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

Inspection report children’s home: SC356327 1 SC356327 Registered provider: Oracle Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. A private provider owns and operates the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 28 February 2017

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is outstanding because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Relationships between staff and young people are excellent. These provide young people with a positive sense of emotional safety, trust and respect. Inspection report children’s home: SC356327 2  Care-planning processes are extremely child focused. Staff ensure that young people’s views and wishes are threaded through all care and support plans.  Managers and staff work in partnership with in-house health and education specialists, and external professionals. This approach provides young people with holistic and comprehensive care and support.  Young people make exceptional progress in education. This is because the registered manager challenges effectively any barrier to learning that they may face.  Exceptional leadership forges an ethos and culture that are resilient and supportive for young people and staff.  Safeguarding is the highest priority for staff. Young people are safe in the home because managers and staff ensure that risk assessments reflect young people’s

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Key findings from this inspection

individual needs and vulnerabilities. Staff continually review these documents and implement the strategies contained in them.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 The registered manager could improve the content of the quality of care review report. This is so that the report takes account of young people’s many achievements and the excellent feedback young people give about the care that they receive.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 26/10/2016 Full Good 15/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 07/07/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC356327 3

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Recommendation

 The registered person is responsible for deciding what each review should focus on, based on the specific circumstances of the home at that particular time and any areas of high risk to the children that the home is designed to care for. There is no expectation that the registered person will review the home against every part of the quality standards every six months – registered persons should use their professional judgement to decide which factors to focus on. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people make outstanding progress in all areas of their development, taking account of their starting points. Staff are exceptionally skilled and knowledgeable. They deliver bespoke care and support that meet young people’s individual needs. Young people benefit from continuous nurture and encouragement from staff. This takes the form of verbal praise, positive gestures, small incentives and larger celebrations. As a direct result of this approach, young people thrive. They grow in confidence and self- esteem. Young people’s day-to-day experiences are immensely positive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Relationships between young people and staff are lovely. Young people say that they ‘trust and respect’ the staff because ‘they really care about us’. One young person said, ‘I love it here and I love the staff and they love me’. Another young person said, ‘I was frightened and scared when I came to the home but the staff and the manager immediately made me feel comfortable and safe.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff use these excellent relationships to support and encourage young people to reflect on their personal circumstance and experiences. Through bespoke one-to-one sessions, young people are able to consider their pasts and make plans for their futures. This approach gives young people a sense of self-worth and supports their personal progress and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people benefit from comprehensive internal care-planning processes. Managers and staff ensure that these focus on each young person’s individual needs. Staff devise and deliver care packages that reflect young people’s short-term targets and longer-term goals. These internal plans incorporate the aims and objectives defined within the local authority statutory care plans. This inclusive approach to care planning means that young people receive excellent support that enables them to make sustainable progress. Inspection report children’s home: SC356327 4 Young people are fully involved in decisions about their care. Staff ensure that young people’s case files include all necessary information. They consult with young people and help them to understand what is written about them. This means that young people have a full and accurate overview of their backgrounds and needs. Staff help young people to set their own goals for achievement and discuss with them how these support

