Children's Home run by Barnardo’s in Oxfordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC069128 1 SC069128 Registered provider: Barnardo’s Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides a residential short-break service for up to seven children with disabilities. The home is run by a national charity in partnership with a local authority. Most of the children using the service have complex health needs.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were resident at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no manager in post since 1 August 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC069128 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/08/2022 Full Good 08/11/2021 Full Good 19/11/2019 Full Good 14/03/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC069128 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop secure and trusting relationships with the staff caring for them. Staff are attentive and nurturing in their approach in meeting children’s individual needs. This helps children to feel safe and make good progress. One parent described the service as ‘life changing’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each child’s preferred method of communication is known and understood by staff. There is a strong commitment to ensuring that children can make choices about how they are supported and cared for. For example, children are shown pictures and objects to choose activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a wide variety of activities, and staff are thoughtful in their planning and ensure that favoured activities are available when children stay. For example, for children who enjoy baking, cooking supplies are offered, and children choose what to bake. Photos are beautifully captured in participation folders. Children have fun and make memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy their stays at the home, which has a positive impact on families and children’s experiences. The cook is knowledgeable on each individual child’s dietary needs and ensures that their favourite foods are available when they stay. This gives children a sense of comfort and makes them feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy the welcoming home environment that is child-centred and provides space for children to live comfortably with each other. There are areas within the home that help to enrich children’s experiences and meet their needs. For instance, there is a sensory room, soft play and a large garden where children can play safely. One professional said, ‘He [the child] loves the facilities available and is stimulated by the environment.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to carry out their day-to-day care routines. Staff receive specific training to meet the complex health needs of the children who access the home, and specialist equipment is regularly inspected. A nursing team supports staff to identify and manage children’s complex health needs.

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

Children receive the help and support they need to manage their behaviours safely. Children’s individual vulnerabilities and associated risks are known and understood by staff, who are kept informed of changes through daily handovers and monthly team meetings. However, some risk management plans are not updated or amended accordingly. Inspection report for children’s home: SC069128 4 The use of physical intervention to manage children’s behaviour is kept to a minimum. As a result, staff are skilled in keeping children safe and are committed to providing an environment where children can thrive.

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

Staff recognise where they fit into wider safeguarding networks. They can identify all external agencies that play a role in supporting the safety and well-being of children. Staff understand how to raise concerns to ensure that good safeguarding practice is followed.

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

Good recruitment practices are in place. This ensures that only appropriately vetted individuals work at the home and provide care for children. Senior staff are aware of their responsibilities to ensure that effective health and safety processes are in place.

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

Children are consistently treated with dignity and respect. CCTV is used to monitor and safeguard the children who have complex needs and serious medical conditions. Efforts are made to ensure that this approach does not become intrusive. The cameras are not in use for all children or whenever a child is being supported with their personal care and hygiene routines. This is in line with children’s individual care plans. Consent is sought from families and professionals, and this is reviewed as required. The home has waking night staff who monitor the CCTV, but this does not replace visual checks on children who stay at the home.

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

There is a strong process for recording and administering medication. A clear recording system has helped to streamline the procedures for preparing and administering medication, and it adds a layer of quality assurance to the process.

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good

The home has not had a registered manager since August 2022, despite the leaders’ consistent attempts to recruit. Since this time, leaders have supported senior staff to oversee the management of the home. A newly appointed manager is aware of their responsibility to submit a full application to register with Ofsted.

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good

The management arrangements in place provide a supportive, collaborative and caring culture within the home. There is a real sense of teamwork and strong working relationships with staff, who acknowledge difficulties and support each other. This provides a stable team for the children. One member of staff said, ‘We’re like a family, and the young people we support are a reflection of the service we provide.’

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good

Leaders and managers have knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. They demonstrate a passionate commitment to ensuring high standards of care for children. Staff feel well supported in their roles. This can partly be attributed to an overall improvement in the frequency of their supervision sessions. Staff say that supervision enables them to reflect on their practice and identify their professional development needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC069128 5 Despite the challenges in relation to maintaining a full complement of staff, senior managers have taken action to ensure that there are sufficient staff on duty to meet the children’s needs. When sufficiency of staff has become a concern, changes to admissions and occupancy rates have been made to maintain safe care.

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good

Managers are proactive in supporting families, and they manage staff rotas to support the complex needs of the children. For instance, they ensure that qualified and experienced staff are on duty. One parent said, ‘The staff are always very good and are accommodating of requests. The continuity of staff makes her [the child’s] stay as comfortable as it can be as she knows her staff, and they know her.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC069128 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the manager registers with Ofsted. 9 June 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person must keep case records up to date and signed and dated by the author. This is in relation to children’s risk assessments and individual behaviour support plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: SC069128 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Barnardo House, Tanners Lane, Barkingside, Ilford, Essex IG6 1QG

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Inspectors

Hannah Cox, Social Care Inspector Stephen Challis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC069128 8 regulates and inspects 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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