Children's Home run by Care Acre Limited in Oxfordshire

Inspection report children’s home: 2663781 1 Registered provider: Care Acre Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children. The statement of purpose says that the function of the home is to provide 24-hour individualised care and support for children aged between 10 to 17 years old, who have emotional or behavioural difficulties because of early life trauma, complex or challenging behaviour, neglect and/or family breakdown or disruption.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager in the home since 30 January 2022.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2663781 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected. Inspection report children’s home: 2663781 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This home was registered in December 2021. The registered manager resigned in January 2022, and a new manager was appointed. This manager applied to be registered with Ofsted. However, they withdrew their application in April 2022. Following this resignation, senior leaders appointed an interim manager. A new permanent manager has since been recruited and there are plans for them to join the team pending safer recruitment checks. Senior leaders are aware of their responsibility to ensure that there is a registered manager for the home. There are currently three children living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff invest quality time with children, who value and enjoy spending time with them. This results in staff having strong relationships with children. Children say that this is their home, and they ask for things such as a boxing bag and basketball hoop for the garden, which are provided. This helps children to feel a sense of permanency and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with a range of accessible activities in their local community. Children regularly visit the local swimming pool and cinema, and choose to go for daily walks with individual staff. One child attends the army cadets weekly. Staff took the children on holiday to the seaside, which they all enjoyed. This helped children to gain skills in their independence, and for one child, how to keep themselves safe when in a new area. This encourages children to think about risk for themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend their educational provisions in line with their current plans. Staff worked hard to support one child in moving from their primary to secondary school. The success of this move is an enormous achievement for the child, and this is recognised by educational professionals. Staff take photographs of children’s first day back at school. This important, yet simple, action helps children to feel loved and ambitious for the year ahead.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand and demonstrate the importance of living healthy lifestyles and educate children on how to do this well. Staff talk to children about puberty, relationships and taking care of themselves. For one child, staff created a snack box to help manage their emotions around unhealthy eating habits. Another child is sensitively supported in line with their views to have complex dental treatment. This means that children are at the centre of decisions and are supported to take control of their own life decisions.

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

Children say that they feel safe living in the home, are listened to, and have trusted adults who they can speak to if they have concerns or would like to make a complaint. Inspection report children’s home: 2663781 4 Staff encourage children to take appropriate risks according to their age and vulnerabilities. For example, one child can see their friends regularly, while another is supported to take appropriate independent steps, such as buying a loaf of bread from the local shop, with minimal staff support. These steps are reviewed and monitored regularly by the interim manager and allocated social workers. This approach helps children to gain independence safely and at a pace suited to their needs.

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

The interim manager keeps children’s risk assessments under regular review. Staff are aware of children’s risks and the strategies needed to keep children safe. They speak to children about internet safety, their use of language, and how they behave in public. This helps children to reflect on their behaviour and better manage situations and risks for themselves.

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

The interim manager has suitably assessed agency staff who work in the home. Agency staff are consistent and familiar to the children, have positive relationships and feel part of the core staff team. During the inspection, agency staff were completing detailed inductions. This included details of fire procedures, children’s care plans and their responsibilities in keeping children safe.

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

On occasion, staff have been unable to quickly resolve some negative behaviours between two children living in the home. However, there are now clear plans in place for staff to follow to help set boundaries and provide routine. As a result, the children’s relationship has improved. The interim manager meets with children’s social workers bi-weekly to review the success of these measures. This effective multi-agency working is fundamental for children to feel happy, safe and settled in their home.

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good

The responsible individual has changed since the home was registered. Senior leaders recognised that the responsible individual needed to be more present, and to complete regular monitoring and auditing. The new responsible individual knows the children well, and regularly spends time with them and the staff team. This change has been positive for information-sharing, quality control and in identifying areas for development and improvement.

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good

The interim manager is experienced, dynamic and skilled in managing a children’s home setting. He has worked hard to first and foremost build positive relationships with children and the staff team. This is testament in the relationships observed with children, and what staff and other professionals say about him. Staff welcome his leadership and the change and challenge this brings.

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good

The interim manager understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home. He uses monitoring tools and action plans to demonstrate how he is listening and driving quality forward. The interim manager has reviewed all the staff training and delegated responsibilities, such as record-keeping and planned conversations with Inspection report children’s home: 2663781 5 children. This means that children are provided with resourced information on topics that help them to understand and explore their feelings.

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good

Staff receive regular and reflective supervision by suitably trained line managers. Staff say that they use this time to speak freely about how they are feeling, and that managers listen to and support them. Supervision records show that staff performance and professional development needs, such as training, are discussed. However, one member of staff has not received their probationary meeting in line with the home’s workforce development plan. The same member of staff has recently been promoted to a team leader role. This is a missed opportunity for leaders to demonstrate the staff member’s capability and suitability in being promoted into a leadership role.

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good

On one occasion, there was a delay in staff informing safeguarding professionals and the on-call manager that a child had made an allegation. When this was shared, senior leaders conducted a full and independent investigation. The learning outcomes identified from this investigation have been acted on. This includes additional safeguarding training and a visit from the local authority designated safeguarding officer to help improve staff understanding. As a result, staff understand and confidently explain the process for reporting safeguarding concerns.

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good

There has been a medication error in the home. This error highlighted shortfalls in the administration records that staff keep when signing regulated medicines in and out of the home. This omission has not impacted on the quality of care provided to children and, following an internal investigation, the learning outcomes have been embedded back into practice. However, there are no current plans or guidance in place to assess staff medication competencies following their training. This is a missed opportunity for managers to demonstrate that they are confident that staff can safely and responsibly give medication to children. Inspection report children’s home: 2663781 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 registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 15 December

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each permanent appointment of an employee is subject to the satisfactory completion of a period of probation; and

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Requirement Due date

provide each employee with a job description outlining the employee’s responsibilities. (Regulation 33 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 15 December

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role that they play in the training and development of staff in the home. In particular, the registered person should satisfy themselves that staff are competent in medication processes. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) Inspection report children’s home: 2663781 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: 2663781 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 36 Magdalen Road, Oxford OX4 1RB

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Inspector

Kelly Monniot, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2663781 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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