Children's Home run by First Blue Healthcare Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2537375 1

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First Blue Healthcare Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Since registration on the 9 August 2019, the home has had two registered managers. The current registered manager is experienced and has a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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This monitoring visit

Ofsted carried out a full inspection on 4 and 5 March 2020. The home was judged inadequate. Following this inspection, Ofsted issued a compliance notice in respect of regulation 12 and issued a notice that restricted the number of children that the home can accommodate.

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This monitoring visit

The purpose of this monitoring inspection was to review the action taken by the provider to meet the compliance notice, and to review the continued need to restrict the number of children the home can accommodate.

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This monitoring visit

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Ofsted did not carry out a physical visit to the home. The inspector instead gathered evidence in several different ways. This included talking to the manager and the responsible individual, and asking them to provide electronic documents for the inspector to review.

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This monitoring visit

The responsible individual and the manager have taken appropriate action to meet some of the steps outlined in the compliance notice. Staff have received training in fire safety, managing challenging behaviour and online safety. However, despite this progress, staff are still not keeping children safe.

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This monitoring visit

Staff are still not vigilant enough in relation to the children’s vulnerabilities and how these can result in children placing themselves at risk. For example, one child was Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2537375 2 able to go missing from the home, without staff being aware, in the early hours of the morning. The child was able to use her mobile phone to arrange to meet up with people who are known to use illegal substances. The child was found in the street by a member of the public, and was intoxicated. On her return to the home, the child gave cannabis and a lighter to another child, who was able to take the cannabis to their bedroom and smoke it. Records show that the other children had told members of staff that there had been two previous occasions when the child left the home without the staff’s knowledge.

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This monitoring visit

At the time of the monitoring visit, managers were not aware of the other incidents when the child went missing from the home, despite the information being recorded. This demonstrates a lack of oversight and scrutiny of records in keeping children safe.

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This monitoring visit

One child’s risk assessment indicates that the child should hand in her phone to staff at 11pm. However, records show that the child is not working with staff to keep to this safeguarding expectation.

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This monitoring visit

The staff’s approach to behaviour management is still confusing. For example, measures have been implemented to reduce children’s access to smoking paraphernalia. Despite this, children are still routinely getting up in the night and are provided with cigarettes by the staff. This normalisation of allowing children to be up at night to smoke prevents them from developing a good night’s sleep and fails to show care and attention to promoting children’s physical health.

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This monitoring visit

Managers and staff do not always inform social workers of significant events affecting the children. For example, social workers have not been informed when children have caused extensive damage in the home, and have been able to gain access to lighters, smoked in the home and/or set fire to objects in the home. Furthermore, social workers have not been informed of occasions when children have shown self-injurious behaviours. This means that staff are not working in partnership with social workers to ensure that the strategies in place to keep children safe are appropriate.

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This monitoring visit

As a result of this visit, the compliance notice in respect of regulation 12 has been reissued. The restriction of accommodation has remained in place. Other requirements raised at the full inspection have not been reviewed and will be considered at a future inspection.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 04/03/2020 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2537375 3

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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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings. (Regulation 7(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(ii)) 17/04/2020

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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— that staff—

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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

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(iii)(v)) 17/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met; 17/04/2020 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2537375 4 children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10(1)(a)(b)(c)) The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(ii)(v)) 17/04/2020

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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— that staff—

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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. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)) 22/05/2020*

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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— 17/04/2020 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2537375 5 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)(b)) 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;

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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)(b)(2)(a)(c)(h)) 17/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision from a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(4)(b)) 17/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 17/04/2020 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2537375 6 The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which are kept up to date. (Regulation 36(1)(b)) 17/04/2020

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2537375 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: First Blue Healthcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Eagles Nest, Dunston Business Village, Dunston ST18 9AB

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Inspector

Karen Gillingwater, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2537375 8 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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