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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC469686 1 SC469686 Registered provider: Oracle Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to three children. Children may have complex social, emotional and/or behavioural needs and require attachment-aware, trauma-informed care and support.

p.1

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.

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: 3 September 2019

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC469686 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/09/2019 Full Good 21/01/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 25/07/2018 Full Good 06/02/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC469686 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with staff. This is because staff have a good understanding of children’s needs and early life experiences and are therefore able to support children in a way that is individualised to them. As a result, children trust the staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s health needs and encourage children who are worried or nervous to attend medical appointments. This has contributed to children’s health improving.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have previously struggled to attend school are now accessing education. To achieve this, staff have worked with the children, at their pace, to support them to attend their education.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to develop their independence skills, such as cooking, cleaning and budgeting. This is done in a nurturing way that is appropriate to the individual needs of children. For example, a child who is expected to travel independently to and from college is given a lift there by staff and then the child makes their own way home. As such, children feel cared for and not overwhelmed by the responsibility of being more independent.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff advocate for children and ensure that their views are heard. For example, staff support children to attend meetings about their care. Staff have helped children to write letters to their social workers and to share their views. As a result, children feel listened to and know their wishes and feelings are valued and acted upon.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children seeing people who are important to them. Staff encourage children to speak to their family and will take them to see their families, regardless of the distance.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff capture children’s experiences in a ‘My care and support plan’. This is written in a child-friendly way and documents children’s lives both in the home and before they moved in. Children can read this document whenever they wish to and will take this with them when they eventually leave the home.

p.3

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s needs and risks. Staff are equipped to manage the children’s behaviours. Comprehensive behaviour management plans are in place that give staff the understanding and guidance on how to care for each child.

p.3

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

Staff use incentives to promote positive behaviour. Children understand what is expected of them and how they need to behave to get the reward they want. This is Inspection report for children’s home: SC469686 4 effective and children’s behaviour improves while living at the home. Staff are trained in behaviour management, including de-escalation techniques. Staff do not physically restrain children to manage their behaviour.

p.3

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

Staff have the required training to meet the children’s needs. They have the knowledge to manage risks relating to children going missing from care, online safety and exploitation. Staff have a good understanding of how to respond to safeguarding risks.

p.4

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

Staff follow appropriate protocols when children go missing from home. They work with other professionals such as the police, education providers and local authorities to agree future risk-reduction plans, for example, around increased staffing levels.

p.4

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

At times, the increased staffing levels have been difficult to maintain due to staff shortages. On one occasion, due to unforeseen staffing shortages, a child was able to go missing from the home. Staff were not provided with sufficient support or guidance by the on-call manager to manage the lack of staffing. Staff did follow the missing-from-care protocols and the child returned home safely. Overall, increasing the staffing levels has been effective in supporting the child to remain in the home. This was an isolated incident and the registered manager has implemented further safeguarding measures should staffing levels be an issue in the future.

p.4

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

Staff recruitment checks are good and meet the required regulations. Several agency staff have been used and have all been safely recruited and provided with an induction to the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably qualified. She is child-focused and considers the children’s needs in the decisions she makes. She knows the children well and promotes individualised care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are supported through supervision, regular discussions with the registered manager and team meetings. These are well documented and contain a clear agenda and actions. Safeguarding is a key feature in all discussions, meaning keeping children safe is at the forefront of practice.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager develops the staff team through training and giving them additional responsibilities to develop their practice. This keeps staff motivated and they feel valued. Staff are positive about the management team.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has good monitoring tools in place. She oversees all documentation in the home and has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has positive relationships with other professionals. She makes decisions in partnership with other professionals, to ensure that a joint approach is taken and that children’s needs are met. Social workers are well Inspection report for children’s home: SC469686 5 informed about their children and they recognise the progress that children have made.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children know how to make a complaint should they need to. The registered manager and staff actively listen to children and encourage their views and participation in house meetings and direct work.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staffing levels have been a particular difficulty for the home. Staff have worked together to reduce the effect that this has had on children. This has included staff working additional shifts to provide a level of consistency for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC469686 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the on-call manager’s decision- making when they are contacted for advice. 30 April 2022

p.6

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff shortages in the home. 30 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC469686 7

p.6

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 for children’s home: SC469686 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oracle Care Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suites 1 & 5, Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 0RN

p.8

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jodie Whitehouse

p.8

Inspector

Lisa O’Donovan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC469686 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.

p.8

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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9