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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC453372 1 SC453372 Registered provider: Park Blue Homes 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 privately operated. It provides care for up to 5 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children were living at the home at the time of the inspection and 3 were spoken with during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC453372 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/07/2025 Full Good 03/06/2024 Full Good 22/08/2023 Full Good 24/05/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC453372 3

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Summary of findings

Children’s experiences are poor and some children do not feel safe or well cared for. Staffing instability and low morale have negatively affected relationships in the home. Staff do not use the provider’s agreed parenting model consistently and this has affected the children’s experiences and progress.

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Summary of findings

Safeguarding arrangements are not consistently effective, and some children’s risks have increased. Plans for children are not routinely updated and information-sharing with partner agencies on safeguarding matters is not consistent. Leaders and managers’ oversight of the children’s care at times has been poor and they have not always provided staff with the guidance needed to keep children safe.

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Summary of findings

Children’s health needs are met. Some children attend school and college. However, children are not well supported to develop their independence skills.

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Summary of findings

Staff demonstrate a strong commitment to the children and are clearly motivated to act in their best interests. However, staff do not feel well supported, and there is significant unrest in the staff team. Leaders are aware of this and are in the process of planning on how to address these concerns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s experiences and progress are mixed. Some children say they enjoy living at the home and have formed positive relationships with staff. However, other children do not feel well cared for. Some children’s risks have increased. A lack of timely and effective action in response to serious incidents has contributed to a deterioration in relationships between children, and this has affected some children’s safety and stability. Other children have moved on from the home because their needs could no longer be met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Significant staffing instability, including frequent changes, has negatively affected children’s day-to-day experiences. Furthermore, staff morale is low. The provider’s parenting approach is not consistently or effectively applied in practice. A lack of cohesion in staff relationships means children do not experience harmonious care that consistently meets their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Decisions to move children into the home have been made with positive intentions. However, admissions have occurred during periods when staff are fatigued from managing highly vulnerable and complex behaviours. This affected staff’s capacity to meet existing children’s needs. This means that children who have moved into the home have not had a positive start to life at their new home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC453372 4 Children are not consistently supported to develop their independence skills. One child said that they do not feel sufficiently helped by staff. There is no clear evidence to demonstrate how staff are actively helping children to develop skills, or how progress is being monitored and reviewed. Furthermore, support for the child’s independence is not always communicated in a way that helps the child feel cared for or well supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Some children attend school or college and are supported to engage. There are challenges for some children in accessing or sustaining education. Despite these difficulties, some children have made progress since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children have developed good relationships with some staff who they enjoy spending time with. Children are offered activities including trips away. However, staffing difficulties have reduced the availability of these opportunities, leaving children reluctant to engage.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The manager has worked effectively with health professionals. Children are supported to attend appointments, including mental health support through the child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) and other specialist services. This demonstrates a commitment to promoting children’s health and wellbeing.

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

Children are not always safe. For some children, risks are escalating and are not being managed effectively. When incidents have occurred, risk management plans are not routinely updated. Therefore, staff do not have the most current information around risk, and how to manage these.

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

Staff look for children when they go missing from the home. However, the strategies to reduce the likelihood of children leaving are ineffective. Furthermore, staff have a limited understanding of where one child spends their time away from the home or what risks they may be exposed to. This does not keep children safe.

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

Information-sharing with partner agencies is inconsistent and not timely. This has resulted in professionals not being fully informed of significant safeguarding concerns and, as a result, not being able to take timely action to safeguard their child.

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

When unwanted behaviours occur, there is insufficient support to help children to understand and manage this behaviour. This has affected some children’s relationships and their sense of safety in the home.

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

When incidents occur, staff are not always spoken with by the manager. This means when staff have been involved in serious incidents, they have not been given the opportunity to reflect on their practice. Children’s views, feelings and understanding of these incidents are not routinely explored, limiting opportunities for learning, repair and emotional reassurance. As a result, leaders and managers are unable to identify practice issues and make improvements. Inspection report for children’s home: SC453372 5 Staff have managed extremely unsafe and complex behaviours for one child. This has placed significant emotional strain on the team. In these circumstances, staff have worked with external agencies, including the police, effectively, to reduce immediate risk and safeguard the child and others. This demonstrates that staff are capable of appropriate multi-agency working. However, this is not yet embedded consistently across

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff say that they do not feel well supported, and there is significant unrest in the team. Staff turnover is high, with several experienced staff having left. This level of instability negatively affects the continuity of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is a lack of clear and consistent leadership. Staff are not always clear or confident about how to support children. This limits staff’s effectiveness in their roles and contributes to uncertainty in day-to-day practice. Furthermore, plans for how to support children are not updated regularly. This leaves staff without guidance and contributes to inconsistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff wellbeing is a significant concern. Staff demonstrate a strong commitment to the children and are motivated to act in the children’s best interests. However, this commitment often results in staff working beyond reasonable expectations. Supervision sessions for staff are inconsistent and newer members of the team have not always received a sufficient induction or guidance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The property offers significant space and potential benefits for children. However, the physical environment of the home is not maintained throughout. Some essential repairs have not been addressed in a timely way. In addition, some doors are routinely locked. This does not support a warm, homely environment for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Feedback from external professionals is mixed. Some professionals have raised concerns about children’s emotional wellbeing, inconsistent communication, and the visible tension in staff relationships. Others have provided positive feedback, including recognition from a CAMHS professional about the quality of work completed with one child, particularly acknowledging the manager’s commitment and effective relationship-building.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have access to reflective supervision with a therapist, and some staff describe this as beneficial. However, identified strategies and positive interventions are not fully considered in children’s plans or used in practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC453372 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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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)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(b)) 28 June 2026

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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 28 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC453372 7 promotes their welfare.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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

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

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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 personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background; 28 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC453372 8 help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice;

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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

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)(v)(vi)(ix)(c)(i)(ii))

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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

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(i)) 28 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(ii)(iii)) 28 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC453372 9 * These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: SC453372 10

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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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Inspectors

Gary Smithson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC453372 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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