Children's home run by Oracle Care Limited in Central Bedfordshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC378464 1 SC378464 Registered provider: Oracle 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 registered to provide care and accommodation for three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. A private organisation owns and operates the provision.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 12 to 13 December 2017

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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

Date of last inspection: 15 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 The children continue to make good progress while living in the home.  The dynamic manager and the staff team have high ambitions for the children and support the children to reach their potential. Inspection report children’s home: SC378464 2  The children have established trusting relationships with highly motivated staff who know and understand their individual needs.  The children are supported to have new and positive experiences while living at the home.  The children say that they feel safe living at the home and, if they are worried or upset, that they can talk to the staff.  The staff are consistent in setting boundaries and challenging unwanted behaviours.  There is a consistent staff team in place which knows and understand the children’s individual needs.  The manager provides appropriate challenge to placing authorities to make sure that all professionals involved in a child’s care are working in the best interests

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 31/05/2016 Full Good 08/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 04/08/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC378464 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children continue to make good progress while living at this home. An enthusiastic and motivated staff team that understands the children’s needs provides the support and guidance that children need. A social worker commented, ‘He [the child] has made tremendous progress because of the staff encouraging him.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff understand the importance of promoting and maintaining contact for the children with their friends and family, and facilitate this. A child commented, ‘I have contact with my mum and I am going to spend Christmas Day at home. The staff are coming to supervise.’ The staff recognise that contact between children and families can be difficult and needs to be planned and reviewed. A social worker commented, ‘Staff are very good at challenging him [the child] during supervised contact if he tries to dominate mum. They can manage this because they have a good relationship with him.’ This understanding enables the children to maintain positive relationships with their families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have developed excellent, trusting relationships with enthusiastic staff who understand the risks that children face. The staff know how to support the children to understand and manage any potential risks, which helps the children to progress. A youth offending officer commented, ‘He [the child] has done really well understanding his risks, and has done this because of the staff. It’s fantastic how they [staff] have been able to work with him.’ The staff work effectively with other agencies to support the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff understand the importance of education. Two of the children attend the organisation’s school, and they have 100% attendance. One child attends a local college. A headteacher commented:

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

We have seen a massive improvement with the children’s progress in school. One child will be sitting his GCSEs next year. The manager has begun to look at how he can have extra tuition at the home to support him. She is very proactive and supports us to support the children in school, and supported the children with the transition back into school in September.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff enable the children to reach their full potential and to have the same opportunities as their peers by working closely with education providers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are all registered with the local doctor, dentist and optician, and they are supported to attend all of their routine health appointments. The children attend weekly therapy sessions. The clinician attends staff meetings twice a month to discuss the children and any work that staff need to undertake in key-work sessions. This collaborative approach helps the staff to work in a consistent way with the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff encourage the children to begin to learn and develop independence skills Inspection report children’s home: SC378464 4 around the home. The children are helped to keep their bedrooms tidy and to undertake chores around the house. The children have learned to cook simple meals and prepare snacks. The staff understand the importance of the children learning new skills. Involvement in the day-to-day upkeep of the house gives the children a sense of pride in their environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of the children having positive experiences with their peers. One child has begun to work with the local county council as a ‘We do Care Champion’, supporting other children in care. The manager has supported the child to undertake this role. The child is very proud that he has been able to gain employment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff understand that transitions into and out of the home can have an impact on the dynamics of the current group. There has been one admission into the home since the last inspection. This was well managed. The child’s mother was able to accompany him when he moved in. There has been one transition out of the home. A child moved into a semi-independent placement owned by the organisation. This was a very well- planned transition, with staff from the home working for several months with the child and staff in his new placement. This good, clear planning ensures that transitions are successful and that children have positive endings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have clear, individualised placement plans that guide the staff in working with them effectively in all aspects of their lives. The children have a child-friendly placement plan so that they can have involvement in their plan in a more meaningful way. This format helps them to contribute to and understand their plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have regular key-work sessions that cover a wide variety of topics and are individualised to each child. The children have the opportunity to sign after each session to show their involvement and their understanding of the session. Key-work session records are reviewed monthly to ensure that the children understand and get good outcomes from their sessions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff actively encourage the children to participate in a wide variety of activities, both in the home and the community, giving them the same experiences as their peers. One child has been supported by staff to attend auditions for the X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent. This child was very proud of his achievement and the response that he got. He was confident enough to sing the inspector one of his songs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some of the children have been able to have free time in the community in consultation with their social workers. A social worker commented, ‘The staff are aware of his [the child’s] vulnerabilities but strike a balance, so that he can have free time but with things in place.’ The staff are not risk averse. They want children to have new experiences while living in a safe environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have a good sense of community and recently participated in the Macmillan coffee morning raising over £60.00. The children also gave some of their pocket money of their own accord. This shows that the children are able to understand the needs of others. Inspection report children’s home: SC378464 5 The house is spacious and decorated to a good standard. The children have been involved in choosing furniture and the decor for the house, and have personalised their bedrooms. There are photos displayed around the home of staff and children taking part in activities. The home has a warm, nurturing feel, and the children are clearly proud of their home.

