Children's home run by First Blue Healthcare Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2560648 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 home registered with Ofsted in December 2019 and is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to three children who have experienced trauma and who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home, who was present and spoken to. One child has left the home since the last inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2024 and is suitably qualified.

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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: 11 November 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2560648 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/11/2025 Full Inadequate 06/01/2025 Full Good 24/10/2023 Full Good 17/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2560648 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living in the home is settled and making sustained progress. They have formed positive and trusting relationships with staff, which has contributed to noticeable improvements in their self-esteem and confidence. The child shared feeling happy and safe while living at the home and spoke positively of the staff caring for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s education. They have supported one child to advocate for themselves effectively. This has resulted in a mainstream school place being identified. Staff remain proactive in ensuring the child continues to access learning while they have not been attending school, providing structure and a positive daily routine. As a result, the child feels secure and is better able to manage their daily routines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with their family. Staff are proactive in creating a variety of opportunities for the child living in the home to spend time with siblings in ways that are both enjoyable and safe. Staff also transport the child significant distances on a regular basis to ensure positive family time is maintained. This consistent support enables the child to maintain important family connections, helping the child to understand their identity and develop a strong sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop important independent living skills. For one child, they prepare meals alongside the child, enabling them to build confidence in cooking and making healthy choices. Staff also encourage the child to take responsibility for tasks such as managing their laundry and maintaining a clean bedroom. These consistent routines promote the child’s independence, resulting in a clear sense of pride and achievement as they become increasingly capable in managing everyday tasks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves out of the home are well planned and positive. For one child, staff supported the child to visit their new home and meet the adults who will be caring for them, helping to reduce uncertainty and build trust. Staff also create personalised memory books and provide meaningful gifts and celebratory meals prior to moving out. As a result, the child’s move from the home was a warm and positive experience, helping them to feel valued, cared for and well prepared for the next stage in their journey.

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

Significant incidents in the home are low. This reflects the effectiveness of the staff’s consistent approaches and the strong, trusting relationships they build with children. Staff interactions are calm and nurturing, contributing to a stable environment where children feel safe and secure.

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

Physical intervention is rarely used nor required. Staff use effective de-escalation strategies to support children when they become anxious. When a physical intervention was necessary, staff implemented it safely, proportionately and in line with agreed plans. Inspection report for children’s home: 2560648 4 Following incidents, children are supported to reflect and understand what happened in a calm, non-judgemental way. This supports children’s emotional wellbeing and contributes to staff also gaining better insight into the child’s needs and vulnerabilities.

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

Staff use consequences that are fair, proportionate and clearly linked to children’s behaviour. Staff take time to help children understand the impact of their actions and the rationale for any consequences applied. This reflective approach supports children to consider alternative responses, learn from incidents and make increasingly positive choices over time.

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

Children are well supported in addressing past trauma and in meeting their emotional needs. The home’s therapist works closely with one child on a regular basis, providing dedicated time and space to process the challenges they are experiencing. The child is engaging positively in this therapeutic work, and the impact can be seen in the low number of incidents, and their increased ability to express their feelings positively.

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

One child’s online activity has not been explored fully to ensure their safety while accessing the internet. Although staff monitor the child’s online activity and have safety measures in place, when concerns have arisen, staff have not shown sufficient professional curiosity to explore these further. This has limited opportunities to identify potential risks and implement additional safeguarding measures to better assure the child’s safety online.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced and dedicated manager who is focused on ensuring positive outcomes for children in her care. The leadership team has implemented several positive changes in relation to increasing reflection, staff training and oversight to strengthen safeguarding practice within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership team are reflective and open to making changes that improve children’s experiences and contribute to their safety. Managers maintain strong oversight of practice using an online recording system and their regular presence in the home. A range of robust auditing processes operate across different management levels, providing effective scrutiny and ensuring consistent oversight of the quality of care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about the leadership team and report feeling well supported. They receive regular supervision and a broad range of training, including therapeutic input from the home’s therapist, which enhances their practice and supports their own wellbeing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safer recruitment practices are firmly in place. This ensures that staff working with the child are suitably vetted and safe to do so. Inspection report for children’s home: 2560648 5 Communication with the professional network and family is consistently highlighted as a strength of the registered manager. One child’s family and professionals speak positively about the relationships managers and staff have built with the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2560648 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 staff understand and recognise the signs that children are at risk of harm when accessing the internet and take action to safeguard children. This includes showing professional curiosity in relation to children’s online activity and people they are interacting with virtually to fully understand the risks posed to the child. 12 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: 2560648 7

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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: 2560648 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 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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