Children's home run by Blue Elephant Childcare Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1278020 1 Registered provider: Blue Elephant Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by an independent organisation. It provides short- and medium-term care for up to three children. Since the previous inspection, one child has moved into the home. At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2018 and was present throughout the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 4 February 2025

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1278020 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/02/2025 Full Good 14/11/2023 Full Good 13/10/2022 Full Good 08/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1278020 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Significant shortfalls in the oversight from leaders and managers means that one child has been harmed and children are not always safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff struggle to manage their time between the competing needs of the children and have stated that they cannot keep them all safe. Staff use punitive methods of managing behaviour, including the use of lengthy consequences, which are disproportionate to the age and understanding of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff focus on providing fun activities for the children; however, the daily experiences of children have been significantly impacted by being exposed to regular conflict in the home. One child has experienced bullying from their peers, and while staff have tried to manage this it has been ineffective. This has led to one child feeling unsafe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not follow the information contained in children’s plans and therefore expose them to situations where they feel unsafe. One child’s plan notes that they become upset when behind a locked door; staff have repeatedly confined this child to a specific room in the home and prevented them from leaving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff and the manager have good communication with external professionals and the children’s education providers, and this has supported all three children to achieve high school attendance. Staff also communicate regularly with the children’s families, and one family member said that they always feel welcomed when they visit. One social worker said that they have always found staff in the home easy to contact and that they are supportive of her visits.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The inspector spent time with the children over the two days. Two of the children were keen to speak with the inspector and to show them their personalised bedrooms and belongings. One child gave a full tour of their home, including pointing out the cows and sheep in the field outside and the tadpoles they were keeping in a bucket. All three children were seen interacting with the staff team, and positive relationships were seen with staff.

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

Staff use unsafe and inappropriate restraint in the home. One child was injured during one of these incidents and staff failed to seek medical attention. The provider did not share the full details of this with all of the children’s social workers.

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

Staff deprive one child of their liberty by keeping them confined to certain spaces in the home and by frequently preventing them from moving freely around the house. Staff do not understand how to safely support younger children who are demonstrating behaviour that they find challenging to manage. Inspection report for children’s home: 1278020 4 Safeguarding practices in the home are ineffective and confusing. The process for reporting safeguarding concerns bypasses the manager, which can lead to information not being communicated appropriately. Opportunities for identifying trends and patterns are missed. Senior leaders have a process for considering incidents in the wider context of the home, but these do not go far enough in recognising and acting on lower-level concerns before they escalate.

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

A serious medication error occurred when staff providing cover from another home failed to give a child medication for a serious health condition. This incident was not taken seriously by the manager or by senior leaders providing oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management oversight of the quality of care and staff practice is poor. Leaders and managers at all levels failed to identify the inappropriate use of restraint in the home. This has contributed to one child being harmed. Senior leaders missed opportunities to act at an earlier stage due to a lack of oversight and professional curiosity in respect of staff practice. Elements of closed culture have been identified in the home which have contributed to this lack of oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Significant concerns have been raised about the practice of some staff. This was appropriately shared with safeguarding authorities. While leaders have investigated these concerns, they have allowed one member of staff to return to the home while the investigation was ongoing. Senior leaders failed to ensure their practice was monitored appropriately, and they did not provide additional support for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have a plan to provide staff with additional training, particularly in respect of using restraint with younger children. However, this was not initially provided by leaders when concerns were being raised by staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home is not currently achieving the aims and objectives set out in the statement of purpose. Senior leaders have identified multiple failures in respect of communication and safeguarding practices across the home, which have been taken seriously. There is an action plan in place to address concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has been reflective in respect of the incidents that have occurred, as have senior managers. Leaders and managers are clear that significant changes need to be made to change the overall culture in the home and to ensure the safety of the children living there. Inspection report for children’s home: 1278020 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iv)(vi)(ix)(xi)(xii)) 1 June2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1278020 6 In particular, the registered person must ensure that in considering whether children should live together, this considers the ability of staff to manage competing needs effectively.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that staff effectively challenge any bullying.

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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—

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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

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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(vii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider must ensure that staff fully understand the risks to children and that they are provided with clear and appropriate strategies to reduce these risks. Staff must work in line with these plans to ensure that risks to children are managed effectively.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the provider must also ensure that staff have a clear understanding of what interventions can be used to support children and keep them safe and that they do not use methods which inappropriately restrict children of their liberty.

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Requirement Due date

The provider must ensure clear managerial oversight of all incidents of physical intervention to ensure that these are appropriate and proportionate. 13 July2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1278020 7 The provider must also ensure there are clear and effective processes to manage allegations against staff to ensure that children are kept safe. The provider must also review how effective the current safeguarding procedures in the home are.

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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

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;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided by the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the culture of the home is addressed to prevent children from continuing to be exposed to punitive care practices.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that they have oversight of all work carried out in the home and that this oversight is clearly recorded. This should be reflective and provide carers with clear actions and direction.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, senior leaders must ensure that their oversight of the home is robust and considers any patterns and trends of staff practice. 1 June2025

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for children’s home: 1278020 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: 1278020 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Blue Elephant Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 30 Chivenor Business Park, Barnstaple EX31 4AY

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Inspectors

Helen Cushnie, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1278020 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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