Children's home run by Blossom Care Group Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2745326 1 Registered provider: Blossom Care Group 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

This home is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home. Two children spoke with the inspector during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2024. The manager has a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2745326 2

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improvement to be good

Children have experienced a period of instability due to staff changes and an increase in incidents in the home. As a result, children’s progress and experiences are not consistently positive.

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improvement to be good

Not all children make progress with their education. One child attends school regularly and enjoys going to school. However, two children do not attend school regularly. Efforts to maintain good routines for these children have had limited success. Nonetheless, the manager has been a strong advocate for the children and has secured a tailored transition to a new school for one child. The manager has also escalated their concerns to relevant professionals about the other child’s lack of appropriate education provision.

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improvement to be good

Shortfalls in children’s care planning have resulted in poor experiences for children. Three children moved into the home in a short space of time. Children did not have adequate time to settle before other children moved into the home. This has led to relationships between children being strained at times. Staff also struggle to consistently meet the children’s evolving needs. The impact on the children has been acknowledged by leaders and managers.

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improvement to be good

Most of the children’s health needs are met well. However, staff have not always been able to encourage children to attend planned health appointments. Staff use direct work to help children understand the benefits of looking after their health. One child is also taking part in a specialist assessment of their emotional well-being. This means children are learning about the importance of caring for themselves.

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improvement to be good

The diverse staff team promotes children’s identities well. Staff help children to spend time with their family members. When family time becomes unsafe for children, the manager acts swiftly to work with children’s social workers to manage the situation. Children’s cultural needs are also understood and met well by staff. This helps children to maintain important relationships and celebrate difference.

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improvement to be good

The home environment is well furnished, and the communal areas offer children adequate space to play and relax. When there is damage in the home, these areas are made safe, and repairs are completed in a timely manner. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, which helps them to feel comfortable in their home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2745326 3

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improvement to be good

A significant incident occurred in the home a few weeks before the inspection. This remains under investigation by the appropriate authorities. The actions taken by leaders and managers in response to the incident have been considered, alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection, to inform the judgement.

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improvement to be good

Children like living in the home and say that staff do their best to keep them safe. A number of staff struggle to communicate effectively at times with children depending on their age and understanding. Leaders and managers have identified this barrier and have taken action to address this.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always manage risks well. They do not always respond appropriately when children struggle to manage their emotions, resulting in an escalation of incidents with children. The management oversight of these incidents is effective. The manager completes learning reviews and identifies shortfalls in practice. Leaders and managers acknowledge that this learning needs to be shared consistently with all staff.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to make a complaint. When children disclose concerns against members of staff, leaders and managers act swiftly to safeguard children. The manager works with professionals to ensure that investigations are completed in a timely manner. Leaders, however, do not always notify Ofsted when children disclose historic significant harm that they have experienced. This reduces the regulator’s oversight of the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff regularly use the home’s parenting approach to support children. When staff physically intervene to keep children safe, this is always as a last resort and is recorded in detail. Discussions with children and staff take place in a timely manner. This helps children to feel listened to, and staff are encouraged to reflect on their practice.

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improvement to be good

Efforts from staff to promote positive relationships between the children are not always effective. This has led to incidents of bullying within the home. Staff do act promptly when bullying occurs. They use direct work and informal conversations to repair relationships between children.

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good

The management monitoring and review systems in the home are not effective. Children’s records are not always updated adequately or in a timely manner. This means staff do not always have the most recent information to inform their care of children. Further to this, the manager has not kept the home’s statement of purpose under review and sent a revised statement to Ofsted on time. Inspection report for children’s home: 2745326 4 Several changes to the staff team have led to inconsistency in the care and support for children. Additionally, poor care planning by leaders and managers resulted in three children moving into the home in a short time frame. Staff struggle to manage difficult situations and incidents in the home. This has also led to complaints by a local resident regarding the children’s behaviours within the community. Managers have dealt with these complaints appropriately. They acknowledge the need to build

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good

stronger relationships with the local community.

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good

Staff benefit from a wide range of training courses. All staff complete the training course provided to enhance their knowledge to support children. Staff receive regular supervision and attend team meetings. They say that they feel supported and that morale continues to improve in the team.

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good

Leaders and managers are experienced and committed to improving the care for children. They are clear about the home’s strengths and areas of development. The leadership team recognises the shortfalls identified during the inspection and has plans in place to continue to address these. Inspection report for children’s home: 2745326 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, 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 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. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff speak English in the home, communicate with children effectively and take into account their views. 2 September

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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 that staff—

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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

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; and

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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)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)(c)) 2 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2745326 6 This specifically relates to ensuring that staff manage children’s behaviours and that action is taken consistently to reduce the risk of harm.

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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

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

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f)(h)) 2 September

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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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that they have all the required information and take into account staff’s 2 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2745326 7 experience and skills when considering new children coming to live at the home. They should also ensure that children receive well-planned care throughout their time in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 2 September

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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

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 2 September

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the ethos of the home supports each child to learn. Specifically, they should ensure that children receive appropriate support to help them develop good daily routines. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 29, paragraph 5.18)

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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: 2745326 8

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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: 2745326 9 regulates and inspects 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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