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

their development. For example, one young person spoke of how breaking down his school day into ‘small chunks’ at first helped him to learn to cope with school at a pace that was right for him. He now attends school full-time. Young people are able to acknowledge the progress that they make and thrive on celebrating their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Promoting education is central to the daily routines in the home. Young people attend the organisation’s own school. This enables the registered manager to work in close partnership with teaching staff and school leaders to develop bespoke education packages for young people. For example, when necessary, the registered manager advocates for young people to be taught in smaller groups or participate in shorter lessons. This helps to address barriers to learning that young people may face. Promoting education enables young people to understand the importance of education. Young people say that they see education as a ‘good thing that they kind of enjoy’. The young people make remarkable progress in this area of their development, taking account of their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff support young people to live a healthy lifestyle. They enjoy a wide range of physical and leisure activities, and staff encourage them to eat a healthy balanced diet. All young people benefit from an emotional well-being assessment, undertaken when they first come to live at the home. When these assessments indicate the need for specialist healthcare, staff work in partnership with the in-house therapeutic and psychological service. For example, some young people participate in art therapy to help them to express their feelings. Staff supplement the work of specialist health professionals by delivering one-to-one sessions to young people, in consultation with allocated psychologists. This holistic approach to meeting young people’s health needs promotes their emotional welfare and resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people living in the home are not of an age or stage to move towards independence. However, they are keen to learn some domestic skills, such as cooking meals and purchasing the ingredients for these. Young people also help with household chores and take responsibility for keeping their bedrooms clean and tidy. This participation gives young people a sense of inclusion. One young person said, ‘We are like a family team.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Since the last inspection, two young people have moved on from the home either to semi-independent accommodation or to return to family. Staff worked with young people, their families and other professionals to make sure that these moves were suitable to protect young people from harm and promote their welfare. For both of these young people, their transitions were well planned and incredibly successful. The actions of the registered manager meant that these young people were involved in these decisions and that their views were taken into account. Prior to leaving the home, the young people wrote stories of their journey through the home. These accounts include comments such as: ‘I’ve learned so many new skills’, ‘I have been really happy here’ and Inspection report children’s home: SC356327 5 ‘I managed to finish my education’. This is testament to the excellent care and support that young people receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff work hard to establish positive relationships between young people and their families, when appropriate to do so. This is because they understand how important these relationships are to young people. For some young people, this means arranging and supporting family visits, and providing necessary emotional support following these. As a result, young people are not isolated from their families.

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

Young people are safe in the home. This is because staff are extremely competent in recognising risk factors and taking necessary action to reduce these risks. Staff understand that young people’s backgrounds and previous experiences influence their behaviours. For example, when young people display aggressive behaviours towards others, staff are able to support young people to look at possible underlying antecedents that may prompt these behaviours. This approach means that young people learn to identify their feelings and learn safe ways of managing their own frustrations and anxieties. Staff use their comprehensive knowledge of young people’s backgrounds to devise effective risk assessments. These include detailed risk-reduction strategies and behaviour plans that support young people to take responsibility for their actions.

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

Relationships between the young people are largely positive and they do not see bullying to be a problem in the home. One young person said, ‘Bullying doesn’t happen but we fall out at times but that’s about it’. Nevertheless, staff regularly deliver anti-bullying sessions to young people. These highlight the emotional and physical harm bullying can cause and help young people to recognise the signs of bullying and intimidation. Young people are able to understand how their own actions and behaviours may impact on others, and potentially cause distress, upset or anger. Furthermore, they learn about what to do if they are a victim of bullying at school, in the home or in the community.

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

Young people’s behaviours are at times very challenging. Staff make sure that behaviour management plans balance incentives and rewards with restorative sanctions. These sanctions encourage young people to reflect on their behaviours and contemplate the wider impact of these, and how they can make amends. Staff complete one-to-one debrief sessions with young people following all incidents of unacceptable or antisocial behaviour. During these sessions, staff help young people to look at what may have caused the incident and what staff and young people could have done differently to prevent the incident. This joint reflection and learning is meaningful to young people. They take on board key messages, and incidents of risky and challenging behaviour reduce over time.

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

Staff undertake training in the use of physical restraint and de-escalation techniques. They only use physical restraint to prevent young people from hurting themselves or others. As young people learn new ways of managing their frustrations, incidents of physical restraint reduce. Records of these incidents are extremely detailed and reflective. Managers and staff consistently seek young people’s comments and views, and incorporate these into the review of behaviour plans and risk assessments. The Inspection report children’s home: SC356327 6 registered manager uses debrief sessions with young people to consider whether staff actions were necessary and proportionate. He monitors all incidents of restraint, and examines these records to identify any patterns or trends. This vigorous analysis means that the registered manager is able to assure himself of the lawfulness of the use of restraint. This promotes young people’s safety and welfare.

