Children's home run by First Blue Healthcare Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2627054 1 Registered provider: First Blue Healthcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately operated home is registered to provide care for up to two children who may experience emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home, who was present but did not wish to speak with 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

Date of last inspection: 3 December 2024

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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: 2627054 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/12/2024 Full Good 02/05/2023 Full Good 04/10/2022 Full Good 19/07/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2627054 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living in the home is settled and experiences a positive sense of belonging. They have developed strong, trusting relationships with staff, which contribute to their emotional security. The child’s decision to remain living in the home beyond the age of 16, despite previously expressing a desire to leave, reflects the child’s stability and consistency. Staff know the child well and respond to their needs with warmth and reliability, supporting their steady progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is prioritised by staff, who demonstrate a strong commitment to supporting the child’s learning. The child engages in daily education facilitated by a tutor who attends the home, ensuring continuity and routine. A broad range of learning opportunities are provided, which are tailored to the child’s interests and future aspirations. This approach helps the child to develop skills that enhance their confidence and employability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of maintaining family relationships for the child. They actively support the child to spend time with their family. Also, they provide emotional and practical support during family time. As a result, the child is now spending extended periods with their family, which is helping them to strengthen family bonds and develop a clearer sense of identity and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, staff encourage the child to take part in a range of activities. However, the child often prefers to spend time gaming. This restricts opportunities to develop the child’s social skills outside of the home and broaden their life experiences. Staff recognise this and are beginning to take a more proactive approach to managing screen time and promoting structured, meaningful activities that support the child’s social development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The recognition and celebration of the child’s achievements is not always evident. While staff acknowledge the child’s progress informally, there is not a consistent approach to rewarding or recognising positive behaviour and accomplishments. This reduces opportunities to build the child’s self-esteem and motivation. Staff are beginning to reflect on this and recognise the need to implement more structured and meaningful systems of praise and reward.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There has been a lack of effective multi-agency working to ensure the child’s developmental needs are fully assessed. This has led to delays in accessing appropriate support services for the child’s health, which has negatively impacted the progress the child could be making.

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

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the child’s missing-from-home protocols and respond swiftly when incidents occur. They actively search the local area and maintain Inspection report for children’s home: 2627054 4 contact with the child via phone where possible. Staff work effectively with external professionals to ensure the child’s safe return, ensuring the child feels cared for and wanted. These actions reflect a strong commitment to safeguarding the child.

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

Staff practice in supporting the child is underpinned by the home’s therapeutic model. They use techniques such as distraction and engaging the child’s curiosity to help de- escalate potential incidents. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the child’s individual needs and motivations, which informs their approach and ensures that the child feels supported and accepted while in a state of distress. As a result, there have been no physical interventions used in the home, and significant incidents are rare.

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

Safer recruitment practices are in place and implemented effectively to ensure that staff working with the child are safe and suitable. This contributes to a protective environment where the child’s welfare is prioritised.

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

Consequences used with the child are not consistently restorative or proportionate. At times, staff implement consequences that are either unenforceable or duplicated, which undermines their effectiveness. The frequent use of mobile phone restrictions, even when not directly linked to the incident, reduces its relevance and impact. As a result, opportunities for the child to reflect on their actions are limited.

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

The child’s online activity is not robustly risk assessed. Staff are not consistent or effective in monitoring and completing checks on the child’s devices. This leaves the child vulnerable to the risks associated with online activity. The lack of thorough assessment and oversight has the potential to limit staff’s ability to identify and respond to potential risks effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s new manager demonstrates enthusiasm and commitment to improving staff practice and securing positive outcomes for the child. She adopts a reflective and therapeutic approach, which has enabled her to build strong relationships with both the child and the staff team. She is ably supported by the home’s responsible individual. This ensures that the child receives good care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains effective oversight of incidents and is proactive in identifying areas for learning. She is a visible presence in the home, offering support and modelling the practice she expects from staff. However, she is still developing confidence in challenging decisions or plans that she believes may not be in the child’s best interests.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about the manager’s leadership and support. They receive regular supervision and attend team meetings that are reflective and supportive. This contributes to a stable and motivated team of staff who are confident in their roles and committed to providing consistent care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2627054 5 Staff and leaders establish positive relationships with children’s parents and professionals. Overall, feedback from professionals is positive, and they commend staff for their insight into the child’s needs and their child-focused approach. One professional said, ‘I have no concerns. I have observed really positive relationships between [name of child] and staff.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2627054 6

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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 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s online activity is robustly risk assessed and that staff have the skills and knowledge to manage the risks to ensure the child is safe when using the internet. 30 November 2025

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they are proactive in liaising with and challenging the professional 30 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2627054 7 network when the child’s care plan is not being progressed, particularly in relation to delays in assessments that impact on the services available to the child.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are offered a wide range of activities both inside and outside of the home (where appropriate) and are encouraged to participate in those activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.5)  The registered person should ensure that consequences used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour, and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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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: 2627054 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: First Blue Healthcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Seighford Hall, Clanford Road, Seighford, Stafford ST18 9NL

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Inspector

Menaka De Silva, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2627054 9 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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