Children's home run by Blue Mountain Homes Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2695997 1 Registered provider: Blue Mountain Homes Limited

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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 a private provider. It provides care for up to four children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

There were four children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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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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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2695997 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/08/2024 Full Good 22/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2695997 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are happy, settled and are making progress from their individual starting points. The children’s day-to-day experiences are positive because of the structure and routines in place at this home and the consistent and nurturing care they receive. Staff are aspirational for the children, and they celebrate the children’s achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy secure and trusting relationships with staff who know the children well. Children’s communication needs are understood, and there are systems in place to ensure that individual children’s preferred communication needs are understood and met. Children are consulted with regularly about the care they receive. Records show that children’s wishes and feelings are captured and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in their education. Staff work collaboratively with education professionals to ensure that children are receiving the right support in school. Since moving into the home, some children have improved attendance at school. Staff provide children with lots of opportunities for informal learning and developing life skills alongside their formal education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to enjoy a healthy lifestyle. The children exercise regularly, and most children have had an improved diet since moving to the home. Children’s anxieties about attending health appointments have reduced because of the help and support provided by staff. For some children, this has led to improved health because their health needs have been assessed, and they are now receiving the right treatment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a wide range of activities in line with their hobbies and interests. Staff take the children on day trips out to places of interest, which provides the children with new experiences. Children have enjoyed a trip to London, a safari park, a visit to the beach and have gone to the farm. Children are involved in fundraising events for local charities that the children have chosen.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family time is promoted in line with the children’s individual plans. Staff have built positive and supportive relationships with the children’s families. One parent said, ‘Staff are amazing. [Name of child] is thriving and has come on leaps and bounds since moving into the home.’

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

Children’s individual risk assessments are detailed, and they provide staff with clear guidance. Staff understand the children’s risks and vulnerabilities, and they are clear about the steps to take to mitigate some of those risks. Inspection report for children’s home: 2695997 4 Incidents where some children have shown unwanted or risky behaviour have reduced. Staff talk to the children about how they are feeling, which helps them have a better understanding of the difficult emotions that they may be experiencing. This positive approach has helped one child to develop better coping strategies when they are feeling upset or frustrated.

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

Records show that when children have been held by staff, the measure used has been necessary to keep children and staff safe. Staff and children are provided with the opportunity to talk about the incident. Consequences are rarely used, and when they are used, they are restorative.

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

The children living at this home have additional learning needs, which means that they do not always understand risk and sometimes they lack awareness of danger. Staff ensure that children are appropriately supervised when they are at home and when they are out in the community. Staff promote balanced risk taking for children, which helps children develop the skills to help them to better understand risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably skilled and qualified. They have good day-to-day oversight of the home, and there is a plan for the manager to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are held at the centre of decision-making at this home. The manager is ambitious about the quality of care provided to children, and she is aspirational about achieving the best outcomes for children. This positive approach means that these are the goals of the whole team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a core experienced staff team, which means that the children are provided with stability. There have been some changes to the management and staff team at this home. However, the changes have been well managed and have not had an impact on the continuity of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a strong oversight of the quality of care provided to children and staff development. The systems in place to track and monitor children’s progress are effective. When shortfalls are identified, they are quickly addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a positive role model for staff, and she provides them with effective leadership. Staff said that they feel supported and that they are happy at work. Staff receive reflective supervision on a regular basis. Team meetings happen regularly and are well attended.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals involved in the children’s care hold the manager and staff in high regard. They said communication and information-sharing are good and that staff are committed to wanting the best for the children. The manager is a strong advocate for the children; she confidently challenges others when the children’s plans are not being met. For one child, this led to them having improved attendance at school. Inspection report for children’s home: 2695997 5 There have been two complaints made by children. The recording of one complaint was poor, and the response provided to the child was not child centred. The manager has addressed this shortfall, and she has improved the systems for managing complaints.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a range of core training. However, some staff have not always been provided with additional training to equip them with the skills to meet individual children’s specific needs. This relates to training to meet children’s additional learning needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager makes child-centred decisions about children moving into the home. The transitions for children moving in and out of the home have been positive and well planned. Inspection report for children’s home: 2695997 6

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Recommendation

 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. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: 2695997 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Blue Mountain Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 21 Mallard Way, Pride Park, Derby DE24 8GX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Pradeep Manaktala

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Inspector

Rachel Webster, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2695997 8 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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Inspector

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