Children's Home run by Blue Mountain Homes Ltd in Derbyshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC436469 1 SC436469 Registered provider: Blue Mountain Homes Ltd

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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 provides care to three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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Outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected Outstanding

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Outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Outstanding

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Outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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Outstanding

Date of last inspection: 9 December 2016

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Outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children’s home: SC436469 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is outstanding because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people consistently make tremendous progress in each aspect of their lives.  Young people who have been unable to sustain a school placement before quickly start to engage in education. They make up for time that they have lost in the past.  Young people develop great interest and enthusiasm for their future. They are helped to think about their aspirations and goals. They have a brighter future because of this placement.  The energetic staff team works enthusiastically. Staff are excellent role models for young people to learn from.  Excellent relationships have been forged between staff and young people. Young people feel that staff genuinely care about them.  The home provides a nurturing, supportive and fun environment. Young people soon develop a real sense of belonging.  Young people settle down and turn their lives around at this home. Those who used to be involved in criminal activity are supported extremely well by staff and

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Key findings from this inspection

change their behaviour for the better.  Young people who used to put themselves at risk no longer do so. Young people are significantly safer than they were before.  This placement is making a huge difference to the lives of the young people.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/12/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 26/05/2016 Full Good 29/09/2015 Full Requires improvement 05/08/2015 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: SC436469 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Relationships between young people and staff are extremely positive. Staff are incredibly skilled in their work. The staff team is diverse and eager for change. Young people know each staff member’s area of expertise. Young people know who to go to for support and direction, who to talk to about safety, and who to talk to about education or their future plans. Young people and staff laugh together and cry together, and young people have an incredible amount of support to get through the bad times. One young person, who has struggled to settle in the past, talked to the inspector about his experiences, saying, ‘It feels like it’s home. I can talk to them about my problems and I know they will be there 100 per cent.’ Young people soon start to engage in the home’s ethos of attending education, and engage with staff. Even when young people find this difficult to start with, they soon realise that they like being at the home and that they like the staff. Young people

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

develop a sense of belonging. They realise that they are cared for and, for some, this is very significant because of their turbulent past. Young people who have not been able to sustain an education placement in the past are now in education of their choice. They are all on a pathway to achieve their aspirations. They have decided what they wish to do when they leave education. Young people, some of whom were in a ‘bad place’ before coming to the home, are now looking forward to their future, with improved confidence, self-esteem and happiness. This is incredibly significant and life changing for young people. One social worker commented on one young person’s progress, saying, ‘He was in complete chaos before, but from day one he has settled in.’ Young people receive an excellent response from staff in meeting their health needs. Young people receive the help that they need. When one young person recently had an

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

accident, staff were there at the hospital through the day and night with them, just as any good parent would be. The young person appreciated this response, saying that the staff concerned ‘could not have been better’. Other aspects of health are also very well considered. Individualised planning makes sure that young people’s health improves constantly. There are individual exercise plans developed by qualified professionals. These plans keep each young person interested in keeping fit and healthy. In instances when young people’s health has been affected in the past from inappropriate use of drugs or alcohol, they soon learn how to reduce these behaviours. Staff and professionals alike comment on young people’s improved healthy appearance. One social worker reported, ‘Physical changes are quite dramatic, he consistently looks very well.’ Young people’s emotional well-being is a top priority. They are guided and supported

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

effectively through some very difficult times in relation to personal issues. Staff help young people to make sense of why they are in care. They help young people to focus on the positives and to look forward to their future. Young people get the help that they need from appropriate professionals. This help is bespoke, depending on the young Inspection report children’s home: SC436469 4 person’s preferred level of engagement and emotional readiness. Some young people are happy to confide in and talk to staff. Other young people choose more help and have regular sessions with therapists. This work goes at the young person’s pace, which is why it works for them so brilliantly.

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

Young people are safer as a result of living in this home. Highly effective planning minimises risk. Young people who used to regularly put themselves at risk find that these risks quickly reduce, or stop altogether. Young people’s substance misuse ceases, drastically improving their health and well-being. Young people who used to regularly go missing now no longer do so, significantly improving their safety and welfare. Young people who used to regularly engage in criminal activity and identified with a gang culture no longer engage in these activities due to the support from staff. While these changes do not happen overnight, they are generally within the first six months of a young person’s placement. This is extremely significant for many young people, given the frequency – and, in some instances, the danger connected with – their previous risk- taking behaviour. When young people have been absent from the home, this is more in line with normal

