Children's Home run by Blue Elephant Childcare Limited in Devon

Inspection report for children’s home: 2609490 1 Registered provider: Blue Elephant Childcare Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for one child. It is one of a small group of homes run by a private company.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered in November 2020.

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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 February 2021 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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requires improvement to be good

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

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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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.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2609490 2 Inspection report for children’s home: 2609490 3

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Recent inspection history

Not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2609490 4

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improvement to be good

The experiences and progress of children in this home are mixed. There have been four children living at this home during this inspection period. The children have presented with a range of complexities that have challenged the staff team, whose members have not always been best placed to meet the children’s needs. In response to this, the manager has had to make changes to the staff team to ensure safety following significant incidents. This means that the staff team caring for the child has not always been consistent.

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improvement to be good

There is evidence of some learning from previous incidents, and the manager and senior leaders have worked hard to improve relationships with external professionals. A child’s social worker and school staff told the inspector that communication is honest and open between themselves and the home. There is clear joint working between key professionals to meet the needs of the child.

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improvement to be good

One child’s attendance at health appointments has significantly improved while living in the home. Staff are working hard to improve the child’s physical health and access to community activities. Staff are considerate of children’s low self-esteem, and they respond sensitively.

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improvement to be good

The manager demonstrates further sensitivity around family relationships, and purchased a car seat for a child’s younger sibling so they could visit at Christmas. The child’s parent described the home as ‘amazing’ and appreciated this thoughtfulness at an emotive time of year. The same parent also told the inspector that they recognise the hard work of the home, and they described having a positive working relationship with the home in order to care for their child.

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improvement to be good

The inspector found that staff lack the professional curiosity required to safeguard children. This view was shared by the parents of a child who had previously lived in the home and professionals involved in that child’s care, all of whom described practices in the home to be too complacent.

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improvement to be good

A child who was known to be using drugs was not supported to stop, and specialist help was not sought. Staff did not question where, or the means by which, the child was obtaining drugs, or take effective action to disrupt these relationships.

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improvement to be good

Similarly, when a child is missing from home staff do not seek to understand where the child has been or the reasons behind their behaviour. While missing-from-home protocols are followed, this is not well recorded. Inspection report for children’s home: 2609490 5 However, one child was protected from immediate harm, owing to the quick response by a member of staff towards a child with thoughts of suicide. Another member of staff has been proactive in researching topics that are pertinent to the child in their care. These have included special dietary requirements as well as opportunities to expand their experiences and develop existing interests.

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improvement to be good

The inspector found that the use of physical restraint was proportionate and appropriate to the circumstances, with evidence that this is used as a last resort. However, when the manager is involved in the restraining of a child, their manager does not consistently debrief with the child.

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good

Children’s records do not contain the appropriate level of detail to instruct staff on how to care for the child. Key decisions are not effectively recorded in order to provide evidence of the rationale for, and risk assessment of, the decisions around a child’s care. Children are not supported to access or contribute to their care records, and, therefore, their voice is not effectively captured.

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good

Staff told the inspector that the home is managed by leaders who are supportive and available to them. Staff are approached for their views and ideas, and are respected as key professionals within the child’s network.

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good

Staff value the ethos of the home and the family environment that they strive to create for the child.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision from the manager. However, the inspector found that supervision does not offer staff the opportunity to reflect on their practice. Supervision records are not well recorded and could be open to interpretation.

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good

Following incidents, staff do not receive an effective debrief or opportunity for further reflection from the manager. However, some staff members have accessed the home’s psychologist to discuss their experiences further.

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good

When there have been significant incidents, the team are debriefed together and encouraged to look for lessons to be learned. However, these do not go far enough to achieve effective change, and ideas are not implemented quickly enough..

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good

Staff describe receiving effective and relevant training to support their work. However, some staff described feeling ‘isolated’, while others have felt ill-prepared to lone work at the home and be confident to be able to meet the child’s needs. Safer recruitment practices are in place at this home.

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good

The manager told the inspector that COVID-19 has created additional challenges for the home. The home is situated in an area with a predominantly older population and limited resources for children. The closure of the few local resources during Inspection report for children’s home: 2609490 6 lockdown posed a greater challenge to the home in trying to find safe activities to engage children who had limited access to their peers. Inspection report for children’s home: 2609490 7

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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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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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.

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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

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to prepare for any review of the child’s relevant plans and to make the child’s views, wishes and feelings known for the purposes of that review; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the views of each relevant person are taken into account, so far as reasonably practicable, before making a decision about the care or welfare of a child. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vi)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that children’s wishes and goals for their future are clearly recorded 31 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2609490 8 and shared appropriately and children are supported to achieve these where possible.

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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

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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that staff show professional curiosity and are proactive in promoting children’s safety and disrupting potentially harmful relationships in order to reduce risk. 10 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2609490 9 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 work as a team where appropriate;

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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 has sufficient staff to provide care for 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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, these standards refer to ensuring that the registered person is continuously evaluating the care provided, identifying shortfalls and acting quickly to remedy these to improve care. The registered person must review the 31 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2609490 10 sufficiency of the staffing levels and accurately record where decisions are made to increase or decrease the staffing ratio.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed;

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Requirement Due date

that, subject to regulation 22 (contact and access to communications), contact between each child and the child’s parents, relatives and friends, is promoted in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

the child is, or has been, persistently absent from the home without permission; or

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Requirement Due date

the child requests a review of the child’s relevant plans; and 30 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2609490 11 that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(c)(d)(e)(i)(ii)(iii)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s care records are written with the child, where appropriate, and detail the plan for the child and how staff will meet the child’s needs and work towards the goals. The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (2) (3)(b)(i)(ii).

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Requirement Due date

In particular, where the registered manager is involved in the use of restraint, the registered individual should conduct the debrief with the child. 10 March 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision which allows them to reflect on their practice, and that the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions are accurately recorded. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2609490 12 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: 2609490 13

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Blue Elephant Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 30, Chivenor Business Park, Barnstaple, Devon EX31 4AY

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Inspector

Katie Ratcliffe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2609490 14 regulates and inspects 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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