Children's Home run by Blue Mountain Homes Ltd in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC475335 1 SC475335 Registered provider: Blue Mountain Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned home. It is registered to care for four children who are currently unable to live with their families.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a qualified registered manager.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 24 January 2022

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC475335 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/01/2022 Full Outstanding 18/12/2019 Full Good 19/09/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 04/04/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC475335 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children, staff and the manager have been through a difficult time after the death of a child in the home. The manager, with the support of the organisation, has provided strong and supportive leadership to enable children and the team to grieve for the child.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who are new to the home quickly become settled. The staff are warm and welcoming, and the sound of laughter is prevalent, showing what a happy home this is. The children are happy and relaxed around the adults. They have lots of positive experiences, such as going ice skating and tobogganing. They make significant progress towards living independently and developing important life skills.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children go to school or college regularly. Staff talk to the children about the importance of education. The manager strongly advocates for children who are struggling to attend their education provision. However, children who are not attending school regularly do not have a structured plan to ensure that they stay in an educational routine. One child who is not enjoying the college experience has been supported to apply for an apprenticeship scheme of her choice. She has had a trial and it is likely she will be offered the apprenticeship. She is overjoyed at the prospect and staff are rightly proud of her.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There has been an emphasis on staff building warm and nurturing relationships with children, ensuring they provide many opportunities for children to talk to them about their feelings. Achievements, no matter how small, are celebrated. Memory books are kept for children to help them remember the good times. The manager regularly wrote letters to all the children after a serious incident to ensure children felt loved and appreciated.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who leave the home for independent living are well prepared. Children help with cooking meals and baking. They carry out household chores and participate in activities to help them have a better understanding of money and budgeting. Staff continue to remain in contact with a child who has recently left the home. A social worker said staff had been excellent during the child’s transition to independent living accommodation. They said that staff show continued interest, ‘which is so valuable and needed for the child in the absence of any positive family member’.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment is homely and has recently been updated. Children’s bedrooms are highly personalised and have recently been redecorated. However, the door alarm is intrusive and does not fit the therapeutic approach followed by the home. A child said, ‘The alarm is annoying.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have opened the lounge at night for a child who is struggling to sleep in her bedroom. However, other communal areas are routinely locked at night. This is to encourage children to settle. Nevertheless, children should be able to access all Inspection report for children’s home: SC475335 4 areas of the home, unless there is a safeguarding reason why this should not be the case and it has been agreed with the child’s placing local authority.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health is good. They do not smoke or drink alcohol. They have access to a range of healthcare professionals, including mental health services. Some children take prescribed medication, and this is stored securely. However, practice could be improved to ensure that medication is administered correctly and stored hygienically. Identified shortfalls were addressed immediately by the manager.

p.4

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

It is rare that children harm themselves in this home. However, a child died following a suspected incident of self-harm last year. Ofsted carried out a monitoring visit on 14 June 2022, not long after the child died. This was a tragic incident, and the monitoring visit did not raise any concerns about the safety of children at the time of the visit. Children continue to feel safe, and no concerns have been identified during this inspection regarding the safety of children.

p.4

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

Staff have a good understanding of how to keep children safe. They follow procedures correctly to ensure that children are safe.

p.4

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

Staff manage the children’s online safety very well. They talk to children about online safety. They also monitor phone use to ensure that children are accessing social media appropriately. Any concerns are quickly identified and dealt with sensitively but effectively.

p.4

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

Children are mostly settled. Incidents of children becoming upset or angry are rare and are managed well by the manager and staff. Staff take a therapeutic approach, which helps children to settle quickly after an incident. This means children have not had to be restrained and no consequences have been given. A child who is struggling to sleep at night is receiving a nurturing approach to help her to feel safe and secure.

p.4

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

A child who recently moved on from the home did go missing from care on a few occasions. Staff followed procedures appropriately to locate the child and return them to the home safely. A social worker said, ‘This evidenced to the child how much workers invested in her well-being and safety, in a therapeutically caring way.’ No other children have gone missing from care. This is because children feel safe and secure.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is experienced and appropriately qualified. She has an in- depth understanding of the needs of the children and is passionate about ensuring children have bright futures. A social worker said of the manager, ‘She is so caring, child-focused and determined to fight all the children’s corners.’ The manager encourages a therapeutic approach and ensures that staff are equipped with the skills to provide it. She provides strong and supportive leadership. She has ambitious Inspection report for children’s home: SC475335 5 plans to further develop the home, which she does in full consultation with the children. The manager is a strong advocate for the children. She has spoken up for children about their education. For example, a new provision is being considered because a child is unhappy with their current provision.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff are child-centred and provide rich and varied opportunities for children. Children have been on holiday and participate in many exciting activities. Staff are highly motivated to provide good care for children, fully understanding the importance of warm and nurturing relationships with children. A social worker said, ‘It comes across more as a real home and not just a job.’

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

External professionals say that staff communicate with them effectively and that staff go above and beyond for the children. They say that children have made significant progress since coming to the home and that support given to children to move to living independently has been excellent. A social worker commented on staff staying in contact with a young person who has left the home to move to supported accommodation, saying that this support has been ‘invaluable’.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff have felt very well supported following a serious incident with a child. Children’s emotional well-being has been a priority, to ensure that children can come to terms with the loss they have experienced. For example, following the incident, which affected all the children at the time, staff took children away on holiday. While they were away, elements of the house were changed structurally, such as the dining room being knocked through to the kitchen. This has made the kitchen the hub of the home and is a welcome change, helping everyone move forward. Inspection report for children’s home: SC475335 6

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when children are placed in a home but not participating in education, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should ensure that, just as in a family home, children should be able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Limits on privacy and access may only be put in place to safeguard each child in the home (regulation 21(c)(i)). Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home, must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded, and be

p.6

Recommendations

kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  The registered person should ensure that there are suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. These are fundamentally the same sorts of arrangements as a good parent would make but are subject to additional safeguards. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)

p.6

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: SC475335 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Blue Mountain Homes Ltd

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Pradeep Manaktala

p.7

Inspector

Joanne Vyas, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC475335 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.7

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.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8