Children's home run by First Blue Healthcare Limited

Inspection report children's home: 1280210 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 two children who have had adverse childhood experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager took up post on 3 February 2020 and was registered with Ofsted on 29 September 2020. The manager is experienced and has an appropriate qualification.

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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 6 October 2020 to carry out a monitoring 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: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 1280210 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 30/09/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/02/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: 1280210 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good levels of support from a committed and experienced staff team. Staff have a positive view of the children and work hard to engage with them. This helps children to feel confident about their relationships with staff and supports their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have clear health plans and are registered with the relevant primary healthcare services. Staff have continued to support the children throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to access healthcare services. This support has ensured that there has been no impact on the children’s emotional or physical health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s medication is stored and administered safely by trained and competent staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to express their views, particularly in relation to seeing their friends and family, some of whom live some distance away. This ensures that children keep in touch with the people most important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager understands the importance of careful matching of children’s needs. However, impact risk assessments do not always include the views of other professionals and the children already living at the home. This creates a missed opportunity to promote consultation with all stakeholders.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children have maintained good college attendance and are achieving academic success. However, despite staff giving encouragement and lots of support, some children have struggled to engage in any form of education or training activities. This has compromised some children’s opportunities to benefit from learning and the importance of having a daily routine.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child’s bedroom is extremely untidy, has stains on the wall and empty packets and bottles on the floor. This shortfall detracts from children having a homely environment to live in and to enjoy.

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

Children feel safe. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, staff have continued to receive regular safeguarding training and have a good understanding of their duties in promoting children’s welfare. This ensures that staff are confident in the procedures to follow should any concerns arise. Staff make sure that care plans and risk assessments are in place for each child to help to keep children safe. Inspection report children's home: 1280210 4 Staff know what action to take to promote children’s safety if they go missing. There are effective procedures and protocols to promote their safe return. None of the children in placement currently have gone missing from the home.

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

Staff are trained in the appropriate use of physical restraint but only ever use this as a last resort, preferring to use de-escalation techniques. The home’s written records confirm that there have been no incidents of physical intervention since the last inspection.

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

Staff make sure that the home is kept safe by carrying out regular health and safety checks and making sure that equipment is serviced. Staff also practise the home’s fire evacuation procedure and test the system on a regular basis. Children also participate in fire evacuation so that they know what to do in the event of a fire or other emergency situations, which helps to keep everyone safe.

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

Children are protected by the organisation’s recruitment practice. Staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is made. This procedure promotes the safety of children by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has ensured that staffing levels are appropriate to meet children’s needs. Staff are well supported through regular supervision and annual appraisal and benefit from a range of appropriate training to develop their skills and knowledge. Most staff have completed the level 3 diploma in residential childcare. The remaining staff are on track to complete their award within the required timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the manager has continued to ensure that good working relationships exist with other professionals, such as the police, education providers and social workers. A placing social worker told the inspector, ‘communication is very good with the home’. This means that there is a coordinated approach to meeting children’s needs, and communication is shared quickly, which helps to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s statement of purpose lacks important details. Specifically, it does not give details of the staff and their qualifications involved in providing care for children living in the home. This limits the information available to placing authorities and families. Inspection report children's home: 1280210 5

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the environment in one child’s bedroom. 8 July 2021

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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 understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to children in the home being engaged in education, training or employment. 8 July 2021 Inspection report children's home: 1280210 6 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 including consultation with others as part of the assessment process. 8 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to having an up-to-date staffing list in the statement of purpose 8 July 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: 1280210 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: Seighford Hall, Clanford Road, Seighford, Stafford ST18 9NL

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Inspector

Dave Carrigan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1280210 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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