Children's Home run by Blue Elephant Childcare Limited in Devon

Inspection report for children’s home: 2715196 1 Registered provider: Blue Elephant Childcare 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

This home was registered in February 2023 and provides care for up to 4 children. It is owned and managed by a local, privately run organisation that also operates several other homes in the area.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living in the home at the time of this inspection. One child was not present but was spoken to on the telephone. The other 2 children were seen by the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 14 September 2025.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2715196 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/07/2024 Full Good 11/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2715196 3

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improvement to be good

All three children spoke positively about their experiences living in the home, and one child noted they feel safer since moving in. All three children feel that they are listened to by the manager and the wider team.

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improvement to be good

Staff and the manager understand the children’s needs and have taken appropriate steps to build relationships with those who are new to the home. The progress of children is variable. Some children have experienced positive outcomes and have made progress. However, others have made limited progress and continue to struggle. Despite staff providing some support strategies, these have had limited impact for one child, whose progress has now stalled.

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improvement to be good

Staff offer children a range of activities in the home and make efforts to encourage their participation. However, this is not always successful. While some reluctance may relate to the children’s ages and their preference to spend time with peers outside the home, one child spends a significant amount of time in their bedroom, which limits their engagement in purposeful activities.

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improvement to be good

Children’s education needs are being met. The manager is an effective advocate, ensuring that children have access to appropriate education and training provisions. Some work has been undertaken with children to support their preparation for independence. However, this is not sufficiently robust. As a result, there is a lack of clarity about whether children are ready to live independently.

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improvement to be good

When children move into the home, appropriate assessments are undertaken to consider compatibility and the potential impact of each child on the existing group. However, where risks are identified at the point of admission, the home does not produce sufficiently detailed plans to demonstrate how these risks will be managed effectively. As a consequence, one of the risks highlighted during the assessment process subsequently materialised in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond appropriately to safeguarding concerns as they arise and notify the relevant professionals, ensuring that information is shared in a timely manner. Records of incidents are completed. However, on occasion, these records lack sufficient detail, making it difficult to determine the actions taken by staff and the effectiveness of their responses.

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improvement to be good

A failure to collate and analyse key historical safeguarding information when one child moved into the home meant that significant risks were not fully understood by the staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2715196 4 team or the manager. This lack of understanding contributed to a serious incident occurring.

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improvement to be good

Children do not go missing from the home. When children leave the site without permission, staff follow them to monitor their safety and support their return. However, boundaries are not always clear or consistently applied. Some staff do not follow children’s care plans and report uncertainty about how to respond to incidents.

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improvement to be good

A lack of professional curiosity and insufficient collation of key information relating to one child means that potential concerns about their mental health and wellbeing have not been escalated for assessment by an appropriate medical professional. This was addressed during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

One child has reduced their substance use significantly since moving into the home. However, concerns relating to substance misuse continue to be present. While staff are undertaking work to address these concerns, it has not yet resulted in sustained improvement for all children.

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improvement to be good

A lack of consistency and support from staff has resulted in one child’s bedroom becoming a poor environment for them to live in. Staff have not provided support to the child to clean or maintain their room to a good standard. This was addressed and rectified by the manager during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has aspirations for the children and demonstrates genuine care for their progress and development. His commitment to nurturing and supporting the children is evident. However, this has not consistently translated into effective practice. As a result, the progress made by some children is limited, and the manager’s aspirations are not yet fully realised in the day-to-day experiences and outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has a good understanding of children’s experiences and recognises how trauma influences their behaviour and decision-making. He is working to develop the staff team’s understanding in this area. However, this work is still at an early stage and has not yet resulted in consistently trauma-informed practice across the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff report that the manager is approachable, maintains an open-door policy and that they feel well supported by him. However, other staff have raised concerns about the assessment of two children to live alongside each other in the home. Some staff do not feel clear about how to manage the associated risks or respond effectively to incidents that arise. As a result, boundaries for children are not always clear or consistently applied.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff and the manager advocate strongly for the children. The manager ensures that children’s wishes and feelings are clearly represented in professional meetings and in the Inspection report for children’s home: 2715196 5 daily life of the home. Formal advocacy has also been used effectively, contributing to positive outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Children report that they feel able to share their views with staff in the home. When concerns are raised, staff take these seriously. However, it is not always evident that children receive feedback about the outcomes of the issues they raise. This lack of follow-up means children may be left uncertain about whether their views have been fully considered or acted on.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager understands the home’s strengths and some of the areas for development. The inspection process highlighted further areas for development, which the manager has a plan in place to begin to address. Inspection report for children’s home: 2715196 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(vii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s bedrooms are warm and welcoming spaces, which are kept clean and support children to feel cared for and nurtured. 1 March 2026

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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)) 1 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2715196 7 In particular, the registered person must ensure that all key historical information relating to risks for children are clearly documented within assessments and plans, and that staff are clear in relation to any of these risks. When risks are identified, there must be clear plans in place to mitigate against them.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff understand and follow the children’s plans to ensure consistency of care. 1 March 2026

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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: 2715196 8

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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, Devon EX31 4AY

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Inspector

Helen Cushnie, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2715196 9 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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