Children's home run by Blossom Care Group Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2617199 1 Registered provider: Blossom Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned. It provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. The home was registered in June 2021.

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 carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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

Date of last inspection: 21 September 2021

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: A restriction of accommodation notice was served following the last full inspection in September 2021. Two compliance notices were raised and deemed to have been met at the monitoring visit on 2 November 2021. Inspection report for children’s home: 2617199 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/09/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2617199 3

p.2

improvement to be good

There is one child living at the home. No children have moved on from the home or into the home since the monitoring visit.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff have recently implemented a clearer daytime and night time routine to help the child structure his day. This has led to fewer incidents, particularly at bedtimes. This new approach to planning a child’s day is effective and is contributing to the child feeling more settled. Embedding this new approach is now the focus of staff and managers.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff recognise that children who struggle with regulating their emotions require external support to help them to gain a better understanding of their needs. As such, managers have accessed appropriate support for the child. However, staff do not always seek feedback from specialist health professionals, which means that they are not working as collaboratively as they could to support the child.

p.3

improvement to be good

The child receives some good support from staff which has enabled him to attend routine health appointments. This means that his physical health needs are being met well.

p.3

improvement to be good

The child’s views on activities that he wants to do and foods he wants to eat are well considered by staff. However, it is not always clear from records how children contribute to their plans and that discussions take account of children’s views and feelings.

p.3

improvement to be good

Positive relationships between the staff and the child were observed during the inspection. The child shared that he gets on well with staff and likes living at the home. The child’s bedroom is personalised and the home environment is welcoming.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff promote the importance of education. Recently, the child has started to cycle to and from school independently. This shows that the child is motivated and exercising choice to attend school each day. His attendance at school is good. Communication between the staff and teachers at the school has started to improve, with regular handover discussions.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff are undertaking meaningful one-to-one work with the child. This has included discussions around health and relationships. Good individual work with children helps them to gain insight into things which may harm them, as well as learn valuable life lessons. Inspection report for children’s home: 2617199 4

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff only use physical intervention as a last resort to keep the child and others safe. Although there have been some improvements to restraint incident records, some shortfalls remain. For example, records do not always include a clear description of the hold used, and managers do not consistently complete a thorough review of the incident and implement learning with staff.

p.4

improvement to be good

Children do not routinely go missing from home. However, on two occasions when the child left the home without informing staff, staff did not follow the missing from care plan. For example, on one occasion, staff called the police without checking the local area first. When staff did go and search the local area, the child was found and returned safely. Not following plans has the potential to compromise children’s welfare. For example, on one occasion, staff involved the police when this was not necessary.

p.4

improvement to be good

The fire risk assessment is completed annually and the manager has ensured that he has completed the action plan arising from this assessment. However, in recent weeks, staff have not been completing the required weekly fire checks. The manager has not noticed this shortfall because he has not been completing his audits on health and safety matters.

p.4

improvement to be good

Staff implement positive behaviour management strategies based on praise and rewards. This approach has led to a reduction in challenging behaviours and incidents in recent weeks.

p.4

improvement to be good

The location risk assessment is reviewed and updated regularly. This helps staff and children to have a good understanding of the local area and potential risks, and how to reduce these risks.

p.4

good

The manager has reflected and taken learning from the previous inspection. The recent appointment of an operations manager has provided the manager with additional support. However, the provider has not yet appointed a suitable responsible individual. A requirement at the previous inspection is repeated.

p.4

good

Records relating to staff supervision have improved showing that these meetings have more purpose and structure. However, they do not provide details of reflective practice, or show how the manager addresses issues of concern with staff to promote their learning and development.

p.4

good

The monthly independent visitor reports have not been submitted to Ofsted in a timely way. This means that the regulator is not kept up to date with what is happening in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2617199 5 Improvements have been made to the quality of care that children receive. However, the manager does not yet have robust monitoring and reviewing systems that enable him to retain consistently good oversight. As a result, the manager has not picked up on fire checks not been undertaken or information missing from a child’s plan.

p.4

good

The manager has plans to provide further training to staff in the upcoming months, which will upskill staff and further improve their practice. Because this plan has not yet been implemented, the requirement raised at the previous inspection is raised again.

p.5

good

The restriction of accommodation was lifted following this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2617199 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

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. (Regulation 7 (1)(c)) 28 February 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

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

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)(h)) 28 February 2021

p.6

Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26 (7)(b)) 28 February 2021 Inspection report for children’s home: 2617199 7 The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

p.7

Requirement Due date

HMCI. (Regulation 44 (1)(7)(a)) 28 February 2021

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff receive supervision which is reflective and fully supports their development. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)  The registered person should ensure that there is close partnership working with other professionals involved in delivering support to children so that they can work together to promote children’s welfare. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.4)  The registered person should ensure that the records relating to physical intervention are reviewed consistently and promote learning for staff. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)  The registered person should ensure that staff follow the missing from care plan for children and that staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities in

p.7

Recommendations

following agreed procedures. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28)

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 for children’s home: 2617199 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Blossom Care Group Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 56 Rolleston Road, Burton-On-Trent, Staffordshire DE13 0JZ

p.8

Inspector

Shazana Jamal, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2617199 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