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

teenage behaviour, for example not returning home on time after spending time with friends. Despite this, staff remain vigilant. They treat every situation individually and carefully, following the home’s policies and procedures. Some young people, who previously would not answer any telephone calls when they were out, now answer calls when staff phone them. Young people know that staff will be worrying about them. One young person feels particularly pleased about how staff care about him and told the inspector that this stops him from going missing. He said, ‘I would never do that to them, making them worry like that.’ All young people are happy that they feel much safer than they did before. One young person said, ‘I feel different because I am settled.’ Young people feel that the support and direction from staff has been very influential in them changing their risk-taking behaviours. They regularly engage in work to learn about safety. Staff are highly

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

creative in this area. They make sure that young people’s learning is informative and interesting. More importantly, young people know how to use their learning in their own lives. Staff put creative resources together. Key-working sessions are used very effectively to make sure that learning is highly individual. Young people fully understand their own safety and how this can be improved. Young people have recently learned about radicalisation through a game developed by the manager. They have also recently learned about how to keep themselves safe online through an interesting piece of up-to-date research. While it is not always easy for young people to accept new ideas about different and safer lifestyles, staff work hard with them to embed their learning. Young people are likely to remember this learning now and later on in life. One young person said, ‘I have been there and done that and there is hope for the future now.’

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

Recruitment practices are very safe. Monitoring of staff practice does not stop there. During a recent disappointing incident where staff did not follow procedure, the manager Inspection report children’s home: SC436469 5 took instant and extremely decisive action. This poor practice was an isolated incident and the manager did a good job in making sure that lessons were learned for the future. The building is safe and regular checks ensure that it stays that way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has the required experience and qualifications to run this children’s home. This home is led exceptionally well. Comments from staff about the manager include ‘she is knowledgeable’ and ‘brilliant’. The manager leads by example. Staff and young people speak highly of her excellent commitment. She makes it her business to know about each aspect of each young person’s development. This means that she can be highly effective as she leads the work. When young people are not making progress, the manager motivates the staff and young people herself, clearly explaining to everyone how the team can help. She makes sure that, from the onset, young people, placing authorities and parents are clear about what the home intends to do. The manager does not lose direction and remains highly focused on making sure that young people receive an excellent service. All staff participate in the leadership of this home. They all feel a responsibility for young

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

people’s lives and have a genuine, caring attitude. This works well for the young people in their care. One young person said, ‘Staff genuinely care, you know.’ Staff invest time and thought into new ideas to benefit young people. For example, one has developed resources for helping young people to understand the dangers of drugs. Another member of staff has created a new workbook to assist young people with developing their independence skills. Staff have also created a resource pack on sexual health and sexuality. Work on these areas is already underway and these new innovations have proved very successful with young people. Training of staff exceeds the required expectation. Mandatory training is completed to make sure that staff know the basics, such as child protection and behaviour management. However, the home goes much further than that. Very often, staff become trainers in their own field of interest. In the team, there is a bank of experts who can

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

train colleagues in various areas. This keeps staff interested and motivated. Staff use their training well and regularly discuss the impact on the young people. Regular evaluation means that the staff training profile regularly changes in line with young people’s changing issues and complex needs. Staff have noticed that young people learn very well when they learn together with staff. Opportunities have been seized to make sure this happens regularly. For example, young people have recently completed first aid training and food hygiene with staff. Together, they have learned about how to keep themselves safe and will be able to use these skills in the future. There are quizzes, games, scenarios and questions to make learning interesting for everyone. There is a real energy for learning and improvement shared by the staff, young people and management. Staff feel extremely well supported and receive regular one-to-one supervision with their

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

manager. There are opportunities for staff to have their performance appraised and to reflect on their practice. Staff do not need to wait for formal supervision. The highly effective team ethos means that practice is discussed daily. The manager is highly Inspection report children’s home: SC436469 6 visible. This means that she can continue to lead her staff team in its excellent practice on a daily basis. The very pleasant environment ensures that young people feel that they belong. Young people have a say in how their home looks. There are photographs of young people, staff, key events and the good times, which feature highly in the decor. Also, there are numerous positive messages about friendship and kindness in the soft furnishings and decoration. Young people are very likely to feel proud of their environment and they learn to respect their surroundings. The recommendation made at the last inspection is met. The decor in the home is

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

significantly improved, providing a lovely environment for young people.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

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 children’s home: SC436469 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Blue Mountain Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Flat 17, Leeland Mansions, Leeland Road, London W13 9HE

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Pradeep Manaktala

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Inspector

Caroline Brailsford, social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC436469 8 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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