Children's Home run by Park Blue Homes Limited in Wiltshire

Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2712284 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: Park Blue Homes Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private organisation. It provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties and may also have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

A manager is currently in post but is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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'. Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2712284 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

Children benefit from warm and trusting relationships with staff, which helps them to feel understood and supported.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff have a sound understanding of the individual risks faced by children and take appropriate action to manage these. They follow children’s safety plans and ensure that agreed strategies are implemented in day ‑ to ‑ day practice. When children spend time in the community, staff maintain regular checks and stay in contact to confirm their welfare.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff encourage and support children to take part in activities, hobbies and social opportunities that help build their confidence. They also actively promote and support family time, recognising how important these relationships are for children’s emotional wellbeing and sense of identity.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff support children to develop their independence, and there are positive examples of them encouraging skills such as cooking and taking part in day ‑ to ‑ day tasks. However, the level of support is not always consistent, and children do not always receive the same opportunities to practise skills that will help them prepare for future transitions. This means their experience of learning tasks such as budgeting, household routines and personal self ‑ care can vary, and at times this limits how confident they feel in managing these responsibilities.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders, managers and staff work effectively with the wider professional network to support children’s safety and welfare. They maintain regular contact with social workers, education providers, and health professionals, ensuring that relevant information is shared promptly. Professionals report that communication from the home is excellent, noting that staff are proactive in seeking guidance, contributing to multi ‑ agency planning and providing clear, detailed updates. This collaborative approach helps to ensure that children’s needs are understood and responded to in a coordinated way.

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Findings from the inspection

Managers take steps to identify and address gaps in staff knowledge and skills, and targeted training helps ensure staff feel more confident and competent in meeting children’s needs. However, the provision of supervision sessions and training for bank staff is not as consistent as that of permanent staff, and this remains an area where management oversight is less robust.

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Findings from the inspection

The behaviour of one child had a sustained impact on another child’s emotional wellbeing and their sense of safety within the home. Although staff worked hard to manage the situation and offer reassurance, the instability persisted for some time, Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2712284 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Findings from the inspection

as did the negative impact on the affected child. Managers subsequently took the decision to end one child’s time living at the home.

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Findings from the inspection

There is inconsistency in the quality and oversight of children’s individual plans. This variation makes it difficult to see how effectively plans are being monitored or how well they support consistent work with children. Managers are implementing a plan to strengthen this area, but these improvements are not yet fully embedded.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/07/2025 Full Good 19/11/2024 Full Good 14/06/2023 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2712284 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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, 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 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

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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

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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that there is consistent oversight of individual plans, and they are consistently outcome focused and include specific, measurable, realistic, relevant and timebound objectives, to support consistent practice and facilitate effective monitoring. 27 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— 27 March 2026 Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2712284 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Requirement Due date

that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must take action to prevent children’s behaviour impacting negatively on other children’s emotional wellbeing and their sense of safety within the home. The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that supervision arrangements for bank staff are applied consistently and in line with the home's own policy. 27 March 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff help each child to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or to live independently. In particular, staff need to be consistent in providing support with skills such as cooking, housework, budgeting, and personal self-care with clearly set out goals and evidence of progress and outcomes. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 17, paragraph 3.27) Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2712284 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Park Blue Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 38 Freemans Way, Harrogate HG3 1DH

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Inspector

Karen Hallam, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children's home: 2712284 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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