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

Inspection report children’s home: 2537375 1 Registered provider: First Blue Healthcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for three children who have had adverse childhood experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager was registered with Ofsted in February 2020 and is suitably qualified.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 4 November 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Ofsted issued a compliance notice in respect of regulation 12 and issued a restriction of accommodation notice. A monitoring visit was carried out on 26 May 2020. This Inspection report children’s home: 2537375 2 visit found that the provider had met the compliance notice. The restriction of accommodation notice was then ended. An assurance visit was carried out on 4 November 2020. Ofsted did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children. Inspection report children’s home: 2537375 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/03/2020 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: 2537375 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care from staff who demonstrate a commitment to meeting their individual needs. As a result, children make good progress emotionally and socially.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager understands the importance of carefully matching new children with children already living at the home. However, the impact risk assessment fails to include the views of other professionals and the children currently living at the home. This means that children could be placed at the home without their needs being fully assessed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school placements that are appropriate to their abilities. Staff provide transport to support children with travelling to and from respective school placements, and they seek feedback from their teachers on their progress. This sharing of information helps staff to stay up to date with children’s academic progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have clear health plans and are registered with the relevant primary healthcare services. Children have access to professional health support, including a therapist who children can see every week. This enables children to receive support and guidance in relation to their physical health and emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to see family members and those who are important to them. The staff facilitate arrangements flexibly and provide transport for children who are placed a long distance from their home locality. During the COVID-19 pandemic, time with families has continued. When necessary, this has been by telephone or using computer technology to stay in touch. This time spent with families enables children to retain positive links with their home community and those people that are most important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are settled and are making positive changes to their lives. Children’s social workers speak positively about the quality of care. Children are equally positive. They feel able to talk to staff when they are worried or feel unsafe. One child told the inspector, ‘Staff know when I am bothered about something. They ask me what’s wrong and help me to sort things out.’

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

Children feel safe living at the home. The quality of relationships between children and the staff is a strength of the home. This enables children to address previous concerning behaviours and to work towards more positive outcomes. Open and honest communication is promoted so that children feel able to discuss any worries or concerns. Inspection report children’s home: 2537375 5 Staff complete risk assessments on each child, and they keep these risk assessments up to date through regular reviews. This ensures that, as a child’s circumstances change, staff can remain alert to any new threats to their welfare.

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

The positive relationships that children have with the staff means that the need for physical intervention is minimal. Incidents that do require physical intervention are monitored and evaluated by the manager. Debriefs routinely take place with children and staff to provide opportunities to explore each incident and to capture any learning.

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

Children do not go missing from the home. In the event of a missing from care episode, staff know how to implement and follow the missing from care protocol and procedures.

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

When appointing staff, the manager follows safer recruitment practice guidelines. This means that only those deemed suitable are allowed to work with children.

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

Regular health and safety checks, along with routine servicing of equipment, ensure that the home is kept safe for children, staff and visitors. Staff are trained in fire safety procedures, and they ensure that children take part in fire evacuation drills, so that they understand how to leave the home safely in the event of an emergency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have good access to training opportunities to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills they need to meet the diverse needs of the children they look after. All staff are qualified or are working towards gaining the level 3 diploma in residential childcare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monthly team meetings and regular, reflective supervision mean that staff are well supported in their roles. Staff feel valued and are motivated towards delivering care that makes significantly positive improvements to children’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective working relationships exist with other professionals, such as the police, teachers and social workers. Effective communication ensures that information is shared quickly, which helps to keep children safe. One social worker told the inspector, ‘Communication is fantastic; I get regular emails and phone calls.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic has been effective. Clear risk management strategies are in place. Appropriate checks are carried out when visitors come to the home, and regular reviews are carried out to meet the current guidance. These measures contribute to ensuring that the children remain safe and healthy. Inspection report children’s home: 2537375 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, 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to impact risk assessments and includes consultation with others as part of the assessment process. 20/06/2021

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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: 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: Unit 11, Pearl House, Anson Court, Staffordshire ST19 0BG

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Inspectors

Dave Carrigan, Social Care Inspector Melanie Griffin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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