Children's Home run by Bright Path care limited in Manchester

Inspection report for children's home: 2806691 1 Registered provider: Bright Path care 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

The home is owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the visit there was one child living at the home. The child did not want to talk to the inspector during the visit.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 19 and 20 May 2026. The inspector identified serious concerns in relation to safeguarding practices and ineffective leadership and management. Inspection report for children's home: 2806691 2 Following the inspection, compliance notices were issued under The Children’s Homes (England) Regulation 2015 for regulation 12, the protection of children standard and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. Inspection report for children's home: 2806691 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/05/2026 Full Inadequate 14/05/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2806691 4

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Summary of findings

Since the last inspection, the provider has made improvements in the home. Staffing arrangements have become more stable and staff have undertaken additional training to strengthen their knowledge and skills in meeting children's individual needs.

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Summary of findings

Although these improvements are positive, shortfalls remain in safeguarding practice and the leadership and management of the home. These weaknesses have the potential to affect the consistency and effectiveness of care provided to children and require further action to ensure sustained improvement.

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improvement to be good

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home. Since the last inspection, one child has moved out. Staff supported a positive ending for the child and provided an opportunity for them to visit their new home.

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improvement to be good

Staff have spent time with the child. This time has enabled the child to start to build positive relationships with new and established staff members. Staff are now responsive to the child’s needs helping them feel secure.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the child to attend health appointments. Although the child was reluctant to visit the dentist, staff talked to them about their worries and encouraged them to go. This meant that the child received the treatment needed.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to take part in activities that reflect their interests. For example, the child enjoys playing snooker and is regularly supported to attend snooker clubs. Staff accompany the child and participate in the game. This helps the child enjoy positive experiences with staff.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and staff understand the complexities around family time. They work with social workers to ensure that children can spend time with their loved ones in a safe way. When concerns about children’s safety and welfare in the presence of their family arise, staff take action to protect children.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of children going missing from home are low. However, when incidents do occur, there is not always a proactive response. Staff do not always follow the missing Inspection report for children's home: 2806691 5 from home protocol, including contacting the police. Additionally, staff seek advice and guidance from external professionals, rather than following the home’s own process.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently challenge inappropriate behaviour. As a result, children experience inconsistent boundaries, which limits opportunities for them to develop an understanding of appropriate behaviour and the impact their actions may have on others. Consequently, children are not always supported to develop and sustain positive behaviours.

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improvement to be good

The quality of children’s risk assessments has improved. However, some risk management strategies do not provide staff with guidance on how to respond when incidents occur. As a result, staff do not always respond consistently to safeguarding concerns.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and staff respond appropriately when concerns show that children are smoking in their bedrooms. Bedroom checks are completed when concerns arise and smoking related items are removed. However, assessments are not update with these risks.

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improvement to be good

There are effective safer recruitment processes in place, to ensure that staff working with children are suitable and do not pose an unnecessary risk to their safety and welfare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The responsible individual has overseen the leadership and management of the home following the departure of the registered manager. She has demonstrated a strong commitment to developing the staff team in response to the findings of the previous inspection. To support improvement, she reviewed the strengths and development needs of individual staff members and took targeted action to strengthen practice and improve the quality of care provided to children. These actions have helped to drive positive change within the home. A new manager has now been appointed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive regular supervision that allows them to reflect on their practice and areas of development. However, increased supervision for newly appointed staff is not consistently taking place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There was a significant delay in informing the regulator about a serious allegation made against the child during their time in the community. This delay meant that the regulator was unable to assess whether staff had acted to appropriately safeguard the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have not ensured that the quality-of-care report includes feedback from children about the care that they receive in the home. In addition, following concerns about the child smoking in the home, there is no evidence that leaders and managers have reviewed risk assessments, to ensure that there are measures in place to reduce the risks associated with the child smoking in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2806691 6 Record-keeping in the home continues to require improvement. Safeguarding incidents are not always recorded, and there are inconsistencies in some incident records. Furthermore, on occasions when a child did not receive their medication, staff failed to document the missed dose and the reasons why the medication was not administered. These shortfalls reduce management oversight and limit opportunities to effectively monitor children's welfare and identify patterns or emerging concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have not ensured that the use of door alarms is reasonable and proportionate. Door alarms are used in all areas of the home this creates an environment that is less homely. Furthermore, it does not support the child to have a level of privacy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Team meetings now take place fortnightly rather than monthly. Meetings are used to reflect on practice, share learning and develop staff skills and confidence. Staff now have opportunities to discuss their concerns and receive guidance and support to build confidence in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders have ensured that there is now sufficient staff working in the home to meet the needs of children. Staff receive a range of training to develop their skills and knowledge. This ensures that children receive an appropriate level of care and support. Inspection report for children's home: 2806691 7

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child's relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)).

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders, managers, and staff must ensure that when children are missing, staff follow children's missing from home protocols. This includes contacting the police in the timescales set out in children's safety plans.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that each child has a safety plan that provides staff with clear strategies on how to respond effectively to children's risks. 2 December 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2806691 8 Leaders and managers must ensure that the home's risk assessment is reviewed and sets out clearly how the risk associated with children smoking in the home is mitigated.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders, managers and staff must ensure that safeguarding incidents are clearly recorded.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(d)).

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that new staff members receive supervision in accordance with the home's own policy.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that recording in case records. Specifically, incident reports and medication records are closely monitored, to ensure that recordings are accurate. 2 December 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 40(4)(b)(e)). 2 December 2026

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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 staff— 2 December 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2806691 9 meet each child's behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child's relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour. (Regulation 11(2)(a)(i)(ii)).

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders, managers and staff must ensure that children are encouraged to engage in meaningful discussions and direct work in relation to their identified risks. The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child's need for privacy. (Regulation 24(1)(d)).

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that the use of door alarms is reasonable and proportionate. 2 December 2026

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it;

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 45(2)(a)(b)). 2 December 2026

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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: 2806691 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bright Path care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 17 Victoria Road East, Thornton-cleveleys Lancashire FY5 5HT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Katie Brinkworth

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Inspector

Chibuzo Otache, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2806691 11 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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