Children's Home run by Bluestones Medical Complex Care Limited in Cheshire West and Chester

Inspection report for children’s home: 2835157 1 Registered provider: Bluestones Medical Complex Care 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 is run by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to 3 children who may experience social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in October 2025. The home has a registered manager who has been in role since its registration.

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Information about this children’s home

There were 2 children living in the home at the time of the inspection. Both children refused to speak to Ofsted inspectors during the inspection despite a number of attempts.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2835157 2

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Summary of findings

Overall, the children are making good progress, especially with their education and health, and have access to a wide range of different activities. Children have positive relationships with staff.

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Summary of findings

Staff respond to children’s risk and vulnerabilities. Children have individual risk assessments to support staff to implement effective strategies.

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Summary of findings

One child is regularly staying with a family member, which is part of the placing authority’s long-term plan. Staff continue to support the child and follow agreed care plans to ensure the child’s ongoing safety.

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Summary of findings

Managers support the team to work well together in children’s best interests. Managers have effective oversight of the home and are aware of areas for improvement. There is a positive culture of learning in the team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to build positive relationships with children to help them to develop a sense of security and belonging. They listen to children’s views and follow up their requests, for example in relation to children seeing members of their families. One child received significant support in relation to a family bereavement. This helped the child maintain their connection to the people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a warm and welcoming environment. Staff help the children to individualise their bedrooms and communal spaces. The children’s wishes and feelings are sought through regular children’s meetings. There is evidence that the children’s views are considered in the day-to-day running of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

External doors have internal key locks and window restrictors are used on all windows. This is not assessed individually for children to ensure that these restrictions are necessary and proportionate to keep children safe. This compromises children’s liberty. The registered person took immediate action to rectify this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help to ensure that children’s health needs are met to a good standard. Children’s oral health is a particular strength, as one child had not accessed a dentist for many years prior to joining the home. This is good progress from their starting point.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of education and encourage children to attend educational settings. Inspection report for children’s home: 2835157 3 All children have increased their education attendance since joining the home, which helps to ensure that children have the best chance of succeeding in later life. Staff work hard to ensure that children complete any homework as required.

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

Staff clearly identify children’s vulnerabilities, and they are provided with guidance about how to maintain children’s safety.

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

Recruitment procedures and practices are safe and effective. All staff are checked and vetted before starting to work at the home. These checks ensure that only suitable adults are employed to work with children in the home.

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

Staff use positive behaviour approaches that are supported by therapeutic training. This avoids any use of negative or punitive measures to manage children’s behaviour. Staff and children use the identified incentive system to good effect.

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

Children have bespoke missing-from-home plans, and staff are aware of the procedures to follow should any child go missing from home. Missing-from-home incidents are managed consistently and effectively, leading to a reduction in the number of times that children are missing.

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

The management team ensures that therapeutic principles are embedded within the staff team and in children’s behaviour support plans. Behaviour support plans are child focused and reflective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led and managed by an ambitious and knowledgeable management team. The team demonstrates a clear understanding of therapeutic approaches when supporting children with complex needs and ensures that staff implement these in their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered person carries out a review of the quality of care. This is completed within required timescales and provides some detail about children’s outcomes. The review would benefit from more evaluation, direct quotes from children and stakeholders and clearer plans for development, which would help to support the home’s ongoing improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered person has completed a statement of purpose. However, this was not submitted within timescale. The statement of purpose states the home provides care for 3 children. However, the third room was being used as a staff room, contrary to conditions of registration.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from a stable staff team and there is a good emphasis on building positive relationships. Staff can demonstrate their knowledge of children’s needs and Inspection report for children’s home: 2835157 4 expectations of roles and responsibilities around care planning and safeguarding of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular training, which helps them to better understand the children’s needs. This means that staff develop their skills to ensure that they implement best practice. Training is reviewed regularly to ensure that it meets the changing needs of the staff and children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2835157 5

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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 registered person must provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI and make a copy of it available upon request to—

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Requirement Due date

a child, or a child for whom accommodation in the home is being considered;

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Requirement Due date

a parent of a child, or a parent of a child for whom accommodation in the home is being considered;

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Requirement Due date

and in the case of a qualifying school, the Secretary of State.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it;

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Requirement Due date

and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e) (3)(a)(b)) 16 June 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they have consent from those with parental responsibility and the placing authority for the use of equipment that is used in restricting a child’s liberty of movement. This includes, for example, changes to the physical environment of the home such as the use of window restrictors. This should be regularly reviewed to ensure that this is a necessary and proportionate measure to keep children safe. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.42) Inspection report for children’s home: 2835157 6  The registered person should ensure that the quality of care review is evaluative and contains feedback from wider stakeholders. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions

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Recommendations

required for the next six months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraphs 15.2 and 15.4)

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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: 2835157 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bluestones Medical Complex Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit A Telford Court, Chester Gates Business Park, Chester, Cheshire CH1 6LT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Patricia Stratford

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Inspectors

Shane North, Social Care Inspector James Meeks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2835157 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 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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