Children's Home run by Park Blue Homes Limited in Wiltshire

Inspection report children's home: 2712284 1 Registered provider: Park Blue 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 owned by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to three children, including those who may have a learning disability. At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children's home

The previous registered manager left in April 2024. The current manager registered with Ofsted in August 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 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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Enforcement action since last inspection: none

Inspection report children's home: 2712284 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/06/2023 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2712284 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector spent time with both children who live in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in the home. They build positive relationships with a stable staff team. Staff use play and humour well, and laughter can be heard throughout the home. Children enjoy days out with staff to pursue their interests. This has included going to the banger racing, joining football clubs and trips to the cinema. Over the summer, children enjoyed holidays abroad. Staff identify and promote activities which reflect and support children’s culture and identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a warm and welcoming space. Children enjoy the comfy sofas in the lounge, and the games and craft activities available. The manager reviews the home environment and identifies ways to improve and develop it. Children’s rooms are personalised and reflect their interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with a focus on wellbeing and nurture. They lead specific activities on a weekly basis to promote their emotional development, self-esteem and confidence. For one activity, staff wrote positive messages to each child, celebrating their strengths and individuality. Through this focus, staff help children to make progress, building their empathy and trust for others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s attendance at school and college, and support them to overcome any barriers there might be. One child’s decline in school attendance is well understood and linked to their emotional wellbeing. The manager has made an appropriate referral to ensure the child receives the support they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children have moved out of the home since the last inspection, and two have moved in. Two of the moves out were unplanned. The manager and staff reviewed their processes following one child’s time in the home. Staff are now more involved in learning about children before they move in, and the manager ensures they know all the relevant information. One child was very unsettled before moving out, and this had an impact on the experiences of another child in the home. Staff identified this and ensured that children were supported appropriately.

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

A stable staff team help children by providing consistent boundaries and support. Children know how staff will respond and as such this allows trust to develop. Staff work as a team to understand the best ways of supporting children. They use reflective meetings to build and develop strategies, linked to children’s current experiences and challenges. Inspection report children's home: 2712284 4 One child has been missing from home. Staff take action to locate the child and to report the concern to the police. Staff have in depth conversations with the child to understand the reasons why they have left the home. There is management oversight of individual incidents, however this is of inconsistent quality. In addition, the learning from all incidents has not been pulled together to fully explore the concerns, or to identify whether there are shortfalls in practice that need addressing.

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

Restraint has been used with two children in the home, both of whom have now left. Managers support staff to understand the importance of accurate recording of incidents and explore when there is a lack of clarity to ensure they know what has happened. Restraint is used to prevent serious harm to children or staff. Management oversight of incidents is of inconsistent quality and does not consistently critically challenge what has been done and why, to better inform wider planning for that child, or staff development.

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

Staff understand who to report safeguarding concerns to and what action they need to take to keep children safe. Managers share concerns about staff practice with the relevant safeguarding authorities and investigate appropriately.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a confident leader. She builds positive, trusting relationships with children who trust her to get things done. She understands the strengths of the home well and identifies how they can develop and improve. The manager engages positively with the independent person to further the growth of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are positive about working in the home. They say they best thing is working with the children, helping them to grow and learn to hope for a better future. Staff feel supported by the manager and identify that they work strongly as a team. Staff receive regular supervision. This offers them a reflective space to explore their practice and the impact of their care on children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals are positive about the support offered by the home for children. The manager strives to develop positive working relationships with those in the children’s lives to support positive care planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff develop and maintain plans which help them to know how to care for children. These documents capture the children’s personalities, likes and dislikes. Staff seek children’s views about the home and their care. Inspection report children's home: 2712284 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 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

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, ensure that learning from incidents in the home is of a consistent quality, and provides robust, critical reflection about what has happened, to ensure learning is fully identified and implemented. 3 January 2025

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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: 2712284 6

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Park Blue Homes Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 38 Freemans Way, Harrogate, HG3 1DH

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Inspector

Clare Nixson, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 2712284 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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