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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1264438 1 Registered provider: Blue Mountain Homes 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

A private company owns and manages this children’s home. It provides care for up to four children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, three children lived at the home. The inspector spoke with all three.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2022.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1264438 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/06/2023 Full Good 15/11/2022 Full Good 07/12/2021 Full Good 06/09/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 1264438 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusted relationships with staff who understand their needs well. Staff genuinely want children to achieve and work extremely hard to support them to make progress. Because of this, the children make steady and consistent progress in many areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before coming to live in the home, many of the children have experienced chaotic lifestyles that put them in conflict with adults and often in situations of high risk. Building trust in adults, coupled with the secure relationships formed, gives children a strong platform from which to grow and develop. The children say that they feel accepted for who they are and are supported to explore their own identity. One child told the inspector that ‘It is good here,’ and ‘This is a good home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are able to take part in a range of activities and their hobbies and interests are nurtured by staff. This includes physical activities to support children in leading a healthy lifestyle. One child has been bought a bike and enjoys bike riding with staff every day. With support from staff, children are being exposed to new opportunities to support their life experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are all making progress from their starting points. The care provided by staff is helping children to progress towards their individual goals. Feedback from professionals is positive and many agreed that children in the home are settled and doing well. One professional said: ‘[Name of child] is making exceptional progress because they trust and believe in staff.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is a child-centred home. However, not all staff are trained in the chosen model of care. Some staff are yet to complete this training. To date, this has not been detrimental to the quality of care provided to children, but it represents a missed opportunity to ensure that all staff have the underpinning knowledge to support their care of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children are having their educational needs met. The registered manager is proactive at escalating the concerns about the lack of education provision. Staff provide educational activities in the home to reduce the impact of the learning gap. Children undertake awards which are accredited through a learning body to promote education and learning. However, some children are missing out on periods of their education, which has the potential to hinder their future opportunities.

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

Risks associated with children’s behaviour and vulnerabilities are known and understood by staff. Risk assessments are regularly reviewed and provide staff with strategies and guidance. Plans are effective in guiding staff, who are proactive in their approach. Inspection report for children’s home: 1264438 4 Consequently, this means that the number of incidents is reducing and children appear settled.

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

When children go missing from care, staff follow the child’s plan to coordinate a multi- agency response. This reduces the risk of harm and supports children to return home safely. Staff go out looking for children and ensure that when they return home a return home interview is requested and completed. This supports learning and is used to reduce the risk of future missing-from-care incidents occurring.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted. Children have incentives, and the use of negative consequences is minimal. Physical interventions are only used as a last resort. All incidents of physical intervention are reviewed by the registered manager. Staff are offered debriefs, which helps to identify learning. However, children are not routinely offered the opportunity of a discussion with an independent person if they want one. This is a missed opportunity to explore and understand any learning from their perspective to reflect on for the future.

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

Staff understand safeguarding processes. Allegations or any suspicion of harm are responded to quickly. Information is shared with the relevant agencies and managed in line with policy guidance. People who have made the allegations are updated and communication is effective. Children are supported and reassured during any investigations and staff who are impacted offered appropriate support. One parent told the inspector that they knew what was happening and knew her child was safe while the investigation progressed.

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

The registered manager and staff work with partner agencies. They have built up positive relationships. Professional feedback states that the registered manager and agency professionals work together to ensure the best outcomes for children. The registered manager and staff will challenge professionals when needed to ensure that everyone is working together to support children to achieve the best outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home benefits from a permanent and qualified registered manager. The registered manager is supported by senior managers, who all know the children well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The internal and external monitoring takes place consistently. The manager’s report on the quality of care is suitably detailed. However, the report does not contain feedback from others and/or any actions for future development. This is a missed opportunity to identify issues that translate directly into the home’s written development plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that safeguarding notifications are completed as appropriate. However, there has been a delay in notifying Ofsted of some safeguarding notifications. The registered manager has identified the reason for the shortfalls and has outlined a plan which is in place to address this in future. Inspection report for children’s home: 1264438 5 Staff benefit from regular reflective supervision. The registered manager completes all staff supervision to provide oversight and assure herself that practice and knowledge are up to the expected standard. Supervision is practice-led and child-focused. Staff feel supported by the registered manager and work as a team to ensure consistency of care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive training and development opportunities. Training is regularly monitored to ensure the staff are knowledgeable. Additionally, staff who are not qualified are provided with the opportunity to complete the relevant qualification. Most staff are working towards their level 3 or level 4 qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff working in the home are subject to safer recruitment checks. However, on at least one occasion, a staff member commenced their role prior to receiving all the required checks. This was quickly identified by the registered manager. Nevertheless, on this occasion, not enough was done to ensure that staff were safe to work in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 1264438 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must take reasonable steps to ensure that any individual who is working at the home and who does not fall within paragraph (2)(a) and (b) is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 32 (1) (2) (3)(a)(d) (8)) 11 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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 11 November 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1264438 7 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, written documents should be accurate; all staff should be trained in the model of care; quality of care reports should include an action plan and feedback to inform development; and education provision should be sufficient to help children fulfil their potential.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children add their views and comments to the record of restraint. Children should be offered the opportunity to access an advocacy support to help them with this. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)  The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should cover the action that should be followed if the event arises at the weekend or on a public holiday. Notification must include details of the action taken by the home’s staff in response to the event. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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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: 1264438 8

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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

Kate Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1264438 9 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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