Children's home run by Buckinghamshire Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2611447 1 Registered provider: Buckinghamshire Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties. The home is owned and operated by the local authority.

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Information about this children’s home

This home was registered with Ofsted in June 2021. The manager is not currently registered with Ofsted. However, her application has been received.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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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

Date of last inspection: 7 February 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2611447 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/02/2023 Full Outstanding 18/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2611447 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of individualised care and support provided to children has remained good since the last inspection. Despite various changes to the staffing team, children have continued to make progress while living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Due to the number of changes in the staff team, children have said that they have found it difficult at times. Staff have listened to children’s views on how to support them better, and these have been acted on to improve how staff manage change. Children said that they have positive relationships with staff. The interactions between children and staff are positive, natural and warm.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the children’s education and encourage work experience. All the children attend full-time education or work. The progress that children make in their education and employment is a strength of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend their health appointments. When children want to explore their health needs, staff support them to consult with the relevant professionals. This helps the children to make informed choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they feel listened to by the staff team. An independent visitor visits monthly to consult with the children. The children are regularly asked their views via young peoples’ meetings and through planned and informal conversations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are encouraged and supported to prepare themselves for independence. Staff encourage them to cook, clean and manage their finances safely. The children have active lives and enjoy a number of activities, such as walking, going to the park, going to the gym and swimming.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the children to keep in touch with friends and family as appropriate. This helps the children maintain a positive sense of identity and belonging in their families.

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

Staff safeguarding practice is good. Staff clearly know safeguarding procedures and what to do if they have any concerns. When there have been concerns around children’s vulnerabilities, staff have put in place plans to help mitigate risk and educate children in how to keep themselves safe. Staff maintain detailed recordings of the actions taken in children’s files. The manager has good oversight of incidents that occur and is reflective in feedback.

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

Children rarely go missing from home. However, on the few occasions when children have gone missing, the response from the staff team has been proactive. Actions Inspection report for children’s home: 2611447 4 taken are reflective of the child’s individual missing protocols in place. Records are detailed and clearly document the relevant actions taken by staff.

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

The staff response to any concerns around online exploitation is well coordinated. Staff inform, and work with, relevant professionals and children’s family members as appropriate. Staff ensure that a high level of targeted support is provided to children when such concerns arise. They make referrals to external expert agencies to support children. Staff do all they can to mitigate the repeat of risks to their children.

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

Children share positive relationships with one another and with the staff team. Staff understand and respond to the behavioural needs of the children well. They are guided in how to manage tricky situations through the detailed bespoke behaviour support plans. There have been no physical interventions used at the home. Professionals are confident that the home’s staff ensure the children’s safety and well-being.

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

The manager ensures that risk assessments that are individual to each child’s needs are in place for all children. These are routinely updated by the staff team. However, one risk assessment did not provide staff with the required explicit information regarding behaviours for staff to be aware of, despite this being rated ‘high risk’. It was not clear that all staff had read and understood changes to children’s risk assessments.

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

Any concerns regarding staff conduct are managed appropriately by managers and leaders. These are referred to the local authority designated safeguarding officer. However, on two occasions, the provider has not notified Ofsted of concerns regarding staff conduct. As a result, the regulator has not been able to have complete oversight of the steps taken to safeguard children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager took up post November 2023. She has submitted an application to Ofsted for registration. The manager started her role at a time of instability in the staff team. She has worked alongside senior leaders to try and rebuild a positive culture at the home and is actively working through a detailed action plan. However, these improvements are not yet fully embedded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has high aspirations for the children and what they can achieve. She has high expectations of her staff team and the care she expects them to afford not only to the children but to each other.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have a clear understanding of the progress that the children are making. This is reflected in the manager’s regular audits and oversight of pieces of work carried out with the children. When there are concerns about a child’s well- being or progress, the manager is quick to act to try to support the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2611447 5 Staff speak positively about the manager, who provides them with a supportive environment. Staff who had previously thought of leaving, now say they want to stay under this manager. The staff currently describe the morale as ‘good’. One staff member described the manager as ‘fantastic, warm and approachable’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has prioritised the learning and development needs of the staff to ensure that they are all up to date with the relevant training to provide the children with the best quality care. Staff say that they have good access to a variety of training on offer from the local authority. All mandatory training is either complete or staff are booked on this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff team work collaboratively with professionals to support the children. As a result, the quality of professional relationships is good. Professionals consistently said that they have good communication with the manager and staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior leaders have identified shortfalls in staff supervision and appraisals processes. Until recently, staff were not having regular supervision sessions, and they did not have an annual appraisal last year. The new manager has prioritised rectifying this. All staff have now had regular supervision sessions since she took up post, and staff appraisals are booked. This is an area of ongoing development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are gaps and inconsistencies across recordings in some children’s files. Some events have not been recorded appropriately or at all. One complaint made by a child in August 2023 had not been responded to by managers or leaders. The current manager was unaware of the complaint and there is no evidence that the complaint was followed up at the time. Inspection report for children’s home: 2611447 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

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

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

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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)(g)(ii)(h)) 29 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) 29 March 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in regulation 40(4)(a)-(d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious (40(4)(e)). (‘Guide to the Inspection report for children’s home: 2611447 7 Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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: 2611447 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Buckinghamshire Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Buckinghamshire Council, Chief Executive, Walton Street Offices, Walton Street, Aylesbury HP20 1UA

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Inspector

Skye Frain, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2611447 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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