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

The children say that they feel safe living at the home. They know how to complain, and know that they can speak to staff if they are worried or upset. There has been one complaint since the last inspection, which the manager is in the process of dealing with. The child concerned reported that he is happy with the manager’s response and that the manager is dealing with this. The children’s guide explains how to complain, and children are also reminded during house meetings. This practice provides the children with a sense of security.

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

The staff actively challenge unwanted behaviours and reinforce boundaries. These behaviours are discussed in reflective conversations, key-work sessions and house meetings. These discussions ensure that the children understand their behaviours and help them to work with staff to reduce them.

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

Sanctions are fair, proportionate and given appropriately. The staff discuss both positive and negative behaviours and the children sign and comment on the records. The manager evaluates the effectiveness of the sanctions. The staff have a good understanding that sanctions need to be individualised. The staff use reflective conversations to help children to talk through and recognise behaviours. The staff reflect on the child having a sanction that will support them to understand and find more appropriate ways of managing their behaviours.

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

The manager attends regular meetings with other providers and professionals in the area and then updates her staff. These meetings enhance the manager’s own knowledge of trends and patterns in the area relating to safeguarding, and how these are identified to further reduce risk and further safeguard the children.

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

The comprehensive risk assessments are reviewed regularly and after an incident. These assessments guide the staff in keeping the children safe.

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

There have been two incidents of a child going missing from the home. These have been for short periods. Staff undertake a reflective conversation on the child’s return, along with a key-work session to support them to understand the risks they face. A return home interview is completed by the social worker. Each child has an individual protocol that the staff follow should the child go missing.

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

The staff have undertaken safeguarding training. The manager is trained to level five. Staff spoken to have a good understanding of safeguarding and whom to report Inspection report children’s home: SC378464 6 concerns to. The staff understand the children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities, which enables them to keep the children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A forward-thinking and dynamic manager has been in post since September 2016. She has the relevant qualifications and experience to manage the home. She is dedicated and committed to the work of the home, and continues to ensure that the children have positive experiences and meet their full potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have high expectations of the children. This has led the children to have high expectations of themselves. A child commented, ‘I have been able to leave school and start college so I am mixing with others my own age.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of professional relationships is strong, and links are firmly established with a wide variety of professionals. A social worker commented, ‘Communication is great. I am always kept updated on everything.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Relationships between the staff and parents is good. The manager and staff go out of their way to build positive trusting relationships with parents. A social worker commented, ‘The staff go above and beyond to ensure that contact happens and that his [the child’s] parents feel fully involved in his care.’ A parent commented, ‘Staff are always so nice when I come to visit and have planned something for me and my son to do during contact.’ This trust has led to children having increased contact with their parents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is confident about raising issues with the relevant professionals if she feels that the plans in place are not in the best interests of children, or if they fail to safeguard children. The manager has been able to challenge placing authority’s care plans, which led to a child being able to stay longer at the home. Another child has been able to have some supervised contact on Christmas Day.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring checks are robust, and the manager uses these as part of her review of the service. There is a new independent visitor who has completed two visits. The manager commented that these visits are more robust than previous visits and that the new format will support her in monitoring and driving the home forward.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look Inspection report children’s home: SC378464 7 after.

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Information about this inspection

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 children’s home: SC378464 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oracle Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 54 Wrest Park, Silsoe Bedford MK45 4HS

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Inspector

Trish Palmer, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC378464 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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