Children's Home run by Benjamin UK Ltd in Central Bedfordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 1269505 1 Registered provider: Benjamin UK Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides a therapeutic model of care and education for up to four children who have had adverse childhood experiences. There is a Department for Education-registered school on site that is run by the provider. The inspector only inspected the social care provision on this site.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2023.

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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

Date of last inspection: 31 January 2023

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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: 1269505 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/01/2023 Full Good 09/02/2022 Full Good 09/05/2019 Full Good 03/01/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: 1269505 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This inspection was brought forward to address a specific concern received by Ofsted. This concern was reviewed as part of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have moved into the home and two children have moved out since the last inspection. At the time of this inspection, four children were living at the home. The children are making good progress and are supported by staff who understand their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are ambitious for the children and encourage them with their education. One child recently achieved GCSE qualifications and now has a college place. Another child is attending college. A child who previously struggled to engage with education is now attending daily at the provider’s school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consistently and regularly gain children’s views. Good-quality individual conversations and regular children’s meetings ensure that the children’s opinions are included in their detailed care plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to learn independence skills in line with their age and ability. One of the children travels to college independently, following several trial runs with staff. Staff encourage all the children to learn valuable life skills, such as basic housekeeping tasks and preparing and cooking meals with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the people who are important to the children and communicate regularly with them. A child’s relative said, ‘The staff do everything they can for [name of child]. She has settled and has calmed down significantly. The staff care and are very good at keeping me in the loop. They have been brilliant.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy activities such as swimming, horse riding, rock climbing and trips out to the seaside. Staff capture these moments by taking photos and each child has a photo album. However, three of the children’s photo albums have not been started. This means that some children may leave the home without memorabilia of these special moments to keep as part of their life story.

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

Children say they like living at this home. One child said, ‘It is calm. I am happy here. I like the staff and I can speak to them about things.’

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

Staff encourage the children to discuss any worries, and trusting relationships between the children and staff are evident. There has been some bullying behaviour between children at the home and staff have been quick to recognise this. Staff have meaningful conversations with the children to address any unkind behaviour. Inspection report for children's home: 1269505 4 One of the children has a significant history of self-harming behaviour. Since living at the home, these incidents have greatly reduced. The positive relationships established with the staff have helped the child to feel settled. The child is now able to manage their emotions better in times of distress.

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

The home’s location risk assessment is very detailed. The manager regularly updates this to ensure that any new dangers in the area for the children are highlighted. This provides staff with guidance to recognise dangers and know the actions to take to minimise these risks.

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

Physical intervention is only used as a last resort to prevent injury to the child or others. There have been four physical interventions since the last inspection. Staff recognise any changes in children’s behaviours and are skilful at de-escalating incidents. They ensure that the children’s views are sought following incidents. Listening to and working with children helps them to find better ways of managing times of distress.

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good

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2023 and is working towards a required level 5 qualification. Before taking on their current role, the manager was deputy manager at this home.

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good

An allegation made about practice raised concerns about decision-making on one occasion. This matter has been thoroughly investigated by the provider and concluded satisfactorily. Extra guidance and support from senior managers have been put in place to help strengthen decision-making.

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good

Staff’s recording of incidents is generally good. However, inaccurate information has been recorded on occasions. For example, the details recorded about room searches contradict the information in the corresponding incident reports. This could result in staff following incorrect information.

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good

Staff work in line with the ethos of the home as detailed in the home’s statement of purpose. The manager has regularly reviewed and updated the statement of purpose. However, the updated versions have not been submitted to Ofsted as required.

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good

Staff spoke highly of the manager. They said that they feel well supported and valued by the manager and the deputy manager.

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good

Research-informed practice is incorporated into the daily running of the home. Therapeutic guidance is given by the provider’s therapist in regular child-focused meetings. These meetings explore group dynamics and progress made and help staff to develop their practice further. Inspection report for children's home: 1269505 5 The manager and staff communicate well with external professionals. Social workers are complimentary and say that the manager works in partnership with them and information is shared promptly.

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good

The manager has met the two requirements raised at the last inspection. Inspection report for children's home: 1269505 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(a)) 27 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement [of purpose] within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(b)) 27 October 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Staff should understand their important role in encouraging the child to reflect on and understand their history, according to their age and understanding. Staff should keep and encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia of their time spent living at the home and help them to record significant events. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5) Inspection report for children's home: 1269505 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 for children's home: 1269505 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Coach House, White House Court, Hockliffe Street, Leighton Buzzard LU7 1FD

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Claudette Rudman

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Natalija Balatunovic

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Inspector

Lynne Drage, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1269505 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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