Children's home run by Blossom Care Group Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2560305 1 Registered provider: Blossom Care Group Ltd

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned. It provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, three children were living at the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2024.

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

Date of last inspection: 6 February 2024

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2560305 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/02/2024 Full Good 14/11/2022 Full Good 15/02/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness 21/04/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2560305 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living at the home. One child said, ‘I love it here.’ The home is warm and welcoming and children’s photos are displayed throughout. Children take pride in their bedrooms, which reflect their personalities. When at home, children choose to spend their time with staff and each other, eating and socialising together. Children take part in activities in line with their likes and interests. Staff have planned a holiday abroad in the summer for all three children. Spending positive time together helps children to feel safe and build secure attachments.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the previous inspection, staff have welcomed one child into the home. This move was well planned and supported. Meetings took place before the child’s move, and these offered the child reassurance, reducing fear and uncertainty.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by a consistent staff team who know them well. They have strong and positive relationships with staff and managers. Staff support children to share their views, and they act on them. The manager is a good advocate for children. He has supported two children to raise a formal complaint with their placing authority. He has also escalated concerns with health professionals to ensure timely assessment and support for a child. One child said, ‘Staff try their best to make things happen. I know I’ll be ok as I have all the help I need here.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff value children’s education. One child has access to a tutor to provide additional support towards their upcoming GCSEs. This is in place due to the manager’s challenge and escalation. One child does not have access to an education placement. The manager continues to escalate this to find a solution. In the meantime, staff are supporting the child with education in the home. Children have future career aspirations, and they are motivated to learn and achieve. An assistant headteacher said that the manager ‘is amazing. He and the staff support the children and the school alike as we are all on the same page.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with those people who are important to them. Children’s friends and family are welcomed to the home and family time outside the home is supported by staff. Children’s cultures and identities are nurtured with sensitivity and compassion. A diverse staff group support natural discussions and curiosity around the culture of others, while sharing their own experiences. Valuing children’s backgrounds helps them develop a positive self-image, while helping them learn about different backgrounds promotes understanding and reduces prejudice.

p.3

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

Children say they feel safe living at the home. External professionals said that managers and staff work tirelessly to ensure children are safe. A family member said that when staff were unable to contact a child by phone, they came to her house to see if they Inspection report for children's home: 2560305 4 were there. She said this reassures her and the child’s wider family that staff care about their child. Staff also educate children about risks, to support them to keep themselves safe. This reduces children’s vulnerability to harm, abuse or exploitation.

p.3

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

Missing-from-home incidents are rare. When these do happen, they are well managed. Staff follow the children’s risk management plans and are proactive in searching for them. Staff build relationships with friends and contacts. This supports staff to identify where the child may be and aids children’s prompt return. The manager ensures that children speak to an independent person following their return. This coordinated approach helps keep children safe.

p.4

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

Children’s risk management plans are individualised and regularly updated. When risk is identified as unmanageable, decisions are made with the children’s best interests at heart. This has resulted in one child having an abrupt and unplanned move from the home. During this period, managers communicated openly, offering time, support and compassion to the child.

p.4

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

Strategies to manage behaviour are personalised and informed by children’s views and staff’s knowledge of their risks and needs. Staff use consistent guidance and boundaries with children, and consequences and rewards are creative and appropriate. As a result, children respond well, and incidents of concern have been rare in recent months. A child’s family member said that the whole family is happy that the child is there, adding, ‘Their behaviour has changed, they have boundaries in place and they listen to staff.’

p.4

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

Allegations against staff are taken seriously and immediate steps are taken to protect children. Referrals are made to the local authority designated officer and internal investigations conducted when required. Learning is taken from investigations and, when appropriate, managers use restorative practice to repair relationships. This ensures children are safeguarded and supports them to feel heard.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably qualified registered manager. He is well supported by a deputy manager and responsible individual. All are child focused and have high aspirations for the children in the home. They lead by example and show commitment to the children, with their time, attention and availability. This helps children to feel valued and prioritised.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have monitoring systems in place to review children’s progress and the quality of care. However, these are not consistently used to ensure staff have read children’s management plans or to review the quality of records of one-to-one sessions with children. As a result, one-to-one sessions are not always frequent, targeted and in line with the child’s presenting needs. This leads to a lack of evaluation and understanding of children’s progress and ongoing vulnerabilities. This shortfall has been identified by managers, who have plans in place to address it. Inspection report for children's home: 2560305 5 Staff say they are supported both personally and professionally. They speak highly of the manager and the deputy. Managers ensure staff have regular supervision and training in line with the children’s needs. Team meetings are regular and well attended. Managers use quizzes and scenarios in meetings to support learning and development. Staff say

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

this helps reinforce information and build confidence in their practice.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers and staff have positive relationships with partner agencies and children’s families and friends. The manager promotes good communication with the external professionals who are involved in children’s care. The manager insists on multi-agency decision-making in relation to children’s associated risks and care planning. This supports consistency and continuity for children from everyone involved in their care. Inspection report for children's home: 2560305 6

p.5

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.

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

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;

p.6

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)) 12 April 2025

p.6

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: 2560305 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Blossom Care Group Ltd

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Office 19, Anglesey Business Centre, Anglesey Road, Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire DE14 3NT

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered manager: Donald Williams-Young

p.7

Inspector

Mandy Wake, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2560305 8 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.7

Inspector

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.8

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8