Children's Home run by Oracle Care Limited in Bedford

Inspection report children’s home: SC389698 1 SC389698 Registered provider: Oracle Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for three children who require care, education and clinical support.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered for this home since July 2018.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 27 to 28 September 2018

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 31 January 2018

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC389698 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/01/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 27/06/2017 Full Good 10/02/2017 Interim Not judged 20/10/2016 Interim Not judged Inspection report children’s home: SC389698 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are beginning to make good progress. The children have positive, trusting relationships with a staff team that understands children’s past traumas and the impact that these have on their behaviours.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said that they like spending time with the staff, and that they can attend plenty of different activities in the community as well as at the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education attendance is high. Staff understand the importance of education and proactively support children to attend school. The staff at the home work closely with education staff to help children to make effective transitions into school.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individualised and regularly reviewed placement plans are informative. Children have the opportunity to read these plans with staff and make comments. This helps children to have a good understanding of the plans for their care.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children feeling valued and listened to. Children attend weekly house meetings, at which a wide variety of topics are discussed. The manager reads the notes of these meetings and gives feedback. Children can see that their views are listened to and acted on when possible.

p.3

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

Children said that they feel safe because the staff look after them well. Children can speak to staff if they are worried or upset, and said that they know that the staff would help them. Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding and have attended all relevant training, which equips them to work safely with children.

p.3

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

Sanctions are fair and proportionate. Children have the opportunity to discuss their behaviour and any sanctions, and to comment on and sign the records of sanctions. This helps children to understand the consequences of their actions. Staff reward positive behaviour, which helps children to understand when they have done well.

p.3

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

Staff challenge unwanted behaviours and reinforce boundaries, considering each child’s individual level of understanding and past trauma. This was observed during the inspection. Staff are sensitive to children’s emotions and are able to de-escalate potentially difficult behaviours.

p.3

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

Children have comprehensive individual risk assessments in place. These are reviewed and updated after an incident, which supports the staff to work consistently and to keep the children safe. Inspection report children’s home: SC389698 4

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All 13 requirements and the two recommendations that were made at the last inspection have been met. An action plan was implemented to support this.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been in post since May 2018, when the home was re-opened after a period of closure. The manager has a clear vision for the home and recognises the strengths and areas for development.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision that supports them to work with the children effectively and enables each staff member’s personal development. Regular staff meetings and meetings with the clinician provide good forums to discuss children’s needs and care practice issues. These meetings help staff to understand and meet children’s needs effectively.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have undertaken their mandatory training and have achieved or are in the process of achieving a relevant level 3 qualification.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager monitors care practice effectively. He uses the feedback from the monthly visits by the independent person to drive improvement. A quality assurance audit is undertaken monthly, along with the manager’s own checks. This ensures that monitoring remains rigorous. Inspection report children’s home: SC389698 5

p.4

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 difference 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.

p.5

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: SC389698 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oracle Care Limited

p.6

Children’s home details

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

p.6

Inspector

Trish Palmer: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC389698 7 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.

p.6

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7