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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2690357 1 Registered provider: Blue Mountain Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living at the home. The inspector spoke with the children as part of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2024. The manager was not present for the inspection, and the inspection was led by the deputy manager.

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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: 2690357 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/08/2025 Full Good 13/08/2024 Full Good 29/11/2023 Full Good 12/09/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2690357 3

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Summary of findings

Children are settled and comfortable and have grown in confidence over time, particularly when it comes to naming and understanding complex feelings. Staff celebrate children’s achievements, while managers are ambitious when setting goals for children. Staff prioritise consistent routines and boundaries, which supports the children to attend school regularly. The staff team generally works hard to ensure that children live in a family environment, although this has been disrupted at times by periods of staff shortages and external staff caring for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a settled and family-orientated environment, where they are supported to make progress in understanding their emotions. Children place their trust in staff, who respond consistently. This has led to children having the confidence to challenge themselves and try new things.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and provide sensitive support to help them understand and make sense of their emotions and previous life experiences. They create an environment where children feel safe to talk about difficult experiences and express their feelings. Children are increasingly able to speak openly about their past experiences, representing meaningful progress for some children who had previously found this difficult. One child says that the best thing about where they live is the adults, because they are ‘fun and caring’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff celebrate children’s achievements and mark important occasions, helping them to feel valued and recognised. When things do not go to plan, staff provide reassurance and emotional support, helping children to develop resilience and maintain a positive outlook.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use creative and child-focused approaches to record children’s progress and memories. For example, children look forward to receiving a monthly house newspaper that provides a personalised summary of their highlights, achievements, special moments and goals. This helps children to reflect on their experiences, recognise their progress and build a positive sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend education consistently and are making good use of learning opportunities available to them. Staff place a strong emphasis on helping children to take part in a range of activities, pursue their interests and experience new opportunities. As a result, children enjoy positive experiences that broaden their horizons and support their personal development. For example, one child was supported to fulfil a long-held ambition of watching their favourite football team play at its home stadium. Inspection report for children’s home: 2690357 4 Staff recordings are written directly to children and are shared with them, helping to promote transparency and ensuring that children remain at the centre of their care. Staff develop a strong understanding of each child’s individual journey through detailed and honest assessments of their history, experiences and needs. This enables staff to provide informed and personalised care. Children are also supported to develop age-appropriate

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

independence skills through achievable and realistic goals, helping them to build confidence, increase their self-esteem and prepare for the next stages of their lives.

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

Staff encourage children to access emotional support and ensure that any adjustments are made to help them to attend appointments. One child speaks proudly about learning new self-care strategies and the profound impact that this has had on their day-to-day life.

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

Risk management plans are up to date and contain detailed assessments of risk factors and clear and comprehensive responses for staff. Managers and staff produce agreements alongside children, making them feel part of the process and more likely to invest in rules and boundaries.

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

Staff maintain a consistent and therapeutic response to children. Staff are able to look beyond the presenting behaviour of children and focus on providing stable and predictable responses over time. This has contributed to children’s vulnerabilities decreasing over time, and the number of serious incidents involving children has significantly reduced over recent months.

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

Staff only use physical intervention when it is necessary, proportionate and in response to identified risks. They prioritise de-escalation strategies and take time to understand each child’s individual needs, preferences and triggers. Staff provide reassurance and develop effective approaches to help children regulate their emotions and feel safe. As a result, children are becoming increasingly able to recognise, understand and express their feelings appropriately. This improved emotional awareness has contributed to a reduction in the need for physical intervention over time, demonstrating the positive impact of the nurturing support provided by staff.

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

Staff listen to children when they raise issues, allegations or complaints. Children are spoken to after incidents, and outcomes of investigations are clearly shared with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership team cares deeply about the progress and wellbeing of children and has aspirations centred around children being in, and working towards, the best possible environment for their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership team carries out detailed management oversight on all significant recordings about children. Oversight is reflective and leads to actions being taken to Inspection report for children’s home: 2690357 5 improve processes and to benefit children. Managers are willing to have progressive and challenging conversations with staff when there are concerns about practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in the home and feel well supported by the management team. Staff feel very clear on what is expected of them and heard when they raise suggestions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a shortage of permanent staff during this period, resulting in children being cared for by a number of staff from other homes in the organisation. Managers have sought to minimise disruption by ensuring that at least one familiar member of staff is present in the home whenever possible. However, this has not always been achievable. Leaders have recognised these challenges and have taken action to improve staffing stability through the successful recruitment of new permanent staff. This is expected to provide children with greater consistency and support the development of secure, trusting relationships. However, this is yet untested.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

In addition, staff who were not part of the core team were involved in some safeguarding incidents. Leaders have not consistently ensured that staff deployed from elsewhere in the organisation understand and work in line with the home’s therapeutic approach. Furthermore, important information relating to these staff has not always been shared with the manager. This limits the manager’s oversight and ability to monitor practice effectively and respond to concerns. Inspection report for children’s home: 2690357 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 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

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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)) 1 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2690357 7

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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: 2690357 8

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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: 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: 2690357 9 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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