Children's home run by Blossom Care Group Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2560305 1 Registered provider: Blossom Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned. It provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since July 2023. A new manager was appointed in September 2023 and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of inspection, two children were living in the home.

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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: 14 November 2022

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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: 2560305 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/11/2022 Full Good 15/02/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness 21/04/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2560305 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in the home. They have trusted adults they can rely on and they say they are well looked after. One child said, ‘I am happy about being here and I feel safe.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prepare children for their moves in and out of the home. Children who have moved out of the home have contributed towards their transition plan. Their time in the home has been captured in memory books that they take with them. One child continues to remain in regular contact with the staff in the home. The siblings who were living at the home at the time of inspection have never been cared for outside of their extended family. They have been sensitively welcomed into the home in a planned manner. As a result of this good practice, the children’s anxieties have been managed and they have settled well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school and are making progress. One child aspires to work as a nurse and the other child as a police officer. Staff nurture and promote these ambitions well. They advocate for children when their progress is being affected. When one child was out of school for a few weeks due to their behaviour, staff worked with the school to secure a tutor to deliver education in the home. The child has also been helped to understand the impact of their behaviours on them and others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the children’s lived experiences and the impact these have on their development. Children have been supported to understand the bereavement of family members, while they wait for access to specialist services. This has led to the children being able to speak more openly about their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are physically fit. They are registered with health services and attend routine appointments when required. They are helped by staff to understand and live healthy lifestyles. As part of this, they choose the food they wish to cook with staff. They also take part in a range of physical activities including playing sports and going to the gym regularly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The identity of children and their cultural heritage is promoted effectively by staff. Children spend time with their family members and friends. Children are cared for by a diverse staff team that helps them celebrate their individuality. This helps children to maintain important relationships and to be proud of who they are.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is spacious and homely. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, and pictures of the children enhance the communal living areas. When there is damage in the home, this is addressed promptly by the manager. Inspection report for children’s home: 2560305 4

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

Staff manage incidents in the home well. When children struggle to manage their behaviours, staff use de-escalation techniques in line with the home’s model of care. Staff physically intervene as a last resort to ensure that children remain safe. This is recorded in a timely manner and the manager retains oversight of this process. Learning from these incidents is shared with staff to support their ongoing development.

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

When children go missing, staff follow the children’s plans and work with professionals to ensure that the child returns home safely. The manager escalated concerns about the risk to one child during the times they went missing from the home. The child was engaged and educated about the risks to them through regular direct work. As a result, the child felt prepared and ready for semi-independent living and wished to move out of the home. This led to the child’s needs being reassessed in line with their evolving needs and views.

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

Children’s individual risks are understood clearly by the manager and staff. There are detailed risk management plans that staff follow. However, when these plans have been updated, they are not always done so correctly. The children’s legal status has been noted incorrectly in their individual plans. This has not impacted directly on children, but does provide inaccurate information. The manager acknowledged this shortfall and had report writing and record-keeping as part of the development plan.

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

Children know how to make a complaint. When they do, the manager gathers their views, keeps them updated about the progress and the outcome of their complaint. When children raise concerns about the behaviour of staff, this has been swiftly managed. During the investigation, the manager works with relevant professionals and keeps children safe. Children are encouraged to engage with mediation with staff if appropriate. This helps to repair relationships. Children feel listened to and valued.

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

There have been no medication errors. However, the quality of the recording of medication for children has not been consistent. Some staff have not completed relevant medication training. The manager recognised this and ensured that these staff complete online training. Further to this, all staff have been booked on to further face-to-face medication training.

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

Safe recruitment processes are in place. Bank staff employed by the provider have provided additional support when required. These staff are familiar to the children. This means children benefit from consistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a clear plan and vision for the ongoing development of the home. They are well supported by an experienced responsible individual and committed deputy manager. They are a visible and supportive presence in the home for staff and children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2560305 5 There is a full team of staff with a balance of qualified, experienced and some who are new to the home. Staff speak positively about the managers and the morale in the team. Leaders and managers promote staff development and promotion into more senior roles. Staff were positive about the positive culture in the home and strive to provide children with good-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. This is underpinned by managers holding regular team meetings and providing annual appraisals. In supervision meetings, staff are encouraged to engage in scenario- based questions and reflection. This helps them to develop their knowledge around topics such as medication and safeguarding of children .

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are good management systems and processes in place. This assists the managers and leaders to maintain effective oversight of the care of children and staff practice. Multi-agency working is a strength in the home. Professionals recognise this and have been positive about the care provided to children. One child’s social worker said that staff have gone above and beyond to support the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2560305 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: 2560305 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Blossom Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Staton Young, Anglesey House, Anglesey Road, Burton-on-Trent DE14 3NT

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Inspector

Nurul Kabir, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2560305 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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Inspector

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