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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC408513 1 SC408513 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

This privately run home is registered to provide care for up to three children. The home’s statement of purpose describes the care as being for children with EBD (complex social, emotional and behavioural needs) who require attachment-aware, trauma-informed care.

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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

Date of last inspection: 1 September 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC408513 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/09/2021 Full Good 02/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/07/2019 Full Good 19/12/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC408513 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children live in the home. All of the children have lived at the home for over two years. The home continues to provide a stable, nurturing and supportive environment for children to thrive and form positive attachments with their carers. A child said: ‘Thank you for always being there for us and caring. Thank you for helping me for nearly five years, love you.’ Another child said: ‘I love it here.’ The positive and happy comments from children summarise that they genuinely feel loved and cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Recent refurbishments made to the home include a brand new shower room and redecoration of the lounge area. Children spend a lot of time in communal areas, therefore areas such as the hallway, landing area and kitchen require regular decoration to ensure that they remain of a high standard with positive presentation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take pride in their bedrooms and each room is tidy and organised. There are two bathrooms, and one has been suitably refurbished with a new shower installation. However, the second bathroom has limited facilities for handwashing and appears tired and worn. There are insufficient washing facilities for a busy household of staff and children. A child also voiced that the bathroom was mouldy. A recommendation is made to address this matter.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector observed joyous and fun engagement between children and their carers. Carers listen to children and are highly responsive to their needs. Children explore difficult emotions through regular key-work sessions and discussions which have an emphasis on therapeutic conversations to help empower children. Consequently, children reflect on their actions and develop their emotional intelligence and empathy for others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are confident in raising concerns with carers when they are unhappy with their peers. Swift action is taken to resolve peer conflict and promote resolution. The manager actively promotes equality and tolerance of others. Themed house meetings ensure that current topics that are affecting the world are openly discussed. This ensures that children have a broader understanding of the wider world that they live in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who struggle with emotional childhood trauma can struggle with their school environment and school attendance. There is evidence of good liaison with local educational providers and schools to ensure a holistic and multi-agency partnership network to support children with their education. Children complete worksheets at home if the daily challenges in school become overwhelming. This ensures that children continue their education and do not fall behind.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A recommendation from a child’s education and health assessments requires action by the provider to ensure that the health plan is promoted and acted upon. For Inspection report for children’s home: SC408513 4 example, the recommendation suggests that the child is enrolled at a gym to help with her health, well-being and social anxiety. A recommendation is made to address this matter.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A child has had her free time in the community restricted due to potential concerns of engagement with antisocial behaviours and safety in the community. The restriction requires a review to ensure that the restriction is proportionate for the child’s age and current circumstances. A recommendation is made to address this matter.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals from the placing authorities report a high level of care and attention and understanding of children. Professionals observed warm and nurturing attachments between carers and children. This creates stability and security for those children who have struggled in previous placements.

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

The focus of care in the home has a strong emphasis on therapeutic input. Children receive a high number of positive rewards and positive praise. The therapeutic overview and clinical input ensures that behaviour support plans and risk assessments are detailed, and carers understand the complex emotions and behaviours of children through clinical guidance.

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

Carers are confident and seek guidance from the therapy team on a weekly basis. The registered manager said: ‘We involve the clinical team in everything. We don’t judge the children with anything. We are open and honest and give reassurances. We give cuddles when children are struggling.’

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

Children have therapeutic input from clinicians to help develop their emotional resilience and talk about difficult feelings. This is in addition to the therapeutic care from their carers. The manager has involved the therapeutic team to help educate and inform carers of new challenges and behaviours. For example, the manager asked for guidance from the home’s therapist to support the carers to understand how to help a child who has recently displayed self-injurious behaviours.

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

Children do not go missing from the home. Children have walked off the premises to cool off but returned safely within a reasonable time frame. There has been a significant reduction in the use of physical intervention to manage incidents with children. Any physical interventions are used as a last resort.

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

A child informed staff about ingesting a hazardous substance a few days after the event. In the absence of the manager, the on-call management arrangements put in place by the provider meant that a child did not receive immediate medical attention and/or advice from medical professionals as a precaution. No immediate harm came to the child. When the manager returned, action was taken to ensure that the child received appropriate medical advice and care. Furthermore, an internal enquiry and lessons-learned exercise took place to ensure that this would not happen again. Inspection report for children’s home: SC408513 5 Any allegations are swiftly reported to the local authority designated officer, demonstrating multi-agency safeguarding of children and staff. A child made a disclosure but immediately retracted the statement. The manager worked with the child and staff member to help repair the relationship.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is deeply caring and nurturing. She cares about the children and her staff. The manager is self-reflective and open to learning. The manager is highly organised and assisted the inspection with ease and confidence. The manager is respected and valued by her colleagues and the children say they ‘love her’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A carer said: ‘I love my job and love coming to work. It’s like one big family.’ The emphasis on working together as a family helps to create a nurturing and secure environment for the home, and all that live and work there. The inspector observed healthy and warm communication with children. After a difficult morning in school, a carer said to a child: ‘Go and have a lovely bubble bath and I’ll make you a hot drink when you come out.’ Children feel valued and loved; they appreciate the care and nurture.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is responsive and ensures that swift action is taken to address any issues. For example, the manager sought professional help from a specialist organisation for a child who is curious about smoking and taking drugs. This has helped the child to gain a better understanding of the risks and concerns of substance misuse.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are regular in occurrence and minutes contain detailed discussions of the progress of children. Team meetings are used effectively as educational opportunities and learning for all staff to promote the safeguarding of children. New staff induction and appraisal ensure that staff are confident in their new role and staff report that they feel supported by the organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff are empowered to take a collective approach and a shared responsibility to support children. Carers attend important meetings for children and the manager promotes equality in the staff team. This ensures that all carers develop their skills and confidence in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff do not have specialist disclosure training to support children who have made new disclosures about past trauma. Specialist training would help to ensure that staff have the skills to manage any new disclosures effectively, and that disclosures are accurately recorded in detail and balanced with providing emotional support to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager makes effective use of internal and external monitoring and evaluation of the home. The recent monitoring report provided by the manager is reflective and sets out clearly the positive progress and development of children. Children are making good progress. Inspection report for children’s home: SC408513 6

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Statutory requirement

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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(vi)(vii)(b)(e)) 1 August 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s homes are nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children. In particular, ensure that bathing and washing facilities are sufficient for children and staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff encourage children to take a proactive role in looking after their day-to-day health and well-being. Where children have specific health needs or conditions, they should be supported to manage their health subject to their age and understanding. (‘Guide to the Inspection report for children’s home: SC408513 7 Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 34, paragraph 7.10)  The registered person should ensure that staff have access to specialist disclosure training to help them provide additional support to children, and to support their

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Recommendations

training needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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 for children’s home: SC408513 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oracle Care Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jodie Whitehouse

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Inspector

Kamal Bhamra, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC408513 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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