Children's Home run by Oaktree Childcare Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home 2651794 1 Registered provider: Oaktree Childcare 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 and operated by a private provider. The home is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered on 18 September 2023. This is the first inspection of this home.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children have moved in to this home since it was registered. One child is currently being cared for.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since 19 October 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. Inspection report for children’s home 2651794 2

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improvement to be good

Staff have not built meaningful relationships with all children. One child has positive relationships with staff and identifies specific staff who they would approach with a concern. Staff were unable to build positive relationships with another child. Therefore, not all children have been able to develop a sense of belonging in the home.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to complain. The manager and staff take children’s complaints seriously and investigate them thoroughly. However, children are not provided with a response to their concerns, after complaints have been investigated. Children have been unaware of the outcome of their complaint or any actions taken.

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improvement to be good

One child did not have a positive experience moving out of the home. Their ending was abrupt and they have not spoken to anyone at the home since they moved out. Consequently, the child had limited opportunity to understand and process moving on from the home.

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improvement to be good

Children do not attend school. Staff have advocated for one child and assisted them to complete the assessments required to gain a school place. For another child, their attendance reduced and a suitable alternative education provision was not found. Staff do not complete daily educational activities with children who are not in school.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to have a healthy routine. Staff provide nutritious food and ensure that there are regular mealtimes. They promote appropriate structure to the children’s days. Staff encourage children to engage in physical activities, such as horse riding. For one child, this has led to notable progress in terms of their sleeping and eating routine.

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improvement to be good

The home is comfortable and well decorated. Staff have ensured that any required maintenance is attended to quickly. Staff help children to personalise their bedrooms according to their tastes and interests. There are photos of the children’s important people and events throughout the home.

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improvement to be good

Children have not always felt safe or protected in the home. One child refused to return to the home during a missing-from-home episode due to another child being present. Staff were unable to promote a positive relationship between children and there were several incidents of damage in the home or missing-from-home episodes. Staff know the risks to children. Risk assessments address key areas for children and provide strategies for the staff to follow. However, the strategies have not always been effective in de-escalating situations in the home. Inspection report for children’s home 2651794 3 Staff understand the children’s individual plans for when they are missing from the home. Staff update the plans for the children regularly with any relevant information. Staff use this information to locate children quickly and return them to the home. Staff seek to understand the reasons for missing-from-home episodes

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improvement to be good

and try to identify activities to help children to engage in positive behaviour. However, staff were unable to engage the children in the identified activities, which resulted in children going missing from home on occasions.

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improvement to be good

Children are not held by staff. This promotes trust and respect between the child and those who care for them. However, staff do have training to use physical interventions in the event that this is necessary.

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good

The home has had two managers since it was registered by Ofsted. Currently, there is an interim manager in post, who has not yet applied to be registered with Ofsted.

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good

Monitoring in the home is not effective. Issues are not always identified through the manager’s checks. On one occasion, the home did not have a member of staff who is qualified in first aid on shift. On other occasions, staff did not provide reports to the children’s statutory reviews, although it is the internal policy to do so. Therefore, opportunities to improve practice and better engage with wider agencies are missed.

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good

The interim manager has not ensured that they have a copy of the placing authority care plan for the child who lives in the home. Therefore, it is unclear for staff whether they are achieving the aims of the placement.

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good

Some staff have not completed their qualifications within the required timescale. These staff have been employed within the organisation at other homes prior to joining the team. Therefore, the child’s care is not being delivered by appropriately qualified staff.

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good

The interim manager provides regular supervision to the staff team. The interim manager provided increased supervision for all staff in the initial weeks of the home being opened. Staff report that the interim manager is approachable, and they feel supported in their roles.

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good

The interim manager identifies when children are not settling in the home. They share these concerns with the placing authority and contribute to multi-agency plans for the child. When appropriate, the interim manager ensures that additional staffing is put in place to support the children living in the home. Inspection report for children’s home 2651794 4

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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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 29 December 2023

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(viii)) 31 January 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)) 29 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home 2651794 5 Specifically, ensure that the interim manager applies to be registered for the home that he is managing.

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that the manager’s oversight identifies shortfalls in staffing or practice and addresses these. 31 January 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. 29 February 2024 Inspection report for children’s home 2651794 6 For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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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. (Regulation 36 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that there is a copy of any plan for the care of the child prepared by the child’s placing authority. 29 December 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person and staff should notice and respond to children who are expressing their views. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.10) Inspection report for children’s home 2651794 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 2651794 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oaktree Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ground Floor, Seneca House, Links Point, Amy Johnson Way, Blackpool FY4 2FF

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Inspector

Sarah Huntbatch, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home 2651794 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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