Children's Home run by Brinscall Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children's home: 2860698 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: Brinscall Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The home is owned and run by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in the home. Both children were spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The home was registered with Ofsted in October 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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2860698 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Summary of findings

Children are making good progress, especially in their education and developing their independence skills.

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Summary of findings

Staff provide good-quality care to children to help them settle in and make progress. Children's interests are promoted.

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Summary of findings

Staff respond well to children's risks and vulnerabilities. Children have individual risk assessments to support staff to implement effective strategies into their safeguarding practices. Staff use positive behaviour to implement boundaries. However, there are shortfalls in how these incidents are managed because the manager does not always speak to staff in line with regulation.

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Summary of findings

Since the home has been registered, there have been 2 managers in post. Staff are trained to meet the children's individual needs. Staff benefit from regular supervision and team meetings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with a good quality of care that is helping them to make progress. Children's moves into the home are carefully planned and managed by the responsible individual, acting manager and staff. A social worker said that the child told them they wanted to stay and call it home. This child-centred approach helps to ensure that children can settle when they move into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a welcoming and homely feel. The environment is decorated and furnished to a good standard. Photos of the children are displayed throughout the home, helping to create a sense of identity. Children's bedrooms are personalised to reflect each child's preferences and are decorated with their own belongings. This gives children a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is a key priority for the children. One child has been supported to start attending school part time. One child has achieved qualifications that have led to them securing a job in an area they wish to pursue.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their family and people who are important to them. Staff maintain regular communication with family members and keep them updated about their child's progress. This helps children to maintain their identity and continue to have relationships with the people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children's interests. For example, staff support one child to develop their love of technology. This involved volunteering at a charity and attending a museum on a Inspection report for children's home: 2860698 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

weekly basis. One child is supported to develop their independence skills. This supports children to flourish.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children's individual identities and embrace children's individual needs. This supports the children to feel valued and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff respond to children's health needs and help them to attend any health appointments. One child is taking medication for their condition following a long period of time of not taking it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to live healthy lifestyles. However, there is limited direct work around the dangers of electronic cigarettes to educate children about the risks associated with these.

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

Children receive positive behaviour support from the staff who care for them. Positive behaviour expectations are individualised to each child. Staff regularly offer praise for children's achievements or simply for being themselves. This is recorded in a book that the children have access to. This approach helps children develop positive self-awareness and self-esteem, which promotes the development of positive behaviour.

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

The children's risk assessments and safety plans are effective and are updated by the manager and staff on a regular basis. The children's risk assessments include all relevant information. This helps staff to have up-to-date information about the children's risks and vulnerabilities. This helps to ensure that strategies to keep children safe are effective.

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

When children go missing from home, staff are quick to respond. Partnership work with the police and family members is effective, and staff actively ensure that the children return home without delay. Staff have a good understanding of the missing-from-home procedures.

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

Safer recruitment processes are followed. This means that staff are recruited safely. Recruitment checks ensure that only suitable staff are employed to work with children.

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

Staff use de-escalation techniques with children before using a physical intervention. However, there have been incidents when staff have held children. Recording in relation to these incidents is not consistently in line with regulation, for example staff being spoken to within 48 hours of a physical restraint. This does not help staff to learn from any incidents to prevent any further incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the home was registered, there have been 2 managers. There is no registered manager in post currently. The previous registered manager recently left their post. The Inspection report for children's home: 2860698 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

provider appointed a new manager without any delay. They plan to submit an application to register with Ofsted. The change in manager has not impacted on the care afforded to the children as the new manager was recruited from the staff team. The responsible individual and managers know the children well. They have high expectations of the staff to provide good-quality care for children. One member of staff stated about the current manager, 'She is organised, empathetic and uses her experience with the children and the staff in the best way possible.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have the necessary skills to provide good-quality and effective care for children. The staff receive training to meet the children's needs. Training is individualised to children. This helps staff to meet children's individual and changing needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. This provides staff with the opportunity to discuss and reflect on their practice. Staff attend team meetings, which help to support their development. Team meetings also provide staff with the opportunity to share good practice. This helps the staff to provide consistent care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have effective relationships with relevant professionals. This supports a coordinated approach to meeting children's needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Decisions about children moving into the home are well thought out and planned by the responsible individual, managers and staff. Other relevant professionals are involved in the decisions about children moving into the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff understand what to do if children make an allegation. However, on one occasion there was a delay in the manager responding to the allegation. This could have had an impact on children's safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Significant incidents are generally notified to Ofsted in a timely manner. However, on 2 occasions, there was a delay. This does not allow the regulator to have sufficient oversight. Inspection report for children's home: 2860698 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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 registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children's home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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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. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff are spoken to within 48 hours of a measure. 12 July 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

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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home's statement of purpose. 12 July 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2860698 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that allegations are responded to in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that notifications are made in a timely manner to the regulator.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff encourage children to take a proactive role in looking after their own day-to-day health and wellbeing, in particular around the use of vapes. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,' page 33, paragraph 7.10)

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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 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: 2860698 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Brinscall Care Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Suite 27, Barnfield House, Accrington Road, Blackburn, Lancashire BB1 3NY

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Inspector

Karen Andrews, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2860698 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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Inspector

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