Children's home run by First Blue Healthcare Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2627054 1 Registered provider: First Blue Healthcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

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

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There is a new manager in post, who took up position in July 2021. She is not yet registered with Ofsted.

p.1

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.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

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.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2627054 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2627054 3

p.2

improvement to be good

This is the first inspection since the home was registered in May 2021. During this time, the registered manager has resigned and a new manager has recently been appointed.

p.3

improvement to be good

The experiences and outcomes for children have been variable. One child has had to leave the home due to the staff being unable to keep her safe. Two children recently admitted to the home appear to be making good progress in relation to their individual circumstances.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children live in a home that has suffered a period of inconsistent staffing. A small permanent staff team, agency staff and staff from other homes within the organisation are caring for them. One child said to the inspector, ‘The staff here change on a daily basis. I don’t know who one person is from the next.’ This does not ensure that children receive consistency of care.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children attend education settings according to their needs and abilities. Staff work in partnership with education departments and other relevant professionals to make sure that children have every opportunity to increase their academic ability and reach their full potential.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children enjoy good health, and they have access to specialist services and support to promote their physical and emotional well-being. They are encouraged and supported to attend routine health appointments. The manager ensures that there are appropriate arrangements in place for the safe administration and management of medicines, to promote the safety and well-being of children.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children are supported by the staff to spend time with their families and carers. The staff assist with transport and, when required, the supervision of this time. This ensures that children continue to build relationships and attachments with those people who are significant to them.

p.3

improvement to be good

The manager ensures that the home is generally kept to a good standard. However, there is some unrepaired damage to a hallway wall. This does not ensure that the children’s home is a homely environment.

p.3

improvement to be good

Risk assessments do not include all that is known about the children, currently and historically, and therefore do not identify all risks. Furthermore, one child’s risk assessments could not be located for the inspector to view. This means that the staff could miss important information needed to safeguard children, and potentially compromise the safety and well-being of others. Inspection report children’s home: 2627054 4 Though the number of incidents is reducing, children have gone missing from this home. This behaviour exposes them to significant levels of risk, such as child sexual exploitation, alcohol and substance misuse and offending behaviour. Staff make efforts to keep in contact with missing children and encourage their safe return. Links with the local police are in place and communication between professionals is good. However, the home has been ineffective in engaging the children and

p.3

improvement to be good

reducing this behaviour. One child had 30 missing-from-care incidents but only had the opportunity to engage with an independent return interview on six occasions. This creates a missed opportunity to enable children to discuss their reasons for going missing and for the manager and staff to learn from this to reduce any further incidents.

p.4

improvement to be good

Children live in a physically safe environment. Regular environmental safety checks are undertaken, and children regularly practise fire drills, so that they know what they need to do in the event of an emergency.

p.4

improvement to be good

Children are protected by the organisation’s thorough recruitment practices. Staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. These measures promote the safety of the children by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them.

p.4

good

The manager took up position in July 2021. The manager has yet to develop a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She has started to make changes to take the home forward. However, her limited time in post means that she has not yet had the opportunity to fully embed them.

p.4

good

The organisation is keen to equip staff with the skills they need to care for children effectively. The availability of staff training is good and is targeted at meeting the specific needs of the children resident in the home. However, records of what training staff have completed are not clear. For example, although the manager told the inspector that all staff have completed physical intervention training, there is no record of this on the organisation’s database. This does not support the manager when reviewing staff training needs.

p.4

good

There have been several serious incidents involving a child from the home. Serious incident notifications were not provided to HMCI. This does not allow the regulator to carry out its safeguarding responsibilities effectively to ensure that children are protected from harm.

p.4

good

The home’s statement of purpose is a comprehensive document that sets out what services the home has to offer. However, the manager has not sent HMCI a copy of the document or any subsequent revised documents. This means that Ofsted has not been made aware of revisions to the service since its registration. Inspection report children’s home: 2627054 5 Staff have continued to attend regular team meetings and have received monthly supervision. Staff said that this has helped to continue to improve practices in the home and provides an opportunity to talk about what is working well and what needs to change.

p.4

good

The manager makes sure that communication between agencies is prompt and effective in ensuring that all parties are kept well informed of children’s progress. A social worker reported, ‘Communication with the home is good; they ring and email me with regular updates on how she [their child] is doing.’ This means that children are benefiting from a holistic approach to their care. Inspection report children’s home: 2627054 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

that staff— 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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(b)(d))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to risk assessments being updated, responding appropriately and promptly to missing-from-care episodes and repairing the previously damaged wall in the home. 6 November 2021

p.6

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 6 November 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2627054 7 ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(d)(e))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff training is up to date and that there is a full and consistent staff team in the home. 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.

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

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)) 6 November 2021

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.7

Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

p.7

Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

p.7

Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(e)) 6 November 2021

p.7

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: 2627054 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: First Blue Healthcare Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Seighford Hall, Clanford Road, Seighford, Stafford ST18 9NL

p.8

Inspector

Dave Carrigan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2627054 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9