Children's home run by Blossom Children’s Homes Limited

Inspection report children's home: 2705504 1 Registered provider: Blossom Children's Homes Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children's home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to four children with learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children's home

The home was registered with Ofsted in March 2023. The registered manager left the home in March 2024. The deputy manager has been acting manager in the interim and has made an application to Ofsted to be the registered manager.

p.1

Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, four children were living in the home. The inspectors met all four children during the inspection.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2705504 2

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well cared for. There is a stable and committed staff team. Children’s needs, risks, strengths and vulnerabilities are well understood. Children have a sense of cer- tainty about their day-to-day routines. Children enjoy spending time with staff and are at ease around them.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. Children attend their medical appointments. Staff en- sure that children take their medication as prescribed. Children and staff have access to specialist health advice. One child has made good progress with their diet. They have moved from a mainly liquid diet to one where they can try everyday foods and a range of textures.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend school and are making good progress in their learning. Staff celebrate children’s achievements. They put strategies in place to help children become more inde- pendent. Some children have learnt how to get dressed and go to the bathroom inde- pendently. Other children have learnt how to do their own washing and manage their pocket money. This has helped children to build their confidence and self-esteem.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in a wide range of activities in the home and the community. Staff en- sure activities are inclusive to make sure no child feels left out. The children attend a martial arts club and scouts club together after school which they look forward to. Last year the children and the staff enjoyed going on holiday together. Children are currently in the process of making a “bucket list” of activities that they would like to do over sum- mer holidays.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff carefully plan family time. Family members visit the home and spend time with chil- dren in the community. Staff regularly update family members about the children’s pro- gress.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to. Their views and wishes are sought in weekly meetings and con- sidered by staff. Children are asked about their meal choices, weekly activities, and per- sonal care. Staff use each child’s preferred way of communication. Children with limited verbal communication use story boards to enable them to express their views and feel- ings. One child explained very clearly how they would make a complaint if they were worried or upset.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm, inviting and decorated to a high standard. Children per- sonalise their bedrooms, which are clean, tidy and well organised. The home has plenty of toys, games for the children. There is a sensory room and a garden with a trampoline and bikes. Inspection report children's home: 2705504 3

p.2

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

Staff are trained in physical intervention. However, this is rarely used. There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home.

p.3

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

When there are incidents of concern the staff respond effectively. The manager oversees the incident record. Children’s social workers are involved when necessary. Following incidents, staff and children are spoken to by the leadership and management team. Together they reflect on whether incidents could be managed more effectively in the future.

p.3

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

Staff receive safeguarding training. Staff know how to recognise, report and act on any safeguarding concerns that may arise.

p.3

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

The management and staff team work closely with allocated social workers, health services and other professionals working with children.

p.3

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

There have been very few changes in the staff team. The staff know the children well and work well together. This collaborative and consistent approach is apparent. The children are clear about their routine and expectations of behaviour in the home.

p.3

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

Recruitment procedures at the home are safe. This provides assurance that staff who are caring for the children are suitably vetted.

p.3

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

Risk assessments and care plans are not consistently recorded by staff in a way that makes it easy to track progress and understand the children’s views. These shortfalls have not impacted on the care or safety of children and the leadership and management team are taking steps to improve plans.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The deputy manager has worked at the home since it opened. She knows the children well and is passionate about ensuring that they receive good care and are supported to reach their full potential. She has been supported by the leadership team and another experienced manager from a sister home during her transition to manage the home.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff at the home feel supported by colleagues and the deputy manager. Regular team meetings and individual supervision provide staff with opportunities to reflect on their practice and share their views and ideas. However, the quality of performance appraisals is limited by the lack of goal setting, and feedback from external professionals and children.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive training from external professionals about the children’s individual health and communication needs. For example, how to use an epi- pen or how to manage a child’s dietary needs. However, how this training is disseminated to staff is not Inspection report children's home: 2705504 4 consistently recorded. This makes it difficult for the management and leadership team to have oversight of the staff teams training needs.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team work well with the children’s professional network. Feedback from external professionals and parents is positive. Inspection report children's home: 2705504 5

p.4

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home's care. As part of the performance management process, poor performance should be addressed by a timely plan to bring about improvement. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.5)  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. The home’s workforce development plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and used to record the ongoing

p.5

Recommendations

training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home's manager. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 53, paragraph 10.1)

p.5

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: 2705504 6

p.5

Children's home details

Registered provider: Blossom Children's Homes Limited

p.6

Children's home details

Registered provider address: County Private Client, Unit 7-8, Moran House, 449-451 High Road, London, NW10 2JJ

p.6

Children's home details

Responsible individual: Matthew Wakeling

p.6

Inspectors

Matilda Clode, social care inspector Nurnahar Bhuniya, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 2705504 7 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.

p.6

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7