommendations from the last inspection. One recommendation is restated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend the organisation’s mandatory training. Since the last inspection, staff have completed additional trainings, such as diabetes management and substance-misuse training, to better understand children’s needs. There are plans for staff to attend further training on neurodiversity. However, the staff did not complete a specific training related to a child’s needs before the child was admitted. Inspection report for children's home: 2798556 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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff and children must be provided with an opportunity to speak to an impartial person not involved in the restraint. 19 May 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. In particular, ensure that all staff have contextual safeguarding, including child criminal exploitation and gang involvement training. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) Inspection report for children's home: 2798556 7

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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: 2798556 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Brighter Stays Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Bradshaw Johnson Chartered Accountants, 11 Bancroft, Hitchin SG5 1JQ

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Inspector

Priscilla Koroka, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2798556 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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