Children's home run by Blue Elephant Childcare Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2546960 1 Registered provider: Blue Elephant Childcare Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides accommodation, care and support for up to two children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. This service is in its infancy, having been registered in August 2019 to provide short-term placements for the purpose of assessment. The home is one of three operated by the same provider offering placements to Devon County Council. The manager has been in post and registered with Ofsted since August 2019.

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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

Date of last inspection: This is the first inspection since registration

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2546960 2

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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, 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate,

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Requirement Due date

helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non- attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi) and (viii)) 31/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

31/03/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 2546960 3 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 promotes their welfare.

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) and (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)) 31/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (2)(b)) 31/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c) and (3)(a)(b)) 31/03/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 2546960 4

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Recommendations

 Staff should have sufficient understanding of relevant health services, including the functions of the designated nurse for looked-after children in their area. They should support children to navigate these services, advocating on their behalf where necessary and appropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.8) Inspection report children’s home: 2546960 5

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improvement to be good

The home has yet to provide consistently good experiences and positive outcomes for young people. Staff were unable to manage the behaviour of the first two young people who moved in. This resulted in a breakdown of their placement at the home, necessitating another move. Currently, the two young people living in the home are settled. They say that they get on with the adults who look after them and both want to live in this home long term.

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improvement to be good

Limited tutoring is provided for one young person through the virtual school team. The adults in the home have not planned or implemented a programme of activities effectively for a young person to compensate for a lack of full-time education provision. It is not clear to the manager where applications for a school placement are up to and neither has additional work been sought from the previous provision. A second young person attends full-time school and is doing well.

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improvement to be good

A range of activities are provided which encourage the skills and interests of the young people. One young person makes good use of the outbuildings, where he has a workshop, building and repairing bikes. Effective use is made of local facilities. Young people have been to the beach, fishing and adventure parks. Physical activity is also encouraged to keep young people healthy.

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improvement to be good

Young people are provided with a varied healthy diet and both eat well. However, one young person continues to smoke and there is little evidence that the adults have sought sufficient health services support to change this behaviour and minimise the risks.

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improvement to be good

Young people are supported to spend quality time with their families. Time with family has inevitably increased for some as young people living here have moved back to their area of origin. A photographic record is kept by the adults to provide young people with a history of their time and experiences in this home.

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff plan effectively for young people to move in. They meet young people, encourage visits and provide information about the home. Young people’s views about the environment are considered. Bedrooms are highly personalised for and by young people. It is clear to see who lives here and that this is their home.

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improvement to be good

Young people say that they feel cared for and safe in this home. Although it is early days for one young person, they are now safer from previous negative influences. They describe this home as providing a new start. Young people say that they get on Inspection report children’s home: 2546960 6 well with one another and for both there is a considerable reduction in episodes of being missing.

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improvement to be good

The manager has not requested additional information from previous care providers or social workers where information is vague. Although risk assessments are in place, a lack of full information compromises understanding of risks and the matching of young people.

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improvement to be good

It is not clear from records if all staff have taken part in a fire drill so that they are clear what to do in an emergency. Young people have been involved in fire drills. Awareness of fire safety is significant in this home as a recent fire caused damage.

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improvement to be good

The arrangements for the storage, administration and recording of medication are not robust. Some records following the use of non-prescribed medication are missing or incomplete. This could delay seeking further medical help where needed.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour management is supported through training and regular consultation and guidance provided by a clinical psychologist. Young people have behaviour management plans which consider their feeling and wishes. One young person’s plan includes him wanting to be left alone when feeling angry. Staff are trained in safe restraint techniques and keep the use of these holds to a minimum.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding training is effective and completed by all staff alongside other training. Staff have yet to receive specific training to make sure that they clearly understand and are acting appropriately in response to a young person’s diagnosed condition.

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improvement to be good

There are no current significant safeguarding issues or widespread failures that put young people at risk.

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good

A suitably qualified manager has been in post since the home opened. The home is operating as described in the statement of purpose. This is under review and the home is looking to develop in line with the needs of the host authority.

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good

The deployment of staff in the home lacks sufficient attention. Best use is not made of those with experience to support young people or to maximise the management support and guidance available to staff. Rotas do not accurately detail the staff working in the home. Action was taken to review and amend these arrangements during the inspection.

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good

The quality and content of records are variable. Staff have used differing templates for the same record and not all records are up to date. In addition, the use of a complex new electronic system means that some records were difficult to find.

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good

The development plan identifies some of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and contributes to improvements. However, it does not include clear timescales to Inspection report children’s home: 2546960 7 avoid delays in improvement. Some of the items in the development plan are not fully completed or communicated to staff.

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good

Staff enjoy working in the home. They are eager to provide the best for the young people and are dependably enthusiastic about young people’s potential. They are provided with supervision. All staff have a childcare qualification, or they are enrolled to complete qualifications within suitable timescales.

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good

The provider shares with managers and staff a passion to progress young people. He has developed an effective working partnership with local commissioners and has their confidence. The commissioning manager describes this provider as achieving great things for some young people, particularly young people who have had numerous previous homes and those for whom it was almost impossible to find a suitable place for them to live.

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good

Work in partnership with commissioners enables access to the placing authority’s virtual school services, health services and mental health support.

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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 children’s home: 2546960 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Blue Elephant Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: CDM Buildings, Westacott Road, Barnstaple, Devon EX32 8AW

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Inspector

Janice Hawtin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2546960 9 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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