Children's Home run by Oxfordshire County Council in Oxfordshire

Inspection report children’s home: 1244426 1 Registered provider: Oxfordshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is run by a local authority. It cares for up to six children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home provides short-term care and accommodation on a shared-care basis for a period of assessment.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2017.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 27 January 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 1244426 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/07/2019 Full Good 13/03/2019 Full Good 06/12/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 27/03/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: 1244426 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide child-centred care. They demonstrate good knowledge and skills that provide children with positive experiences. As a result, children receive good care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good emotional and social progress. This is made possible through effective multi-agency working between external professionals, internal clinical teams, managers, leaders and the staff team. Children access mental healthcare support and attend medical appointments as required. Members of staff challenge other professionals’ advice if it is not in line with the needs of children. This helps to ensure that children’s individual emotional and behavioural needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Even though most children only stay for a short period of time, staff complete thorough assessments and make careful considerations to the needs of both existing and new children. Children, parents and carers are fully involved in the introductions to the home. This helps them to share information and make sure that children’s needs are met. One child said she liked being directly involved in the planning for her move into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff share positive relationships with families and social workers. One social worker described staff as responsive to suggestions that she gives them regarding the child’s needs. One parent said that their son had made so much progress. For example, he follows boundaries better than he did before.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and encourage children to make good progress educationally. Children who were not attending school before coming to the home now relish going to school. Children said that they enjoy school and they take pride in the progress they make.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children use the complaint procedures confidently. These procedures are made accessible to them all through the use of different communication methods. Staff use individual and group house meetings to promote a restorative approach to help resolve any issues raised by children. This approach helps them to understand the impact of their behaviour on others and to make amends. Children feel safe to express any concerns or worries and they know that staff listen to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of activities in the community and at home. These include visits to the local fair, arts and crafts, the theatre, trips to London, a holiday to Cornwall, surfing, swimming, go-karting and local walks. These varied experiences help children to discover new interests and visit new places.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children learn life skills appropriate to their age. Children cook, clean their bedrooms, and complete their laundry. As a result, children become more independent and are well prepared for when they move on. Inspection report children’s home: 1244426 4

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to recognise and manage their feelings and emotions. Children are involved in creating their own behaviour management plans with help from staff. However, some children, who would benefit from such a plan, do not have one in place. This negatively impacts on the consistency in the approach used by staff when supporting some children.

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improvement to be good

The home environment is generally well maintained. However, staff have not established a routine with one child to ensure their bedroom is regularly checked for cleanliness and to ensure that the environment is safe. As a result, one child’s bedroom was seen to be in an extremely poor state, including the presence of some potential hazards. Additionally, all children have plastic mattresses when there is no assessed need for them to have this type of mattress. This detracts from an otherwise homely environment.

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improvement to be good

Staff take appropriate actions to safeguard children if they are missing. Some children were encouraging peers to also go missing with them. The manager of the home took prompt action to work in partnership with the professional network in order to manage this situation and to reduce the risks to children.

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improvement to be good

Staff and managers have a sound understanding of risk management. Training has resulted in staff managing most children’s behaviours without the use of physical intervention. Where restraints have been used, these have been minimal and mainly to remove potentially harmful objects from children. Leaders and managers carefully recruit and select staff to prevent unsuitable people from working with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is passionate and motivational. She knows the children and staff team well. Her enthusiasm and support inspires staff, who appreciate her role modelling of good practice and care. One member of staff said, ‘My relationship with my manager is organic, she cares and explores my feelings and thoughts while challenging my practice.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has ensured that effective processes are in place to monitor the progress of children. Children’s successes and achievements are identified using several measures. Children are involved in this process, and their progress is shared with their family and social workers. This helps children to reflect on their successes and to see their progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a clear vision to support staff to improve their skills. New staff complete a mandatory training and induction programme. More-experienced staff complete ongoing training, which is monitored well by leaders and managers. This means that children are supported by staff who are skilled and knowledgeable. Inspection report children’s home: 1244426 5 Staff receive regular and supportive supervision. Staff build trusting relationships with their supervisors and develop as they reflect on their experiences of supporting children. The manager uses supervisions and annual appraisals effectively to promote professional development. Staff feel listened to and appreciated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff promote equality, diversity and inclusion effectively. Staff challenge any discriminatory language from children. Staff use research and online resources to support discussions held with children in order to enlighten them of the impact of racism. There is a positive culture in the home, which seeks to celebrate and teach children about different cultural backgrounds. Managers make sure that children’s opinions are valued, and this helps children to feel included. Inspection report children’s home: 1244426 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 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

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.

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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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vii)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the home is safe from avoidable hazards and to ensure that staff follow agreed behaviour management plans to ensure that children are properly supervised. 7 December 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a homely and domestic environment. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislation; however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than institutional impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report children’s home: 1244426 7

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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 children’s home: 1244426 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Oxfordshire County Council, County Hall, New Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX1 1ND

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Inspector

Alphie Khumalo, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1244426 9 to 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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