Children's Home run by Bluestones Medical Complex Care Limited in Warrington

Inspection report for children's home: 2825588 1 Registered provider: Bluestones Medical Complex Care 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 operated by a private company and provides care for up to one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties and or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first inspection since registration in April 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home and was spoken to by the inspector.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2825588 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has formed good relationships with the staff. This is due to the staff taking the time to understand the child’s lived experiences and taking an interest in what matters to them. This has led to the staff knowing the child well and the child making steady progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s health needs are actively promoted. They are supported to attend routine and specialist health appointments. This means the child remains in good physical and emotional health and their needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have supported the child to re-engage with their education after an extended period out of education. This has resulted in the child sitting two exams and increasing their education attendance. This is good progress and supports the child to achieve their goals and aspirations for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Alongside formal education, the staff provide the child with informal learning opportunities, such as developing their independence skills in line with relevant care plans and orders. The child is currently working towards a step down from a deprivation of liberty order (DoLS). Thorough planning and review of the plan has ensured that the child is making steady progress to achieve the desired outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the child’s family dynamics and friendships. As such the child is supported to keep in touch and see them regularly. This helps the child to remain in contact with people who are important to them and to continue to develop their sense of belonging and identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child lives in a warm, welcoming, and clean environment where they can grow and thrive. A parent said, 'I can see a difference in [name of child], they have made progress. [Name of child] is not as antsy, they think about things first, rather than before they would go full steam ahead. They now think of the consequences, this is due to the support they have received from the team.’

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

Managers and staff prioritise the child’s safety and well-being and work closely with other professionals to keep them safe. Risk management plans assess the child’s risks and vulnerabilities and have ample strategies to support staff to reduce and minimise the risks. This is kept under regular review by the management team to ensure that there is an effective response by the staff.

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

Staff are trained in a variety of topics including safeguarding, ligature and self-harm, DoLS and child exploitation. This gives the staff the opportunity to develop their skills Inspection report for children's home: 2825588 3 and knowledge. Subsequently staff understand their roles and responsibilities regarding safeguarding practices. As a result, the child is effectively safeguarded. However, to further enhance staff knowledge they would benefit from training on substance misuse.

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

On one occasion, staff have had to hold the child to keep them safe. Physical intervention is only used as a last resort. The registered manager has evaluated the incidents, spoken to the staff and child involved, and deemed the hold to be necessary and proportionate to keep all involved safe from harm.

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

Allegations and incidents are managed well in line with safeguarding protocols. The relevant people are contacted, and appropriate action is taken to ensure that the child remains safe living at the home. However, on one occasion, although the serious incident was managed well, the management team failed to notify Ofsted and on another occasion a notification was not sent in timescales. This meant that the regulator is unable to have sufficient oversight and scrutiny in a timely manner.

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

The child does not go missing from home, this is a result of the nature of the positive relationships staff have built with the child. Additionally, staff are not risk adverse and allow the child to develop trust and to take age-appropriate risks, such as the child spending time with friends alone some distance from home.

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

One professional said, ‘There were safeguarding issues before and now [name of child] can reflect and the risks have reduced. [Name of child] would never take any accountability before. This is small steps, but this is massive to where they were.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably experienced and qualified and has high aspirations for the children in her care. Staff speak in high regard about the registered manager and the support she provides to her team. One member of staff said, ‘The management team are sound leaders and have helped with directing, supporting and leading the team in caring, developing and safeguarding [name of child].’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An established and stable staff team work with the child. Any gaps in the rota are covered by the team, or from a pool of staff from the provider’s other homes in the region who are known to the child. This creates consistency of care for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff receive a thorough induction that provides them with a detailed programme of training and guidance for their new role. On completion of their probationary period, staff are enrolled on to a suitable qualification if they are not already qualified. This leads to consistency in care and support for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings and supervisions are child focussed and are used as an opportunity to reflect on staff practice and feedback on the care afforded to the child. Inspection report for children's home: 2825588 4 The registered manager and staff would benefit from gaining feedback from professionals and external agencies working alongside the child to support the development of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager welcomes the external scrutiny of the quality of care provided to the child by the independent person who visits monthly. The leadership and management team are aware of the home’s strengths and weaknesses identified through their own reviewing and monitoring systems. Inspection report for children's home: 2825588 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they have a key role in seeking to develop the home's effective working relationships and gather feedback to support the development of the service from the child's placing authority and with other relevant persons which may include services, individuals (including parents), agencies, organisations and establishments that work with the child in the local community, the child themselves and the staff caring for the child. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,' page 52, paragraph 10.3)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. Specifically, that the staff receive training in substance and alcohol misuse to support their learning and development to help them meet the needs of the chid. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,' page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should cover the action that should be followed if the event arises at the weekend or on a public holiday. Notification must include details of the action taken by the home's staff in response to the event. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,' page 62, paragraph 14.13) Inspection report for children's home: 2825588 6

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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: 2825588 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bluestones Medical Complex Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit A Telford Court, Chester Gates Business Park, Chester, Cheshire CH1 6LT

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Inspector

Julie Elder, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2825588 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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