Children's Home run by Oracle Care Limited in Bedford

Inspection report children’s home: SC484114 1 SC484114 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

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

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered for this home since June 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 13 to 14 November 2019

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC484114 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/06/2018 Full Good 13/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 12/09/2016 Full Good 10/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC484114 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making good progress. They benefit from living in a nurturing environment and respond well to the care given. The stability provided enables children to maintain long-term placements. During this inspection, a child who has lived at the home for four years said that he wishes to remain until he is ready to move on to independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spend time getting to know the children well. Regular key-work sessions enable the children to discuss their feelings and wishes. The staff spend time with each child individually and provide care that is centred around their specific needs. For example, a younger child is supported to settle at night time by being encouraged to read to staff before going to sleep.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff encourage the children to engage and achieve in education. Two of the children attend the provider’s off-site school, and the older child attends college. One of the children has a history of non-attendance in education. However, the home and school work well together and have put a bespoke education package in place. During this inspection, the child asked to attend school on an unscheduled day as he had missed time due to illness. This is good progress for a child who was previously reluctant to engage in education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A strength of the home is the importance that staff place on helping the children to see their families. Staff provide transport and facilitate supervised meetings in line with the children’s care plans. The high level of support that the staff provide enables children to build and maintain these important relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to engage in a range of stimulating opportunities and activities. Children are encouraged to be active and fully supported in their hobbies. Two of the children regularly train and play with local community football and rugby teams. This enables children to develop their skills and confidence and expand their social peer groups.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making enjoyable memories. One child has an album containing photographs to record these moments. However, this has not been updated for some time. The other children do not yet have their own album or memory box to remind them of this chapter of their childhood.

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

Children have confidence in the staff’s abilities to help and protect them. A child said, ‘I trust staff and feel safe here. I have learned how to respect others, and the staff have taught me that. I have learned a lot here.’

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

The staff use incentives to good effect to encourage positive behaviour. Rewards are Inspection report children’s home: SC484114 4 displayed and are tailormade to each child with a symbol that means something to them. The staff use negative consequences to discourage poor behaviour. The records of these consequences are analysed by the manager to ensure that they are fair and proportionate.

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

There have been two incidents of children going missing since the last inspection. The staff followed the home’s protocol well and the child received independent return interviews. None of the children who currently live at the home have gone missing. The stable environment enables the children to recognise unsafe behaviours and learn how to make safer choices.

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

Staff are skilled at de-escalating incidents, and the use of physical interventions is low. These interventions are appropriate to safeguard children and staff. They are well recorded, and the staff give the children opportunity to discuss and reflect on the incident. However, following one incident, the discussion with the child was undertaken by a manager who was present throughout the incident. Consideration had not been given to how incidents that managers are involved in will be scrutinised and reviewed.

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

There has been one safeguarding incident since the last inspection. A review of the investigation records shows that the manager has followed the correct procedures. The designated officer was consulted, and the incident has now been satisfactorily resolved. However, the manager did not notify Ofsted of the concern, which prevented Ofsted from being able to monitor the effectiveness of the home’s response.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The dedicated and suitably experienced manager has been in post since October 2018 and registered with Ofsted in June 2019. She is near to achieving a relevant level 5 diploma.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there have been significant changes to the staff team. This has not had a negative impact on the care provided, and, under the new manager’s guidance, staff have remained consistent in their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff have received good-quality inductions, and all staff are up to date with the organisation’s mandatory training. Staff morale is high. All the staff who were spoken with during the inspection said that they feel well supported by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Social workers and families were very complimentary of the manager and staff. They appreciate the high level of dedication, the good communication and the regular detailed reports. A social worker said, ‘I’m impressed. They [the staff] are totally committed. [The child] is a very challenging child to work with, and they don’t give up. They are strong advocates on his behalf, and the consistency he has been given has supported him to build attachments.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regularly held staff meetings and clinical meetings are well attended. The staff use this time to discuss the children’s progress, monitor their own interactions and receive clinical Inspection report children’s home: SC484114 5 guidance. This ensures that the children continue to receive a consistent and therapeutic response.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has met to good effect the one recommendation set at the last inspection.

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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 registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(e)) 27/12/2019

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)  The home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Staff should understand their important role in encouraging the child to reflect on and understand their history, according to their age and understanding. Staff should keep and encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia of their time spent living at the home and help them to record significant events. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5) , Inspection report children’s home: SC484114 6

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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: SC484114 7

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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

Lynne Drage: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC484114 8 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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