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

Inspection report for children's home: SC436469 1 SC436469 Registered provider: Blue Mountain Homes Ltd.

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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 owned by a private provider. 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

The manager has been in post since June 2026 and has made an application to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children's home

Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection and were spoken with.

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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 widespread failures that mean children are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded, and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC436469 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/03/2026 Full Outstanding 04/03/2025 Full Good 28/02/2024 Full Good 21/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC436469 3

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Summary of findings

Children have been placed at risk of harm because leaders have allowed staff who are subject to serious concerns and ongoing investigations into their conduct to continue working directly with them. Leaders and managers have not implemented sufficiently robust or defensible risk management plans to reduce potential risks. Some staff have behaved unprofessionally and inconsistently with the home's statement of purpose. High staff turnover has disrupted children's relationships and means that newer staff are still developing their understanding of children's needs. In addition, the manager has not progressed key development plans, and some children's bedrooms and bathrooms are unhygienic. Despite these shortfalls, children are making progress in education and mental health, and newer staff are beginning to establish positive relationships with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff have not maintained children's bedrooms and bathrooms to a consistently clean and hygienic standard. The manager has not implemented an effective cleaning rota to ensure that cleaning tasks are completed and monitored. Leaders and staff have not taken sufficient action to ensure that the home environment promotes children's health, well-being and daily living skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children have experienced disruption in their relationships with staff due to several staff members leaving the home. As a result, children have received care and support from staff working across the organisation and from agency staff. This has reduced continuity of care and has impacted some staff's knowledge and understanding of children's individual needs, experiences and risks. Leaders have now taken steps to recruit permanent staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are supported to explore their interests and hobbies. For example one child regularly goes fishing and is supported by staff through visits to a local fishing shop. Children are encouraged to try new experiences which helps to build their confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are supported to attend education. Children have good attendance and the adults work with educational placements and social workers to ensure that children are supported to achieve their targets. As children become older, staff help them to prepare for adult life. For example, one child has been successful in gaining a place at a specialist college. Inspection report for children's home: SC436469 4

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

Staff demonstrate a basic understanding of children's current needs and presenting risks. However, leaders and staff do not yet have a sufficiently detailed understanding of children's histories and lived experiences. This limits staff's ability to fully understand the factors influencing children's behaviours, vulnerabilities and support needs.

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

Three children were involved in a serious incident during which agency staff did not demonstrate the necessary preparedness to physically intervene alongside permanent staff to safeguard children.

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

Staff do not implement consistent boundaries for children. Children say that different staff respond in different ways to similar behaviours. Due to high staff turnover, leaders and staff have not identified, analysed or reflected on patterns in children's behaviour to ensure a consistent approach to care.

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

Staff have contacted the police on several occasions to manage children's behaviour. This practice increases the risk of children becoming unnecessarily involved with the criminal justice system.

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

Staff receive safeguarding training. However, safeguarding is not always routinely discussed in one-to-one staff supervision sessions and team meetings. This does not provide the manager and staff with opportunities to reflect and develop their practice.

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

Staff follow safety plans designed to support children’s mental health and keep them safe. Staff provide reassurance to children who are dealing with big emotions, and encourage and enable children to access support from mental health professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children have been cared for by staff who were the subject of investigations relating to serious concerns about their conduct. The leadership team did not implement clear and defensible risk management measures to demonstrate how children's safety and well- being would be protected while investigations were ongoing. This shortfall limited leaders' ability to provide assurance that appropriate safeguards were in place to protect children from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Senior leaders have not shared all relevant information relating to staff conduct concerns with the manager. As a result, the manager has not had access to all known information needed to assess risk and implement robust safeguards to protect children from harm. In addition, managers and staff who need to know have not always been informed when staff are subject to risk management plans. Staff have also not consistently been made aware when they are working alongside colleagues who are subject to such plans. These shortfalls have limited the effectiveness of risk management arrangements and reduced leaders' ability to demonstrate that appropriate measures are in place to safeguard children. Inspection report for children's home: SC436469 5 The manager lacks day to day support, which has led to some managerial tasks not being completed. This has caused a delay in implementing development plans and auditing of the home. For instance, team meetings and staff supervision have been

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

delayed or lacked meaningful discussion due to time constraints.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager continues to attempt to recruit new staff due to a current shortage. Agency staff are currently being used to support the staff team, alongside other staff members from within the organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Not all staff are trained in using a therapeutic approach with children, in line with the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff speak positively about the manager and describe him as approachable and supportive. They say that he is accessible.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has clear aspirations for both children and staff and has communicated his expectations for the development of the home. He has identified areas for improvement and is taking steps to strengthen practice. He has quickly developed relationships with children. Children speak highly of the manager and enjoy spending time around him.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager says they feel well supported in terms of advice and emotional support from senior leaders. Inspection report for children's home: SC436469 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, 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 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

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) and (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the planned redecoration of the home is carried out and staff help children to keep their bedrooms clean and tidy. 20 November 2026

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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; 20 November 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC436469 7 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;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home's child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) and (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(c)(e))

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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—

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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; 20 November 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC436469 8 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) and (2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that effective risk management plans are in place for staff who are subject to investigations around their conduct, and that sufficient information around these concerns is shared with the manager of the home.

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for children's home: SC436469 9

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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: SC436469 10

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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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Inspectors

Patrick Rowell, Social Care Inspector Thirza Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC436469 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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