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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1264438 1 Registered provider: Blue Mountain 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 managed by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to 4 children who may experience emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 4 children were living in the home. The inspectors spoke with all 4 children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1264438 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/01/2026 Full Good 09/07/2024 Full Good 21/06/2023 Full Good 15/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1264438 3

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Summary of findings

Children’s experiences are varied. Staff offer warmth, kindness and empathy to all children in the home and provide opportunities for children to develop. Some children are making progress and staff manage some risks safely. However, shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home, as well as staff’s identification and response to emerging risks, have impacted on children’s progress.

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Summary of findings

The manager has also missed opportunities to review emerging patterns of concern in the home.

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improvement to be good

Children living at this home have mixed experiences. Children’s relationships with each other are not always positive. One child said that they liked living at the home but felt that they are often treated differently to other children, which is causing tension within the group dynamic. Another child said that the staff do not always act when they have voiced their concerns. This has left some children feeling unsettled.

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improvement to be good

Children do not benefit from living in a homely environment. The decor and maintenance of the home are not maintained to a good standard. There are areas that need redecorating or replacing. For example, doors are not properly fitted and fixtures and fittings are not well maintained. Window restrictors are in use throughout the home without a risk assessment to justify their use. This unnecessary restriction is not clearly evidenced as necessary or proportionate. The manager has plans in place to redecorate to help create a more homely environment for children.

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improvement to be good

Children’s educational experiences and progress are mixed. Education plans reflect children’s individual needs. Some children have successfully re-engaged with education and have achieved sitting examinations. These achievements are celebrated by staff. For those children not accessing education, staff do not consistently provide a structured daily routine. The lack of structure does not promote children’s learning and it does not prepare them well for the future.

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improvement to be good

Children have weekly ‘catch-up’ meetings with staff to talk about their likes and dislikes. Staff seek children’s views about activities that they would like to do and they plan the menu for the week. Gaining children’s views helps children to feel a sense of value and belonging. Children also have access to independent advocates. This provides children with an opportunity to voice and influence decisions made about their lives.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are met effectively. Children are registered with GPs and dentists. They also benefit from appropriate referrals when more specialist help is needed. Staff Inspection report for children’s home: 1264438 4 encourage children to have a healthy physical lifestyle, which includes good nutrition and a focus on outdoor activities. Staff ensure that children’s families and key professionals are kept updated and informed of children’s progress. In addition, every effort is made to ensure that children have meaningful family time with their loved ones. This helps to ensure that children remain connected to people who are important to them and it promotes their sense of identity.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to enjoy new activities and to develop interests and hobbies. These new experiences have helped some children to develop their social skills, confidence and have fun.

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improvement to be good

Staff are aware of emerging risks in relation to children’s excessive use of games consoles and online communication. Despite this, strategies to reduce the risk of gaming addiction and harmful online content are not in place. One child’s progress has deteriorated significantly as a result of their gaming time being increased.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently manage children’s behaviour well. As a result, incidents escalate unnecessarily, leaving children feeling unsettled. Some children told inspectors that there have been occasions where they have felt frightened during these events. Children report feeling let down as they see no action to reduce the number of incidents.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond effectively to support children when they have self-harming behaviours. They follow protocols and ensure that children receive appropriate treatment and emotional support. Staff are alert to children’s triggers and respond with warmth and empathy. This approach helps children to talk about their worries, and it helps them to feel supported.

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improvement to be good

Physical intervention is used appropriately and only when necessary to protect children and others. Staff talk to children after incidents to help them move forwards positively. Talking to children after significant events helps children and staff to explore ways to prevent such events happening again. Incidents are reviewed by the registered manager, with staff members being offered post-incident reflective discussions to ensure that they feel fully supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Some children said that they do not always feel the manager listens to them or is always available for them. The manager has provided a communication book in response to the children’s feedback. However, children would prefer the manager to be more visible and available for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff hold appropriate qualifications and engage in the provider’s mandatory training, such as safeguarding training and first aid. The manager has a system in place to Inspection report for children’s home: 1264438 5 monitor and track staff training. However, this system is not consistently effective in identifying when staff would benefit from more specialist training specific to the children’s individual needs, for example training to recognise the dangers of excessive internet gaming use.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The responsible individual does not ensure that the manager is receiving consistent supervision sessions. This has impacted on the manager’s ability to review staff practice and the effectiveness of monitoring systems, and it does not support their professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has not completed timely or reflective quality of care reviews to develop understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. The lack of regular reviews does not ensure that action is taken to reduce shortfalls in staff practice. This is a missed opportunity to improve care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Some significant incidents are not identified as serious and therefore have not been notified to the regulator. This is a missed opportunity for independent oversight of the care afforded to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The staff team is diverse. Staff work together well and are committed to building relationships with the children in their care. Staff report feeling valued and supported by the manager. While supervision sessions take place regularly, they lack reflective analysis to help improve staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 1264438 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 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; 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)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this specifically relates to the communication and content seen by children while online. 22 December 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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 22 December 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 1264438 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

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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

a notification made under this regulation-

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations(if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter. (Regulation 40 (4)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 14 September 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. This particularly relates to online safety and gaming (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Inspection report for children’s home: 1264438 8  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. In particular, they should assess if window restrictors are proportionate and necessary and ensure that the home is well decorated and maintained. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraphs 3.9)  The registered manager should ensure that there are systems in place so that all staff receive supervision to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned

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Recommendations

to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that where children are not engaging in education, they are offered alternative suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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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: 1264438 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Blue Mountain Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Pradeep Manaktala

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Inspectors

Emma Gauden, Social Care Inspector (lead) Lisa Richards, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1264438 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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