Children's home run by Blue Mountain Homes Ltd in Ealing

Inspection report children’s home: SC059998 1 SC059998 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 children’s home is privately owned. It provides care for up to four children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a qualified and registered manager who has been in post since November 2019.

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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: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC059998 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 06/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/11/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 20/08/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC059998 3

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improvement to be good

Children do not yet make sustained progress in all areas of their lives. Following the last inspection, several areas of care have not yet sufficiently improved and still require improvement.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not consistently encouraging all children, including older children, to lead a healthy lifestyle. For example, there is insufficient evidence of staff supporting children to stop smoking. Children smoke in the house. Consequently, there is a negative impact on younger and more-impressionable children who come to live at this home.

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improvement to be good

Children continue to make good progress with their education and training. For those children who have yet to secure a school place, suitable structured activities are provided by staff. Children also have a planned timetable of education at the home with a teacher.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to build on their independence. Children learn new skills and grow in confidence. When a specific area of self-care is identified, children have access to educational resources. This prepares them well for their eventual move to adult life.

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improvement to be good

Children who are new to the home are welcomed sensitively and with consideration about their circumstances before care. For one of the children, staff created a sensory environment that reminded them of their family. This has been effective and means that this child has become less anxious at night-time.

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improvement to be good

Children live in a large, detached house. They are provided with their own bedrooms and bathrooms. They enjoy using a dedicated games room. There is play equipment outside. However, children’s bedrooms are not consistently in a clean or healthy state. This has meant that children have lived in a poor environment, detrimental to their physical health and emotional well-being.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not ensured that there is a robust process to check the quality, cleanliness and safety of all areas of the home. Children’s bedrooms have broken furniture in them. The desk is covered in inappropriate language. Bedrooms have not been cleaned. Ineffective monitoring of care means that some children live in a neglectful environment.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not considered all of the risks and vulnerabilities associated with the children in order to minimise potential harm. One of the children smokes in their Inspection report children’s home: SC059998 4 bedroom. This increases the overall risk to all children. When a risk is identified, staff have not adhered to plans to reduce these risks, including conducting regular room checks.

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improvement to be good

Staff have raised concerns about the appropriateness of some children being admitted to this home. Staff have not had sufficient opportunity to share these concerns with a manager. As a result, morale in the staff team is low. Staff feel that they are being ineffective when trying to meet the complex caring needs of some children.

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improvement to be good

Children rarely go missing from this home. When they do, staff ensure that risk assessments are followed. Appropriate safeguarding agencies are informed. This sharing of information and joint working means that children are quickly located.

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improvement to be good

Staff recruitment files contain all the necessary checks, references and employment history. This includes checks regarding any gaps in candidates’ employment histories. Copies of training certificates are obtained and placed on staff files.

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good

The leaders’ and managers’ monitoring of the home is yet to be effective. New processes for auditing have not prevented shortfalls, nor have they fully identified weaknesses. This means that managers have not taken decisive action to prevent children living in neglectful environments.

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good

The matching of new children has not taken account of all the vulnerabilities of the children who currently live at the home. The impact has been significant. Children have felt uneasy living in their home. Staff acknowledge that they have struggled to always ensure the safety and well-being of all children.

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good

Practice-based supervision has improved. There had been significant gaps in supervision. Supervision now takes place more regularly. However, at times of significant challenge and stress in the home, staff have not had sufficient opportunity to meet as a team. This means that opportunities to reflect on practice and to gain support and direction from a manager have been missed.

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good

Managers usually ensure that staff have access to regular training and development opportunities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many training courses were online. There is a slow but steady move back to face-to-face training. However, for some staff, there are considerable gaps in their training regarding the safeguarding of children.

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good

All statutory requirements and most recommendations have been met from the previous inspection. However, at this inspection, two requirements and one recommendation were made. Inspection report children’s home: SC059998 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 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 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)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This is made in relation to the manager needing to ensure that risks associated with children smoking in their bedrooms are reduced. 4 July 2022

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This is made in relation to a child’s bedroom that was found to be in a neglectful state. Monitoring of the quality of care provided in the home needs to improve. 4 July 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should support staff to be ambitious for every child in the home and to gain skills and experience that enable them to actively support each Inspection report children’s home: SC059998 6 child to achieve their potential. To ensure staff can understand and can meet each child’s needs, in line with their responsibilities, the registered person themselves will need to have a high level of understanding of the needs of the children in their care. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5)

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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: SC059998 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 children’s home: SC059998 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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