Children's Home run by Blue Kite Children Care Limited in Manchester

Inspection report children's home: 2718067 1 Registered provider: Blue Kite Children Care Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private organisation and is registered to care for up to five children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since 4 June 2024.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 20 November 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2718067 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/11/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/07/2023 Full Inadequate Inspection report children's home: 2718067 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Five children have moved into the home since the last inspection and two have moved out. At the time of the inspection there were four children living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and provides children with plenty of space to spend time socialising with others. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to give them a sense of belonging. At the time of the inspection extensive repair work was taking place to improve the home’s presentation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children are currently accessing education, one child has a home tutor, but their engagement is minimal. Leaders and managers demonstrate that they advocate for children to attend school and have supported them to apply to an academic provision. However, education plans for children when they are not in school are ineffective and children rarely engage in them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported and encouraged to develop their hobbies and interests. This helps them to develop positive self-esteem and confidence. During the inspection one child spoke about the support they received to take part in horse riding, which they enjoy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and wellbeing is promoted. They are supported by staff to attend routine and specialist appointments so that any health needs are addressed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are not always supported to live together. For example, leaders and managers identified that one child found sharing food difficult which meant certain food was not always readily available to other children. The manager and staff have not helped the child to understand the importance of sharing food in the home.

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

Behaviour support plans are comprehensive and provide staff with clear strategies to support children to keep safe. This ensures that there is an effective response to safeguarding children.

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

Safer recruitment practice is good. Thorough pre-employment checks are completed to prevent unsuitable people gaining access to children.

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

Restraint practice is only used, when necessary, for safeguarding purposes. Incidents are well recorded and debriefs with staff and children take place. However, on occasions, staff that have been part of the restraint take part in the initial consultation with the child. This means the child does not have the chance to express their honest views about the incident. Inspection report children's home: 2718067 4 There is a proactive response to children going missing from home. Staff search for children in accordance with their safety plans to support their quick return. However, return home interviews are not routinely requested to give children the opportunity to speak to an independent person about why they went missing.

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

Leaders and managers understand children’s vulnerabilities. They actively encourage and participate in partnership working, to reduce the risk of children being harmed. For example, they currently take part in multi-agency weekly meetings concerning a child’s safety and wellbeing, after expressing their concern that the child was being exploited.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has been in her role since September 2023. She registered with Ofsted in June 2024 and is suitably qualified and experienced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers ensure that team meetings take place regularly. They are child focused and used to consider the way staff work with children, and how practice can be improved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive practice related supervision. However, this is not always completed in accordance with the home’s statement of purpose. This is a missed opportunity for managers to ensure that staff feel supported and provide a forum for staff to share any concerns about how they are able to care for children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has not ensured that all staff know and understand children’s risks. One staff member was unable to demonstrate that they were aware of all the risks associated with one child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Improvements are needed to management oversight, particularly in ensuring that copies of children’s placing authority plans are in place, to ensure that the staff team are working in line with the local authority plans. In addition, some needs led training for staff have not been completed. Failure to identify and address these shortfalls compromises the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Not all children have benefitted from well-planned moves in and out of the home. Despite leaders and managers being aware of one child’s associated risks, they had not considered the competing needs of children already living in the home and the capacity of staff to manage these. This resulted in the child leaving the home prematurely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The high number of staff leaving the home over short periods of time has resulted in a lack of stability and continuity of care for children This reduces the possibility of children developing meaningful relationships with staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders, managers and staff work effectively with partners. Social workers report that communication with staff in the home is good. Staff have worked with the local police community support officers to address concerns around one child accessing alcohol and vapes in the community. Inspection report children's home: 2718067 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, 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child's education and training targets, as recorded in the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child's learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2) (a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vii)(ix)). 14 August 2024

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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 14 August 2024 Inspection report children's home: 2718067 6 promotes their welfare.

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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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)(a)(c)(d)(h)).

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers should ensure that staff receive regular supervision in line with the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, leaders and managers should ensure staff receive training on Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder, to support them in their care role.

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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

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Requirement Due date

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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home; 14 August 2024 Inspection report children's home: 2718067 7 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;

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Requirement Due date

that each child's relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(c)).

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must effectively consider how to meet the needs of children admitted into the home and how new admissions may impact on children already living in the home.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure children are supported to arrive at and leave the home in a planned and positive way.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when children go missing from home they are always offered an independent return home interview upon their return. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 45, paragraph 9.30).

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are supported and encouraged to display positive behaviour, particularly around sharing food with other children living in the home. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 39, paragraph 8.11).

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that following a physical restraint, children have the opportunity to take part in a debrief about the incident with someone who was not involved in the restraint. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 50, paragraph 9.50).

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand children's risks and are confident about the steps they take to reduce the possibility of children experiencing harm. (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 43, paragraph 9.10). Inspection report children's home: 2718067 8

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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 children's home: 2718067 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Blue Kite Children Care Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: West Midlands House Ltd, Gipsy Lane, Willenhall WV13 2HA

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Inspector

Chibuzo Otache, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2718067 10 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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