Children's Home run by Blue Mountain Homes Ltd in Derbyshire

Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 1 Registered provider: Blue Mountain Homes Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2026.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home and was spoken with.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/10/2025 Full Good 24/09/2024 Full Good 18/07/2023 Full Good 16/06/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 3

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Summary of findings

Staff provide children with consistent, nurturing care and are dedicated to building strong relationships from the earliest opportunity. Through creative activities and purposeful key-work sessions, children enjoy positive experiences and access a range of opportunities that support their development and wellbeing. Education is prioritised, with staff ensuring that learning opportunities are available even when children are not attending school. The manager promotes a warm, family-oriented culture where staff feel valued and well supported. However, one safeguarding concern was not reported promptly, resulting in a delay in follow-up work with a child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff place a strong emphasis on building trusting and supportive relationships with children from the outset. They achieve this through a consistent approach to care, expectations and boundaries, helping children to feel safe, understood and secure. Staff work collaboratively to ensure children receive clear and predictable responses, which supports emotional development and stability. One child described the staff are ‘very caring and helpful’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have high aspirations for children and consistently celebrate their achievements, helping children to build confidence and develop a positive view of themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is a clear priority. Staff implement structured educational activities and advocate effectively to ensure children access suitable education without unnecessary delay. For one child awaiting a school placement, a weekly education plan is in place, and tutors visit regularly to build relationships and support learning. Staff work proactively with partner agencies to progress education arrangements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain meaningful relationships with the important people in their lives. Clear and robust plans are in place for family time, with staff ensuring that sessions reflect children’s wishes and experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are supported in their work with children through access to an external therapeutic team. Therapeutic practitioners now spend more time directly with children, enabling them to develop a better understanding of children’s needs, presentation and progress. This increased involvement allows practitioners to provide more relevant and effective guidance to staff, helping them to respond consistently and therapeutically to children.

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

Care plans are detailed and are shared with children in an age-appropriate way. Individual safety plans are detailed and cover relevant risk factors, with proportionate actions for staff. Staffing ratios for children are appropriate to ensure their safety, and Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 4 are regularly reviewed to try and ensure the least restrictive approach possible. One professional highlighted staff’s ability to adapt to a child’s needs quickly and appropriately, leading to a reduction in serious incidents.

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

Significant lessons have been learned in relation to new children moving in. Important information about children’s background, journeys and experiences is gathered before they arrive at the home. This is used to inform effective plans for children, ensuring that staff were well prepared to care for 2 children who moved into the home. This has led to successful outcomes for one child, who has been able to move on to a new home to live with other children. Staff feel more confident as a result of the preparation before children move in.

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

Staff role model behaviours for children and show understanding in responding to children whose behaviours may link to adverse childhood experiences. There has been a significant decrease in these behaviours for one child. Staff maintain a sensitive and patient approach, which allows the child to take the lead in sharing their thoughts and feelings.

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

Staff use physical interventions with children when it is necessary and proportionate to do so. Debriefs take place with children and staff after incidents. Learning is undertaken following incidents, but the hidden impact on the child is not always fully considered. Staff have not promptly reported one safeguarding concern relating to staff conduct around a child. This has led to a delay in work being done with the child following an incident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager demonstrates an understanding of the children’s individual needs and promotes a warm, caring and nurturing ethos throughout the home. Children benefit from an environment in which trusting relationships are prioritised, helping them to feel comfortable and secure and develop positive foundations from which they can make progress. The manager maintains good oversight of children’s experiences and is committed to ensuring that care is tailored to meet their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they feel well supported by the manager and speak positively about the guidance and encouragement they receive. This support has contributed to good team morale and a cohesive working environment. The manager and staff recognise the strength of their team culture, identifying this as a key factor in helping them navigate challenging periods and maintain consistent, child-focused care. As a result, children receive support from a stable and committed staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is proactively developing the roles and responsibilities of senior staff to strengthen leadership capacity in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Following a significant incident, an internal investigation was led by the senior leadership team rather than the manager. This resulted in a gap in communication between leaders and contributed to delays in completing comprehensive debriefs with staff. Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 5 Staff undertake regular key-work sessions with children and use these opportunities to build relationships, explore children’s experiences and gather their views. However, while key-work sessions take place regularly, records do not always demonstrate sufficient exploration or reflection of children’s views, feelings and behaviours. This limits opportunities for leaders to fully understand children’s experiences, evaluate the effectiveness of interventions and identify emerging themes that may require further support or action. Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 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;

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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

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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to ensuring that children are always spoken to promptly after significant incidents. 2 October 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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 2 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 7 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 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(a)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to ensuring that the registered manager is made aware of any events which relate to staff practice, and that staff are spoken to and supported to develop their practice in a timely manner.

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Recommendation

 Any child who has been restrained should be given the opportunity express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60). Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 8

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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: 1244161 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Blue Mountain Homes Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Blue Mountain Homes Ltd, 21 Mallard Way, Pride Park, Derby DE24 8GX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Pradeep Manaktala

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Inspector

Patrick Rowell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1244161 10 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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Inspector

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