Children's home run by Acorns to Oaks Children’s Care & Support Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 1 SC2690420 Registered provider: Acorns to Oaks Children’s Care & Support Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 7 February 2023

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/02/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 3

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improvement to be good

There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection. The relationships between children and staff were observed to be caring and positive.

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improvement to be good

Children’s progress in education is limited and they are not yet in full-time education. However, plans to support children when they are not in education are unclear. This limits children’s learning and reduces opportunities for them to achieve their full educational potential.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to take part in activities and to enjoy new experiences, such as going ice skating and going on holidays. Children are also encouraged to develop hobbies and have been supported to join cadets and a boxing club. This helps children to develop positive peer relationships.

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improvement to be good

Children are helped to spend time with people who are important to them. They are encouraged to establish positive friendship groups in the community.

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improvement to be good

Children’s emotional and physical health needs are well understood. Children are helped to stay healthy and supported to attend appointments as required.

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improvement to be good

Children say they know how to make a complaint. The manager supports children during the complaints process and ensures that they are informed of any outcome. This helps children to feel listened to and to know the manager acts on what they say.

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improvement to be good

Communal areas of the home are decorated to a good standard. Children are supported to personalise their bedrooms. One child’s bedroom has writing on the walls and needs redecorating. The manager agreed that support was required to enable the child to take pride in their personal space.

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improvement to be good

Staff are vigilant to risks. They take appropriate action when they have concerns about children’s safety. Staff work well with children’s families, social workers and other safeguarding professionals to understand and manage risks to children and to keep them safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities. However, children’s plans do not always reflect their individual needs or current risks. For example, there is no clear guidance on the action staff should take if a child presents with self-injurious behaviours, despite this being a known risk for one child. This reduces opportunities to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 4 Children do not frequently go missing from this home. When incidents do occur, staff take prompt action to safely locate children and help them to return safely. Independent return home meetings take place to ensure that children have the opportunity to speak with someone independent of the home about what is going on for them. Any learning from this is used by the manager to inform staff practice.

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improvement to be good

There have been occasions when children have been held for their safety. The manager evaluates all incidents to ensure that they were necessary and proportionate. The manager has identified that additional training is needed to support staff but has failed to implement this in a timely manner. This does not support staff practice to safeguard children effectively.

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improvement to be good

Bedroom door alarms are in use for all children, despite there being no clear rationale for this. Their use is not based on an assessment of children’s individual needs. This unnecessarily restricts children’s privacy.

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improvement to be good

The provider follows safer recruitment guidelines. Recruitment checks are undertaken before staff start work in the home. This helps to ensure that only people who are suitable to work with children are employed to work in the home.

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good

The home is led by an experienced and qualified manager. The manager is passionate about the delivery of care for children and is ambitious about improving the service.

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good

Children’s plans provide a detailed picture of their views, experiences and achievements. Staff help children to reflect on the progress they are making and what they want to achieve in the future. However, children’s plans are not always signed and dated by the person who has written them.

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good

Children’s records are not maintained in a way that is helpful for children. At times, the language used by staff to describe children’s behaviour is not child-centred. The manager has devised a workshop to support staff, but this has not been implemented.

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good

The staff training programme is extensive. However, not all staff are up to date with care-plan-specific training. The manager has taken action to address this.

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good

Team meetings take place regularly, giving staff the opportunity to discuss the development of the home and to reflect on the progress children make. However, meetings do not include research and development. This is a missed opportunity to further develop practice in the home.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision and are given the opportunity to reflect on their practice. However, staff are not given the opportunity to reflect on training they Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 5 have attended or to demonstrate how they will implement their learning to meet children’s needs.

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good

The monitoring systems used by leaders and managers are not robust and do not help to identify the home’s strengths and areas for development. The home’s statement of purpose has not been updated to reflect changes in the home. The review of the quality of care has not been carried out in line with regulation. This limits opportunities to review and improve the quality of care delivered to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 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 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all staff have completed training specific to the children’s individual needs. In addition, that children’s risk plans contain clear steps for staff to follow to keep children safe. 17 November 2023

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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 promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the

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Requirement Due date

registered person to— 17 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 7 understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that monitoring and review systems are used to improve the quality of care provided in the home. In addition, that research and development are used to further develop and support staff to improve the care delivered to children.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those 17 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 8 expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the language used in children’s records is child-centred. In addition, that staff follow each child’s behaviour management plan and support them effectively when in crisis.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(d) (2))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that bedroom door alarms are only used when necessary to keep children safe and that their use is kept under review. 17 November 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. 17 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 9 Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the staffing arrangements of the home are accurately reflected in the statement of purpose and shared with HMCI within regulatory timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 17 November 2023

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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. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)) 17 November 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there is a clear education plan for each child when not in full-time education and that children are supported to complete educational activities in line with their plan. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15) Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 10  The registered person should ensure children live in a warm and welcoming environment with a homely feel. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2690420 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Acorns to Oaks Children’s Care & Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Acorns to Oaks Children’s Care & Support Ltd, Suite 3, 125-129 Witton Street, Northwich CW9 5DY

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Inspector

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 12 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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