Children's home run by Park Blue Homes Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2575788 1 Registered provider: Park Blue Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private organisation. It provides care for up to three children who may have needs associated with social and emotional difficulties, and in addition may have experienced loss, trauma, and abuse. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 3 September 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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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious failures that mean children are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded, and the care and experiences of children are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2575788 2

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inadequate

At the time of the inspection there were three children living at this home. These children experience a lack of consistency due to numerous carers. Since February 2021, two of the children have been cared for by 19 different members of permanent staff. In addition, numerous temporary staff have been employed either through an agency, as bank staff or staff from the provider’s other homes. Opportunities for children to develop trusting and meaningful relationships are limited because of staff turnover.

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inadequate

A social worker said that a child had told them about the number of staff changes and not always having the chance to say goodbye. Social care professionals report on some positive aspects of care provided, although they also raise concerns about disruptive behaviour at night and children spending long periods of time in their bedrooms.

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inadequate

Children’s progress and their opportunities and experiences are variable. Too often they are not good enough for children. The staff team plans for social activities and attempts to help children with their learning. Children enjoy the many outings and activities provided. Staff encourage and supported children to pursue their interests. However, more recently two children are increasingly disengaged and spending long periods in their bedrooms.

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inadequate

Not all children have a healthy routine. Lengthy periods in their bedrooms have led to non-engagement with formal learning, missing regular meals and sleep patterns being disturbed. All three children have been awake all through the night on several occasions, causing a disturbance.

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inadequate

The manager and staff team have worked well with other agencies to secure education for the children. One child attends college after successfully achieving GCSE qualifications. Alternative school provision is available for other children; however, their lack of engagement is stalling any progress towards attendance and attainment.

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

Staff and managers have failed to take effective action to safeguard the children. Several incidents have occurred that have not been managed sufficiently well by staff and consequently there has been a risk to children, staff and people in the community.

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

Incident reports from September 2021 clearly evidence safeguarding concerns, such as: Inspection report children’s home: 2575788 3  children removing door handles, causing themselves, or staff, to be locked in rooms of the home  smoke detectors being tampered with and taken down from the ceiling  items being thrown, causing windows in the home, and a car windscreen, to smash  children moving traffic cones in the road, near to the home, causing a hazard to motorists  gaining access to the home’s car at midnight, beeping the horn and playing loud music  children going missing from the home on two occasions, after being disruptive all night  verbal abuse and physical assaults on staff.

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

The disruption and upset caused by this failure to manage the children’s complex needs has led to staff leaving, allegations requiring investigation, police involvement and a complaint from a neighbour. Since September 2020, the manager has appropriately reported six allegations to the designated officer.

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

The inspector observed the staff positively interacting with children, and members of staff spoke warmly about wanting to support the children well. However, the children hold the balance of power in the home and are not consistently being helped and supported well enough to engage positively with staff or their social workers. Incidents have occurred throughout the night, when leaders, managers and the staff team are ineffective at disrupting this pattern of behaviour. Recent liaison with the local authority led to a court order to restrict mobile phone use for one child. At the time of this inspection, the court order had been implemented for six days and the level of unsettled behaviour at night was reducing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have failed to provide children with consistency of care or stability in daily routines. Lack of a stable staff team has contributed to children’s inability to form meaningful and positive relationships with those adults who care for and support them. Since October 2020, 12 staff have started and left their employment. These staff members were present for as little as two days, and up to six months.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers ensure that staff receive an induction, relevant training and support to complete residential childcare qualifications. However, three of the six staff have yet to achieve a relevant qualification having passed their probationary period. The manager and deputy are studying a management qualification and three team members already have degree level studies in social sciences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that suitable employment checks have been undertaken by the agency. This is in stark contrast to the thorough safer Inspection report children’s home: 2575788 4 recruitment practices of permanent staff. Information provided by the agency is minimal, with a list of training undertaken for each agency member of staff. The lack of scrutiny and curiosity by leaders and managers has led to four agency staff working at the home without training in the safeguarding of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager and staff have been challenged by the behaviours of the children and they have worked with the other professionals involved. A lack of timely action by leaders and managers to ensure that there is a sufficiently stable and experienced staff group to adequately address children’s complex needs has enabled the number of incidents to escalate and/or happen again. Consequently, there has been minimal progress in adequately meeting children’s needs, promoting positive behaviour and the level of engagement by two children remains low.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Communication among the staff team is conducted via a social media application. This involves all staff receiving a daily handover via their personal mobile phones. This method of communication fails to protect the privacy of children. In addition, this system does not safeguard children effectively as staff receive and send photos of them through their personal devices.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Generally, records are well maintained in the home, suitably stored, and readily retrieved on request. However, management overview of incident reports lacks suitable analysis. Leaders and managers have failed to identify and implement swift action to prevent situations that pose a risk for children and others and to avoid repetition.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have responded well to the threat of COVID-19, adopting government guidance about infection control. Inspection report children’s home: 2575788 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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(v)(vi)) 28 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

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. 21 January 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2575788 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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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

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(viii)(ix)(xi) (b))

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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—

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Requirement Due date

that staff— 21 January 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2575788 7 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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b))

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

Lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; and 28 January 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2575788 8 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected. (Regulation 21 (a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff members using personal mobile phones for work activity. 28 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the use of agency staff. 21 January 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2575788 9

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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: 2575788 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Park Blue Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fairfield Lodge, Evenwood Gate, Bishop Auckland DL14 9NH

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Inspector

Clare Davies, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2575788 11 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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