Children's home run by Blue Mountain Homes Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2561020 1 Registered provider: Blue Mountain Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned home that provides care and accommodation for up to five young people with learning disabilities. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since February 2022.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2561020 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/04/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2561020 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive a good standard of care. They are cared for by a knowledgeable and consistent staff team. Children are encouraged to develop their social skills and staff support them emotionally. This leads to children developing healthy lifestyles.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the children’s complex needs well. They have a broad range of experience in working with children with learning disabilities. When children come to live at this home with specific care needs, managers ensure that staff have the training to meet these needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Involved professionals and families report that the staff and managers provide essential support. This enables families to have a break from their caring responsibilities. They are supported to maintain a positive relationship with their children. Good communication with families means that the care provided is well informed. This means that children’s needs are understood and met to a good standard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend a school or alternative education provision. When children move into the home, an appropriate education provision is quickly identified. If children are not attending school, a bespoke educational plan is provided based on their individual needs. The manager ensures that care and education are well integrated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive the support they need to increase their independence skills. One child is succeeding in their plan to travel independently to school. During this inspection, they achieved this aim for the first time. The focus on developing independence skills means that children will leave the home with more confidence and skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move to the home, they continue to access familiar support services. For example, one child continues to benefit from a specialist service to support their identity. This is with a professional who is familiar to them. This is good practice to maintain this important professional relationship for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some areas of the home require updating and repair. The registered manager understands this and is prioritising these areas for improvement. This does not detract from what is a generally warm and homely environment.

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

Staff are confident and have a good knowledge of children’s risks and vulnerabilities. Detailed care plans and risk assessments guide staff in their understanding of children’s needs. They provide staff with effective strategies to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2561020 4 Children are confident to share any concerns they have with staff. They know how to complain. When children make complaints, managers ensure that these are always taken seriously. They are thoroughly investigated and children are given an outcome following an investigation. This develops a culture where children can make their needs known and trust staff to act on any concerns.

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

Staff responses to challenging behaviour are good. Staff undertake regular training in physical intervention and behaviour management. As a result, incidents of physical intervention have reduced. Staff make efforts to de-escalate situations before entering into a physical intervention. Staff and children have developed strong and affectionate bonds and this makes physical intervention less likely.

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

There has been a reduction in children going missing. If children do leave the home without agreement, the staff take the correct actions. When children return, they receive a return home interview to understand where they have been. This means that there are opportunities to understand the reasons for going missing, to reduce the occurrence, and to keep children safe.

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

Leaders and managers act quickly and effectively if staff raise concerns over poor practice by colleagues. Managers have worked closely with safeguarding agencies to share information. Investigations take place that are sufficiently detailed to assess what has taken place. These robust measures mean that only staff who provide a good standard of safe care remain working in this home.

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

The location of this children’s home is assessed by the manager on an annual basis. The manager works with involved agencies, such as the police, to obtain local crime statistics and other information. This joined-up approach to assessing the local environment means that managers are aware of changing local concerns and potential risk to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This children’s home is led by an experienced management team. The registered manager is ably supported by two deputy managers. Together, they have the necessary skills and experience to provide effective leadership to the staff team. In a relatively short period, the registered manager has made very good progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have robust oversight of all aspects of care. The manager’s quality assurance systems are effective. She quickly identifies areas for development and puts plans in place to address these areas. Changes and improvements are made in a timely manner, ensuring that children receive a consistently good level of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that staff are provided with regular opportunities for training and development. The staff have recently updated their skills in safeguarding, physical intervention and health and safety. When children move to the home who have specific care and health needs, targeted training is provided. Inspection report for children’s home: 2561020 5 Staff receive regular and good-quality professional supervision. This means that managers have opportunity to speak to staff about their care practice, raise any concerns and review their professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working with involved professional agencies is good. Involved professionals state that communication has improved. They report that children’s care planning has also improved. Effective partnership working with external agencies helps to ensure that children receive a good standard of care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2561020 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home provides a nurturing, supportive and homely environment that meets the needs of the children. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislation (for example, alarms, food hygiene); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than an ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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 for children’s home: 2561020 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Blue Mountain Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 17 Leeland Mansions, Leeland Road, London W13 9HE

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Pradeep Manaktala

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Inspector

Simon Hunter, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2561020 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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