Children's Home run by Brinscall Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children's home: 2534436 1 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

This home is run by a private provider. It offers care for up to 4 children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The home registered with Ofsted in July 2019. The acting manager has been in post since June and has submitted their application to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children's home

There were 3 children living in the home at the time of the inspection. One child was spoken to during 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: 2534436 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/05/2025 Full Good 08/05/2024 Full Good 23/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2534436 3

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Summary of findings

Staff respond to the children's risks and vulnerabilities by working with relevant professionals. This ensures that there is a multi-agency approach to reducing risk.

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Summary of findings

Care plans are child centred, and family time is supported by staff. Education is a high priority in the home, resulting in the children making educational progress.

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Summary of findings

There are weaknesses in management evaluation of incidents, and external monitoring reports lack stakeholder feedback. The manager has identified changes to improve these areas of practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 4 children have moved on from the home. Staff supported one child to successfully transition into independent living, while another returned to their home area. A third child moved to a home with their sibling, in line with the local authority's long-term care plan. The fourth child moved to a home operating under a deprivation of liberty safeguards arrangement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved into the home on an emergency placement. Staff worked closely with the child's social worker and previous carers to support a planned and positive transition, which resulted in a successful move into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide a warm, caring and nurturing environment for the children. They take time to build positive relationships and engage in meaningful conversations to understand each child's wishes, feelings and individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education and encourage the children to attend school. Staff are creative and encourage the children to engage with additional learning, such as educational activities and home tutoring.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff engage with children to promote a healthy lifestyle by improving sleep habits, encouraging healthy eating and offering incentives to support personal hygiene. Staff prioritise children's health, and this is helping children to flourish physically and emotionally.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain relationships with the people who are important to them. Family members and friends are encouraged to remain involved in the children's lives, helping them to feel valued, develop a strong sense of identity and maintain important connections. Inspection report for children's home: 2534436 4 Feedback received during the inspection was positive. Parents and social workers spoke highly of the care and support provided by staff, recognising their commitment to meeting the children's individual needs and promoting their welfare and wellbeing.

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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 and staff 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. One of the children’s bedrooms has occasionally been used as a staff sleep room. The acting manager addressed this.

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

Children say that they feel safe and well cared for. They express confidence in the staff and confirm that they can share any concerns or worries. The manager works closely with external professionals to ensure that risks to children's safety and wellbeing are understood and addressed.

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

Children may be given a consequence to help them understand the impact of negative behaviour. The appropriate use of natural consequences both within the positive praise system and the reflective time are all proportionate and reflect incidents. The manager monitors their effectiveness and consistency and identifies areas for improvement.

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

Physical interventions have been used, primarily due to the child being aggressive, damaging property and posing a risk to themself or others. Staff are encouraged to use distraction or de-escalation techniques to prevent the need for physical intervention. Staff are trained to respond calmly and safely during incidents to promote the child's welfare.

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

Recruitment procedures and practices are safe and effective. All staff are checked and vetted before starting to work at the home. These checks ensure that only suitable adults are employed to work with children in the home.

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

Risk assessments contain detailed information about the child's needs and risks. Risk management strategies are regularly reviewed to ensure that they remain effective. Staff meeting minutes demonstrate that staff discuss risk management strategies to reduce risks in relation to the children.

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

Children have detailed and robust missing-from-home plans in place, and staff are clear about the procedures they must follow when a child goes missing. Missing-from-home incidents are managed consistently and proactively, with staff implementing agreed strategies to reduce risk and promote the children's safety. Inspection report for children's home: 2534436 5 Despite these efforts, missing-from-home incidents have continued. The manager and staff work effectively with a range of partner agencies, participating in daily strategy meetings during periods of concern to monitor risk and review the effectiveness of safeguarding measures. However, despite the multi-agency response and the strategies implemented, one child experienced harm on 2 occasions while missing from home. Staff and professionals have continued to review and strengthen plans to better protect the child and reduce future risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

At the time of the inspection, there was an acting manager in post. The responsible individual was present throughout the inspection. She knew the children well. In a short time, the manager has created a warm and nurturing environment and a positive ethos among the team. The manager is caring and ambitious and advocates well for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are positive about support from the manager and responsible individual. Staff share a sense of ownership about their practice. One member of staff said, 'The new manager is approachable and genuinely invested in achieving the best outcomes for every child.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings and individual supervision sessions take place regularly and provide staff with opportunities to discuss the children's needs, reflect on their own wellbeing, share good practice and address any challenges. These forums are well structured, with clear agendas and identified actions, helping to ensure that matters are addressed in a timely and effective manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

However, there are shortfalls in the previous manager's monitoring and review systems. While safeguarding incidents are reviewed, there has been insufficient management oversight and critical evaluation of these incidents to assess the effectiveness of practice and identify learning. This limits the home's ability to demonstrate how safeguarding concerns have been scrutinised and how improvements have been driven. The responsible individual acknowledges this shortfall and has recognised the need to strengthen monitoring and oversight arrangements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External monitoring reports are completed. However, these do not include information from relevant people, such as the child and their family. This is a missed opportunity for managers to make further improvements to the quality of care staff provide for the child. Inspection report for children's home: 2534436 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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff take effective action in safeguarding children from harm. 27 September 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;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(h)) 27 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2534436 7 Specifically, the registered manager must have effective monitoring and review systems in place to provide continuous, consistent improvements to the child's care.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children's home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the independent person should regularly consult with the children, family members and professionals to gain their opinions about the quality of care provided in the home. 27 September 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children have separate bedrooms. 'Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 16, paragraph 3.19)

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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: 2534436 8

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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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Inspectors

Shane North, Social Care Inspector (lead) Karen Andrews, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2534436 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 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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Inspectors

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