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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2744072 1 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 operated by a private provider. It provides care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties and learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered in November 2023. This is the home’s first inspection since registration. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since November 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home. All children spoke to the inspector about their experiences living in the home.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2744072 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they like living in the home and are supported well by the staff caring for them. Since the home was registered, four children have lived at the home and one has left. Children are helped to move into and on from the home in a planned way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s weekly meetings, which enable children to have input into the running of the home, take place over Sunday lunch. At these meetings, children make plans for the following week and decide on meals and activities they would like. They also provide children with the opportunity to air any issues that they have. This helps children to feel valued and demonstrates that their wishes and feelings are listened to well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before living in this home, some children struggled to maintain a school placement and one did not attend school. Two children are now in school and have well- thought-out education plans. However, plans for when children are not in education are unclear. This does not support them in preparation for their return to full-time learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of supporting children to maintain relationships with their family, when it is safe to do so. When family relationships are strained, staff help children to understand issues and encourage adults and children to take steps to improve relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained and feels like a family home. Children have been able to personalise their bedrooms to their own taste and they are decorated nicely. Children are given incentives to carry out chores, however, in some bedrooms there was dirty crockery and bins were overflowing, this does not support children to take pride in their environment.

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

Staff provide children with consistent care and boundaries. Children’s risk plans are detailed and co-written with children so that they contain all the information that staff need to fully understand children’s risks and vulnerabilities. This means that staff understand how to help children when they are struggling to manage their emotions.

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

When children go missing, staff actively go looking for them and follow procedures well. Risk assessments in relation to going missing are individual to each child. Children are spoken to by an independent person on their return. Risk plans are updated after each incident so that staff have the most up-to-date information when caring for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2744072 3 Staff understand risks posed to children online and work well in line with placing authority plans to keep children safe. Key-work sessions are undertaken to help children learn about online safety, safe relationships and stranger danger.

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

Children are registered with health professionals and now attend health appointments, whereas before they lived in the home they did not. Smoking cessation support has been offered to children if they vape and appropriate and consistent advice is given by staff.

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

When there have been issues around children smoking in the home, fire service staff have visited to give advice to children on the dangers of this. Room searches are carried out by staff to ensure that smoking material is disposed of, however, records of these searches do not always include children’s views regarding their rooms being searched.

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good

The manager is valued by staff and external agencies. Professionals state the manager is proactive and is a good advocate for children. Placing authority social workers say that children are happy in the home. In the short time children have been in this home, social workers say it is clear that children are making progress from their starting points.

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good

Leaders and managers have not ensured that thorough reference checks have been carried out for all staff recruited since the home was registered. This means that the manager is not clear about the suitability of the staff working with children and does not ensure that only staff who are suitable to work with children are employed in the home.

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good

Inductions for staff are comprehensive and are supported by ongoing training to enhance their skills. Before children move in to the home, specific training is undertaken by staff. This was particularly relevant when a child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder came to live here. This means that staff are sufficiently trained to understand and respond to children’s needs.

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good

Staff feel supported by the manager and are complimentary about the support that she provides. Staff supervision sessions and team meetings take place regularly and enable staff to develop their knowledge and skills as well as reflect on their practice. However, details of staff supervision are not reflected in the home’s workforce development plan.

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good

Most children’s records demonstrate how the child has progressed and reflect their journey well. However, some records are not written in ways that are helpful for children, and consideration should be given to a child viewing these records now or at a later stage in life. Inspection report for children’s home: 2744072 4 Internal and external monitoring systems are not robust. There were a number of issues that the manager and the responsible individual had not identified. The manager did not have a record of the children who live in the home and those who have left the home, as required by regulation. Inspection report for children’s home: 2744072 5

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure written records are appropriate and helpful to children and that bedroom searches are recorded properly. 27 June 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 if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which 27 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2744072 6 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. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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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— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement; 27 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2744072 7 raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s daily routines encourage and promote their engagement in education.

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must have a register of children who live in the home and those who have left the home. 27 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2744072 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home’s workforce development plan outlines the timescales for supervision for all staff, in particular new staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that children’s bedrooms are cleaned regularly and that rubbish is discarded in a timely manner. (‘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: 2744072 9

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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: Suite 3, 125-129 Witton Street, Northwich CW9 5DY

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Inspector

Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2744072 10 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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