Children's home run by Oxfordshire County Council

Inspection report for children's home: SC033896 1 SC033896 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 local authority children’s home is registered to provide care for up to six children who may have emotional and social difficulties. At the time of the inspection, there were five children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager of the home was registered with Ofsted in April 2020.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC033896 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/04/2022 Full Good 16/08/2021 Full Good 26/11/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/02/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC033896 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel settled in the home. Some children who presented with high-risk behaviours before admission are no longer exhibiting such behaviours, meaning they are on the right trajectory for successful outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to and are given opportunities to choose meals and activities, through regular meetings and key-work sessions. Children know how to make a complaint and have trusted relationships with staff, which means that they can talk to them about any concerns. Children also have access to an advocate every month, giving them an independent person to talk to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and well furnished. Children like their bedrooms and enjoy personalising them. Consequently, each bedroom reflects an aspect of the child’s personality and their personal interests and hobbies. Children were proud to show the inspector their pictures on their walls, their LED lights and their games consoles.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to activities which are carefully planned. For example, children enjoy swimming and going to escape rooms and restaurants. There are also a variety of activities in the home, including arts and crafts, football, books and games. Staff help children to meet their friends and family, keeping them in touch with the people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s achievements are celebrated. Staff use positive relationships and therapeutic encouragement rather than consequences. There are clear and reasonable boundaries in place to encourage children to engage in positive activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to be independent, for example, washing their own clothes, budgeting for food shopping and planning and cooking meals. However, this progress is not always evidenced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The information available for staff about children’s needs is detailed and is obtained from parents and social workers before children move into the home. Because of this, the staff know the children extremely well and can give them the support and care that they need. Working together as a team also means that the staff can implement consistent routines and boundaries. As a result, the children settle quickly into the home and know what to expect and what is expected of them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported sensitively to move on from the home. Staff are proactive in making sure that the right onward placement is sought. One social worker said, ‘Staff have been proactive in the transition for [name of child]. They understand their needs, likes and dislikes and know them so well.’ Inspection report for children's home: SC033896 4

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

Staff understand the organisation’s safeguarding policies and practice. They know how to raise concerns and who to contact for immediate advice or support. Staff are aware of the process to keep children safe when they go missing from the home, and these episodes have reduced. The registered manager has listened to children and worked with the local authority to increase the free time children can be away from the home safely. Consequently, children feel trusted.

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

The process for recruiting new staff is thorough. The registered manager has high standards and is not prepared to compromise these to fill staff vacancies. He is fully committed to employing the right staff, who know and understand the role. The organisation also has a good system in place to ensure that all the necessary checks are carried out before new staff join. This reduces the potential for unsuitable adults to be employed at the home.

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

There have been two complaints made by children since the previous inspection. These have been taken seriously and acted on immediately. However, records do not indicate if the complainant was satisfied with the response and there was no written record of the child being spoken to.

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

Children are supported to be safe online and in the community. Appropriate safeguards are in place and staff support children to understand risks, including in relation to the internet, criminal behaviour and substance misuse, through frequent key-work sessions and using additional resources.

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

Children’s health needs are met to a high standard. The registered manager and staff have made strong links with health professionals to support children’s ongoing health needs.

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

Children say that they feel safe. Their individual safety plans are a strength of the home. Children tell staff what makes them anxious and what staff can do to help them. This builds children’s trust and self-esteem.

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

The registered manager and staff are aware of their responsibilities to ensure that effective health and safety processes are in place. Consequently, children, staff and visitors are protected and the home is safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a strong commitment to improving outcomes for children. Staff speak positively about their roles and feel valued by the registered manager. They respect his leadership and he is seen by his team as knowledgeable, approachable and supportive. Senior leaders provide the registered manager with support and meaningful supervision sessions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager makes decisions that are child-focused. He has a detailed knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. The home’s independent Inspection report for children's home: SC033896 5 person provides a good level of external scrutiny and makes helpful suggestions regarding practice development. However, the home’s six-monthly quality of care report has not been completed. Consequently, there is no clear written process in place to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders provide staff with good-quality induction and supervision to help them to do their job well. Managers address poor practice promptly and have high expectations of staff practice. Staff morale is high, leading to a positive and relaxed feel in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are given opportunities to develop their skills and there is good succession planning. Training to support this is good, and senior care staff work towards a level 5 diploma. Team meetings take place regularly. Staff are encouraged to share their views and discuss and review practice. Staff use handovers to discuss each child in detail. This supports a consistent approach for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Positive partnership working helps to build trust and engagement. Social workers are positive about their working relationships with the registered manager and staff and say that they are kept well informed. One parent said, ‘If I had to choose anywhere for my child to be other than home this would be my first choice as a home. It’s run well, staff are helpful, respectful and they support [name of child] in everything he needs.’ Inspection report for children's home: SC033896 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, The 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 complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality-of-care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities, and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality-of-care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality-of-care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality-of-care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5)) 30 June 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC033896 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a day-to-day understanding of children’s capabilities and needs and staff will have a valuable contribution to make to the pathway planning process. They should actively seek to make the fullest contribution, working with other relevant people. This is in relation to recording independence plans, targets and progress for children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.28)  The registered person should be familiar with the home’s policies on record- keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. In particular, ensure that a record is made of the action taken in response to complaints. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC033896 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oxfordshire County Council

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Hannah Cox, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC033896 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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