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

When young people go missing from the home, staff work in partnership with local police services, placing authorities and other professionals. Together, they look to identify possible reasons for young people to leave the home without permission. Staff devise risk assessments that take account of young people’s individual circumstances and vulnerabilities. These bespoke risk assessments also highlight any potential for young people to be subject to sexual exploitation or radicalisation. When young people are absent from the home, staff work tirelessly to locate them. They search the local area, contact young people’s friends and family, remain in regular contact with police teams and seek guidance from specialist agencies. Following any missing-from-home episode, the registered manager reviews young people’s risk assessments and encourages them to speak with their social workers, specialist police officers and

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

independent agencies. He works with young people to ascertain why they go missing and, together, to look at what actions he and the staff can take to better support young people to reduce these occurrences. The success of this approach is evident from the continuing reduction in episodes of young people going missing from the home, with only one occasion in December 2017.

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

Internal safeguarding and child protection policies reflect statutory guidance and support partnership working with other agencies. There are comprehensive and robust procedures in place to manage any allegations of abuse. These protect young people and promote their safety. Young people say that they know how to make a complaint or raise any concerns that they may have. One young person said, ‘We can use the forms if we want to or tell staff’. Another young person said, ‘What I say doesn’t get ignored here. Staff listen and do something about it.’ Subsequently, young people are confident that any issues that they raise are taken seriously.

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

Young people live in a well-maintained home that is aesthetically warm, cosy and welcoming. Staff complete regular fire checks and health-and-safety checks. This ensures that young people continue to live in a suitable and safe environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

An experienced, qualified and skilled manager is in day-to-day charge of the home. He registered with Ofsted in 2016 and holds the level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. The registered manager is dedicated, aspirational and inspirational. He provides excellent leadership, driving improvement and maintaining high standards of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Young people make excellent progress in all areas of their development. This is because the registered manager consistently prioritises their needs, and meeting these needs is the focus of the day-to-day routines in the home. The registered manager makes sure that he continually communicates this ethos to staff to provide young people with Inspection report children’s home: SC356327 7 consistent care and support. He regularly reviews young people’s progress, taking a number of factors, such as relationships with staff, into account. For example, following a recent exercise to identify personality traits among the staff team, the registered manager used this information to construct a more balanced rota that better supports young people. This research into practice and attention to detail means that young people thrive in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has an excellent knowledge and understanding of young people’s backgrounds, behaviours and risks. He uses this information, alongside young people’s views and opinions, to review the quality of care provided by the service. This means that young people’s ideas influences the development of the service. The registered manager uses a range of monitoring tools to evaluate the service and the impact this has on young people’s development. For example, he considers young people’s individual progress and how staff actions and performance may influence this. This monitoring activity enables the registered manager to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the service. However, there is an expectation by the organisation that the registered manager uses a generic document to complete his quality of care review. This curtails his ability to personalise this review to accurately reflect the quality of care

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

provided by this service, including young people’s achievements and views.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are extremely committed and motivated. They are either suitably qualified for their role or working towards gaining the relevant qualification within an acceptable timescale. The registered manager continually reviews internal training programmes to ensure that these reflect young people’s individual needs. He advocates for face-to-face training to better support staff development and learning. Furthermore, he makes sure that staff are able to participate in regular professional sessions with the organisation’s own psychology team. Consequently, staff have the opportunity to supplement their formal training courses with supportive discussions relating to young people’s behaviours. As a result, staff have the skills they need to care for young people. Staff receive regular practice-related supervision. These sessions encourage them to identify their learning needs and to reflect on their performance. One member of staff said, ‘I used to think

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

supervision was just a tick box but now I find it really helpful and supportive.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Partnership working arrangements among the registered manager, placing authorities and other external agencies are excellent. This is a considerable strength of the service. One professional said, ‘This home is amazing and [name of young person] is doing great. This is such a happy and nurturing place to live.’ Other compliments include, ‘This is an excellent service’ and ‘the focus is on the young people and creating a wonderful home for them’. The registered manager has exceptionally high aspirations for young people and expects other agencies to provide young people with the care and support that they need. When the actions of other professionals fall short of these expectations, his challenge is influential and effective. Young people make exceptional progress in this placement because the registered manager continually advocates for them to access the services they need now and in the future. Inspection report children’s home: SC356327 8

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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 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: SC356327 9

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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

Jo Stephenson, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC356327 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 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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