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

Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 1 Registered provider: Blue Mountain Homes Ltd

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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 privately operated and provides care for one child who may require support with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably qualified and registered with Ofsted in July 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/07/2023 Full Good 16/06/2022 Full Good 05/07/2021 Full Good 03/04/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have moved on from the home and the current child has been living there for three months. The child spent time talking to the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is happy living in the home. They are developing positive relationships with staff members. The child presented as relaxed in the home environment, engaging in light-hearted interactions with staff, which reflects the positive rapport that has been built.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have experienced well-planned and positive endings when leaving the home, moving on in a structured and supported manner. This demonstrates the home’s ability to manage moves effectively. Positive feedback has also been received from the social worker of a previous child, highlighting the progress made during their time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The current child has a clear education plan in place, and they are being supported to pursue their interests, which align with the child’s educational goals. Additionally, there is a structured plan in place for developing the child’s functional skills, which will assist them when preparing for a college placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s ongoing sleep issues are a significant concern. The child’s current pattern of sleeping during the day, and not at night, has a negative impact on their well-being. Staff have failed to respond in a proactive way, delaying the child’s access to specialist help. The registered manager has taken advice and escalated concerns regarding the child’s health needs during the inspection, demonstrating a commitment to addressing these issues promptly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are concerns regarding a lack of clarity around some of the other risks associated with the child. Information related to the child’s Youth Offending Team (YOT) order and health history, including possible seizures, remains unclear. While it is acknowledged that the placing authority has not been forthcoming with this information, it is the responsibility of the manager to actively pursue these details or reconsider accepting a child without the relevant plans in place. This is particularly important given the short- term nature of this six-month placement.

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

The response to children missing from care is good. There is a clear and well-established process in place, which staff consistently follow. As a result, the number of missing episodes has reduced, demonstrating the home’s effective approach to managing this risk. Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 4 Risk assessments are comprehensive and reflect the individual needs of the children. They provide detailed guidance to staff on how to manage risks effectively. Children report feeling safe in the home, which highlights the positive impact of these risk management strategies.

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

Physical interventions in the home have been minimal, which is a positive indicator of staff’s ability to manage behaviour proactively. Through discussions with the registered manager and staff, it is evident that they are well-informed about each child’s specific risks, contributing to a safe environment.

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

Learning from incidents is evident. For example, following an incident where a child gained access to a child’s bedroom through a window, new procedures have been implemented. These include more thorough room checks and the installation of an additional security camera, reflecting the home’s commitment to improving safety measures.

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

Improvements are required in the recording of incidents. The current documentation is inconsistent. Debriefs with children and key-work sessions following incidents do not consistently capture the child’s voice in a meaningful way. These records lack emotional warmth and do not fully capture the child’s experiences or progress. This limits the ability of the child’s records to accurately reflect their journey while living in the home.

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

There are concerns regarding staff vigilance during night shifts. On a few occasions, it has been the child who alerted staff to safeguarding concerns, including instances where the night staff were asleep. This highlights the need for greater staff awareness, as the child’s actions suggest they are testing boundaries and expressing feelings of being unsafe.

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

The manager demonstrates a clear passion for the home and the children. The ethos of the home prioritises children’s needs, and this is reflected in the commitment and dedication of the staff team. Staff consistently demonstrate a strong focus on the well- being of the children, and this passion is apparent in their interactions and engagement with the child.

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

However, there are concerns regarding staff adherence to children’s risk assessments. A member of staff failed to follow a child’s risk management plan, and this was not adequately addressed in staff supervision. This lack of oversight represents a missed opportunity for reflective practice and learning, which could otherwise strengthen safeguarding measures.

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

Supervision discussions require improvement. Currently, they lack depth, with minimal evidence of reflective practice. Records are brief and do not adequately capture the views of staff, suggesting these sessions are viewed as procedural rather than Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 5 meaningful opportunities for development. This limits the effectiveness of staff learning and restricts opportunities for improvement.

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

Systems in place to support staff development require improvement. The manager has not implemented a method to update and track staff progress in the training matrix, making it difficult to monitor completion of child-specific or additional training. Furthermore, outdated staff records were identified in the training files, highlighting a need for better oversight. There is also no evidence of team meeting minutes from the last four months, indicating a gap in communication and shared learning within the staff group.

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

The manager has not yet completed recommended additional training, which was identified as a necessary action following a recent disciplinary matter. The delay in completing this training poses a risk to maintaining professional standards and addressing areas of practice that require development.

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

Staff recruitment and retention remain ongoing challenges within the home. These issues have a direct negative impact on the children, as the lack of a stable core team affects the consistency of care. Staff who sleep in are frequently woken in the night by the child and then remain on shift the following day with minimal sleep, which has led to reports of tiredness and burnout. This further exacerbates retention challenges, creating instability within the staff team. Addressing this issue is critical to ensuring continuity of care for the children. Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met.

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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

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a) (2)(a)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that appointments for the child are made with the GP and referrals chased for the child. 19 December 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—

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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 19 December 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 7 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

This specifically refers to managers and staff being reflective about practice and identifying ways to develop practice, and therefore improve care to children. This also relates to the registered manager ensuring that good practice is being modelled to staff members when it comes to recording.

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager must undertake such continuing professional development as is necessary to ensure that the registered manager has the skills needed for managing the home. (Regulation 29 (4))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager addressing the recommendations from an investigation into practice concerns. 19 December 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person must challenge any placing authority who asks them to accept a child in the absence of a complete and current relevant plan, as the expectation that a placement of a child without the necessary information would go ahead (in circumstances other than an emergency) is inadequate in relation to their role. It is essential that homes understand what will be required of them before they accept responsibility for a child’s placement, to avoid disruption and instability for the child in future and for other children in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.5)  The registered person must ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information

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Recommendations

about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 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 for children's home: 1244161 9

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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

Lauren Barwell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 10 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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