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

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC464759 1 SC464759

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Blue Mountain Homes Ltd

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 up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

An acting manager has been in post since 23 December 2023 and has not yet submitted their application to register.

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This monitoring visit

This children’s home was judged requires improvement to be good at the full inspection on 16 and 17 August 2023. An assurance inspection was undertaken on 1 November 2023, where serious and widespread concerns were found. A compliance notice was set because of shortfalls identified in leadership and management of the home.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was undertaken to assess the action taken at the home to meet the compliance notice. It was also to review the progress made by leaders and managers in addressing the concerns raised at the full inspection. The compliance notice was met at this inspection.

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This monitoring visit

Managers have developed an action plan. This outlines the steps taken to address the requirements made at the full inspection in August 2023 and the subsequent assurance inspection. Progress includes training to develop staff skills and knowledge, and management oversight. The manager’s oversight considers how staff apply learning to the care they provide to children and how this enhances children’s lives and helps them to make progress. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC464759 2 At the last inspection, it was identified that improvements were required in children’s bedrooms. This requirement is judged to have been met following improvements to the cleanliness and presentation of children’s bedrooms.

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This monitoring visit

Children do not yet have secure relationships with staff. Individual discussions between children and staff vary in quality. Actions are not always clear, and children do not always feel listened to. This impacts the confidence that children have in staff providing good care.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have received additional training on reporting and recording, and support to children who are struggling to manage their emotions. Effective recording is an ongoing area of weakness. Incident reports do not always set out how children feel and what support staff provide. This is work in progress. Staff need more training and experience to make sure that they can meet all children’s needs.

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This monitoring visit

The acting manager and area manager have improved the monitoring of the home, which now includes oversight of significant incidents and critical reflection. However, this new practice is not yet embedded.

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This monitoring visit

Although there remain areas for improvement, the provider has made progress in addressing the primary concerns following the assurance inspection in November 2023, and the steps set out in the compliance notice are met.

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This monitoring visit

The remaining requirements that were raised at the full inspection in August 2023 were not reviewed at this monitoring visit. They are restated and will be reviewed at the next inspection. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC464759 3

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 16/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/07/2022 Full Good 22/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/04/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC464759 4

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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 with 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(i))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff are supported to develop their knowledge and understanding, in order to 29 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC464759 5 provide the skills needed to provide good and consistent care to children.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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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)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff understand individual safety and support plans for children and act in a timely manner where worries are raised about the safety of children.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was set at the previous inspection and is restated. 29 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and 29 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC464759 6 have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that careful and considered decisions are made when admitting children into the home and that children have a positive experience of moving in to and out of the home.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was set at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare; 29 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC464759 7 help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

is enabled to provide feedback to, and raise issues with, a relevant person about the support and services that the child receives. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff are supported to develop more-positive relationships with children and ensure that children feel listened to.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff consider how the child’s experiences may have impacted them, and utilise the skills and knowledge of the wider staff team. 29 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC464759 8 This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it;

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality-of-care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”). (Regulation 45 (2)(b)(c) (3))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 29 March 2024

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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 kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) 29 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)(e)) 29 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC464759 9

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC464759 10

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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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Inspector

Kathryn Hurley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC464759 11 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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