Children's home run by Park Blue Homes Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2575788 1 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 learning disabilities. At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 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 requires improvement to be 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 December 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: 2575788 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/12/2022 Full Good 28/03/2022 Full Good 09/12/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2575788 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child benefits from a supportive home environment where staff help them to learn and develop. Staff are responsive to the child. They play with and entertain them. Through play, they support the child to develop skills such as turn-taking and empathy. Staff support and encourage the child’s love of surprising people, for example by helping them to organise surprise parties for staff on their birthdays. The child has lots of opportunities to be imaginative, creative and active. The child enjoys visiting parks and the beach and playing football or tag in the garden. The child likes writing. They use their skill with words to leave thoughtful messages for favourite staff, thanking them for being kind and keeping them safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of the child’s life experiences. Support from staff has helped the child to improve their ability to build relationships with others. There are a range of different professionals involved to support the child’s mental health and emotional development. This is in addition to the organisation’s consultant therapist and therapeutic parenting model. The support is not yet joined up and coordinated to ensure that staff receive consistent and clear advice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child benefits from a consistent core staff team around them. Stability of the staff team is improving. The child has conversations with staff about aspects of their life and their identity. Because staff know the child well, they can respond in a way that is helpful to the child. Staff answer questions the child has about their family, and they work with the social worker to ensure that there are clear explanations about relationships. The child is supported to see people who are important to them, such as family members and former carers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child attends school. The manager communicates regularly with the class teacher about important information in the child’s life. The school’s designated teacher says that the child speaks highly of the manager and the home and says that they are well cared for. They feel that communication with the home could be improved and that a changing staff team impacts on stability for the child.

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improvement to be good

There was a serious incident where the child was missing for two hours. Due to the child’s age, a police search was carried out. The manager appropriately referred the staff involved to safeguarding authorities. This concluded that they failed to properly supervise the child and there were delays calling the police. The manager has analysed the incident. However, it is not clear that key questions were put to staff, and their responses have not been further scrutinised for learning and understanding of the incident. Inspection report for children’s home: 2575788 4 The manager reports concerns about staff practice to safeguarding authorities. Subsequent investigations typically show well-balanced consideration of facts and risks. Information from children and staff helps to inform decision-making. However, when these concerns arise because of significant incidents, the focus on the investigation has detracted from the wider scrutiny of staff practice.

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improvement to be good

Staff monitor behaviour in the home to support the manager to identify trends and patterns. Through analysing the information, plans are put in place to support the child. However, the tracking process does not look at the action staff take. Therefore, there are missed opportunities to learn what works or to consider staff training needs. The manager has seen a recent increase in concerns about the child’s well-being. This was identified through changes in the behaviour seen. Meetings with staff identify the importance of consistent support. However, the behaviour support plan contains numerous different strategies. Therefore, it is not yet clear how the manager will ensure consistency from staff.

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improvement to be good

Restraint has been used in the home. There has been a significant reduction in the use of restraint over the last seven months, including a period of five months with no restraint used. Restraint has been used as a last resort to prevent harm. The manager reviews all incidents in the home for learning. The manager has stopped the use of consequences in the home. Inspired by training, the manager focuses instead on restorative conversations. These help the child to develop their understanding of behaviour and incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A well-organised manager knows the child and staff team well. There is good oversight of the home and liaison with other professionals. The manager monitors care in the home monthly. This identifies what has gone well, but also alerts senior managers to potential areas of risk moving forwards. The manager promotes the home’s ethos, exploring with staff how their support for the child fits with this approach to care. The child’s social worker is positive about the care and support provided by staff. The social worker describes practice in the home as ‘child-centred’ and identifies strengths of communication and child-centred planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been challenges with staffing and there have been lots of different staff providing support in the home at times. The consistency of support has improved since October 20203 and only staff from the organisation currently provide care for the child. Managers recognise the staffing pressures and have plans in place to support them to ensure that they are not overextended. In addition to other strategies, the organisation has introduced a new well-being package for staff, including regular time off for well-being throughout the year.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they enjoy working in the home. They recognise that it can be challenging and demanding work, but they feel supported by their managers and organisation. Staff can speak about their experiences and practice in supervision and debriefs. During supervision, the manager ensures that staff are aware of the expectations and their responsibilities in the role. Staff receive training relating to the child’s Inspection report for children’s home: 2575788 5 specific needs, as well as more general training. The manager ensures that care in the home is focused on the child. However, some of the language used in plans lacks clarity and does not explain what staff need to know in a way that is clearly linked to the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2575788 6

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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

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)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that significant incidents are analysed and reviewed in full to understand staff action. In addition, ensure that systems for monitoring and tracking behaviour consider the impact of staff actions taken to maximise learning. 26 April 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff’s roles, responsibilities and the advice they receive around therapeutic support for the child are consistent and coordinated. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3)  The registered person should ensure that language used in all documents is clear and unambiguous. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children’s home: 2575788 7

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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: 2575788 8

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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: 2575788 9 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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