Children's Home run by Park Blue Homes Limited in Wiltshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC482872 1 SC482872 Registered provider: Park Blue Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private organisation. It provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties and who may also have a learning disability. At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2023.

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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

Date of last inspection: 7 February 2023

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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: SC482872 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/02/2023 Full Good 14/09/2021 Full Good 20/01/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 03/12/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC482872 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in the home. One child describes it as ‘amazing’. The manager has provided consistency and stability for children through staffing changes. Children get to know new staff through enjoyable activities and trips. This helps children and staff to get to know each other outside of the home. Trips have included camping, going to the beach, visiting attractions and going on a holiday to Spain. Staff capture their time with children through photos and written memories, including funny moments. This helps to make the records meaningful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children attend school. One child enjoys learning and values the time they spend at school. For the other child, there are ongoing discussions and planning meetings to help get the right support in place. The manager provides challenge when necessary and works with other professionals to create a plan that meets the child’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good physical health. Staff encourage them to eat healthy food and be active. With the support of an activities and engagement coordinator, children enjoy well-planned activities. The activities coordinator works closely with the consultant therapist to identify meaningful activities that will benefit the children, for example by building their self-esteem and confidence. Many activities are interactive and outdoors, such as bushcraft, paddleboarding and den building. Monthly reports are completed which review children’s engagement and progress with therapeutic support and activities. However, the author of these reports is not always clear.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A variety of documents help staff know how to support children. These documents mostly provide a clear insight into the child’s world. However, some of the language used lacks clarity, and children’s needs associated with their specific health conditions are not clear. The manager sets targets for children and reviews these. The provider is reviewing how this is done to improve the process.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents are positive about the home. They see their children make progress and receive help to be safe. Staff keep them up to date about things they do, and parents feel able to contact the manager if they have anything they want to discuss.

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

Children feel safe in the home. Staff help children to open up and speak about their concerns. Children trust staff and the way that they respond, which means they share their worries.

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

The manager has systems in place to monitor and understand children’s behaviour in the home. The manager identifies that these require review, to better reflect the needs of the children. Incidents are clearly recorded, and conversations take place with the child to understand their thoughts and feelings about what has happened. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482872 4 Restraint has been used for one child, who left the home last year. These incidents cover a period when the child was aware of the plan to move and was unsettled and uncertain. This child’s behaviour started to have an impact on the other child in the home. Staff used restraint as a last resort when there was clear risk. On occasion, staff were able to de-escalate concerns without the use of restraint.

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

One allegation has been made by a child about staff. This was clearly recorded and reported to the appropriate safeguarding authorities. An investigation was carried out, which identified the need for additional training and support for staff.

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

Children and staff have opportunities to practise fire evacuations from the home. One child enjoys showing new starters the process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A dedicated and committed manager leads the home. She understands her role in inspiring and driving change. There has been significant staff turnover, with all staff apart from the manager being new to the home in the last year. The manager has been a stable presence for children. She has used the change as an opportunity to embed her ethos for the home. The manager has systems in place for evaluating the quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some staffing gaps have been filled using temporary staff. These have been consistent workers to reduce the change for children. Since September 2023, the home has only used its own temporary staff. This provides familiarity for children and a consistent level of training. Thorough recruitment processes are in place for permanent staff. However, full dates of employment are not always obtained, which means that potential gaps are not identified. Full employment history has not been obtained for some temporary staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings provide staff with a place to speak about children’s care and the practical arrangements in the home. Supervision takes place regularly. Conversations follow structured prompts to facilitate good discussions about children. Staff are asked about safeguarding concerns and to think about their use of the parenting model used in the home. Although safeguarding is a supervision agenda item, there are missed opportunities in these sessions, or in team meetings, to explore scenarios given the low incidence of safeguarding concerns in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The organisation provides a clear training structure for staff to follow. Staff have completed the training needed to begin working in the home. Due to the large number of new staff, most are now working through more-specific courses to supplement their learning on the job.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The therapeutic approach for the home is clearly set out in a plan which shows how it will be integrated into all aspects of care. This is in the process of being embedded. Staff receive reflective supervision as a group. This helps them to explore and understand what is going on for children and to provide consistent Inspection report for children’s home: SC482872 5 responses and support. This takes place with the consultant therapist and feeds into their understanding of the skill and ability of staff to deliver therapeutic care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC482872 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a full employment history is obtained for all staff, which includes full dates of employment where possible in order to ensure that potential employment gaps are identified and explored. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that consideration is given to scenario-based discussions with staff to explore aspects of care which they do not often deal with, such as safeguarding or behaviour concerns. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that records contain language that is clear and meaningful to all readers. They should also ensure that children’s plans contain clear information about how their medical conditions present and impact on them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality

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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: SC482872 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Park Blue Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 38 Freemans Way, Harrogate, North Yorkshire HG3 1DH

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Inspector

Clare Nixson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC482872 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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