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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1244161 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 home is privately owned and provides care for one child who experiences social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 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: 1244161 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/06/2022 Full Good 05/07/2021 Full Good 03/04/2019 Full Good 09/05/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1244161 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, the experiences and progress for the child are good. Staff develop strong relationships with the child and understand their needs well. A student social worker said, ‘[Name of child] couldn’t be in a better place. The support, people and structure are absolutely brilliant.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm, welcoming and decorated to a good standard. The child’s bedroom is personalised and reflects their interests. Photos of the child and staff are displayed around the home, and this contributes to the homely feel.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide a variety of new experiences for the child, including a recent trip to experience a major sporting event the child was interested in. Activities are planned and based on the child’s interests and hobbies. This ensures the child has positive life experiences and develops their social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has been out of education, and so the manager and staff have advocated on behalf of the child. They have tried many creative and innovative ways to support the child to receive education. For example, staff became exam invigilators and liaised with education to ensure the child was supported to sit their exams. The manager also advocates for the child in relation to future independence planning and communicates well with the local authority. Staff promote the child’s progress, achievements and learning and support their future aspirations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When a child is placed, there is a clear process for their admission into the home. This includes understanding the needs of the child and considering whether staff have the skills to support the child to a good standard. When additional skills are required, training is provided to the staff team to ensure it has the skills required to care for the child successfully. This ensures that the care provided is tailored to a child’s individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the value of continued family relationships. They support the child to spend time with family in person and by phone. However, staff do not always support the child with difficult conversations. There is no clear plan in place to ensure the child knows how to ask for help during these conversations.

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

Individual risk assessments and support plans are detailed. Links are made between previous worries and potential triggers to more-difficult behaviours. The vulnerabilities of the child are well understood, and the staff ensure that the child is safeguarded across all aspects of care. These help staff to understand how they can best provide support and help to the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 1244161 4 Staff only use physical intervention with the child as a last resort to prevent the child from harming themselves and others. The reports following any physical interventions are detailed and help to understand what led to the incident and if any lessons can be learned to prevent reoccurrence. The child and staff are supported after the incident. When injuries are sustained, medical advice has not been sought promptly.

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

When a child shares worries relating to childhood experiences, the manager and staff are supportive and share this information with appropriate external professionals. This ensures the child feels listened to, and appropriate help is identified for the child.

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

Medication is stored safely. Audits of medication are undertaken regularly, and when medication is taken out of the home, this is managed effectively. Staff support the child with taking prescribed medication. Plans are in place to progress independence with this in a safe way.

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

Managers and staff do not consistently follow the whistle-blowing procedures. This resulted in an incident for a previous child that could have been avoided. The manager did not critically reflect on the incident and missed an opportunity for learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and passionate about the outcomes for the child. This inspires the ethos of the home. One staff member said, ‘The home is great, and the passion is second to none.’ The manager has a robust filing system. Staff are safely recruited, and the child is actively involved in the interview process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The development plan is clear and specific to the home. There is a focus on achieving requirements that were set at the last inspection. This shows a willingness to develop practice in line with the needs of the child and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is quick to identify the required training to improve care practice and meet the needs of the child. Staff have regular oversight from leaders and managers and feel supported in their role. Recording in this regard requires some improvement to show how reflection on care practice leads to better outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff know the children well and pass this knowledge on to new staff when they commence in post. Staff are equipped to provide good-quality and personalised care from the outset. This supports positive relationships being established. During staff shortages, staff have worked long hours. Although this is tiring for staff, they have remained focused on children. However, this has the potential to compromise care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers notify professionals, including the local authority designated officer, of allegations. Internal follow-up does not always take place in its entirety, and recording lacks detail. This results in no clear ending to the child’s complaints. It is unclear how staff support the child through the complaints and allegations process. Inspection report for children’s home: 1244161 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, The 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 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

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)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to managers and staff being reflective about practice and identifying ways to develop practice and therefore improve care to children. It also refers to managers ensuring that children have clear responses and outcomes of complaints made about staff. Additionally, managers must ensure that incidents are fully investigated to ensure children are supported and staff practice issues are identified and addressed. 13 September 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1244161 6 The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff have planned rest days and do not work excessive hours without a break from work. 13 September 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to all records being kept up to date, with clear details about events and outcomes recorded with the records not kept solely in manager’s handwritten books. 13 September 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision that is purposeful and allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘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 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: 1244161 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: Unit 20-21, Pullman Business Court, Mallard Way, Pride Park, Derby DE24 8GX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Pradeep Manaktala

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Inspectors

Kathryn Hurley, Social Care Inspector Ellen Monk, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1244161 8 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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