Children's Home run by Acorns to Oaks Children’s Care & Support Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children's home: 2718813 1 Registered provider: Acorns to Oaks Children’s Care & Support Limited

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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 is registered to provide care for up to four children who may have emotional and social difficulties or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager were registered with Ofsted in April 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection two children were living at 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 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: 18 September 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2718813 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/09/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/06/2023 Full Inadequate Inspection report children's home: 2718813 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children flourish in the warm and nurturing environment provided by the staff team. The brothers, who have lived at the home since it was registered, are making progress in all areas of their lives due to the quality of care they receive. One- to-one planned work and purposeful conversations are held with children on a regular basis. These help children to understand their experiences and build skills and resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have regular opportunities to share their views and wishes though methods which are appropriate to their age and understanding. One child, who is non-verbal, has developed his use of symbols and pictures to help his communication. There is a good use of social stories to support his understanding of events. This ensures that children with differing cognitive and sensory needs are encouraged to actively participate in decision making about their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to see their family when it is appropriate to do so. When this time with family cannot take place, children are helped to understand the reason for this. Children’s cultural and linguistic background is evident in the home with language from their family’s county of origin on display around the home. This encourages children to maintain a sense of their heritage and identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children continue to attend school in their home community. As a result, they have a longer journey to school and their school day is slightly shortened. Staff from the home and from school have worked together to minimise the impact of this arrangement on the children. Education staff are highly complimentary about the care the children receive and the support they give to the children’s education. Staff have attended parent and carers days in both children’s schools. A head teacher said, ‘The relationship [name of child] has with staff from the home is so caring. Staff are open to any suggestions we have and are very proactive in their approach.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a range of activities in the community. Plans are in place for the children’s first holiday. These opportunities broaden the children’s experience of the world and help them to build confidence and social skills.

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

Children are able to share worries and concerns with staff who they trust and who they know care about them. Stable and consistent staff know the children well and are able to respond to their individual needs.

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

When children raise issues of concern, staff respond in a child-centred way that comforts them and promotes their safety. Information is shared in a timely manner with children’s social workers and other professionals to ensure that there is a co-ordinated multi- agency response. Inspection report children's home: 2718813 4 Children’s written assessments and plans, for the most part, effectively guide staff to help the children, encourage them to take risks and build independence. Bedroom door monitors are still used at night for both children although the need for their use is not evidenced in children’s risk management plans. As a result, children may experience unnecessary additional oversight of their movements during these times.

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

There are clear plans in place to support staff to undertake the personal care of one child in manner which keeps him safe and protect his dignity. This minimises risks and ensures his health and care needs are met.

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

Staff are supporting one child to work towards having a mobile phone in preparation for a move to secondary school. Work has been completed around internet safety. The child is being helped to understand the risks and responsibilities of using a mobile phone and how to stay safe online.

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

Positive and respectful behaviour is encouraged. Children are not physically restrained by staff. When conflicts arise, these are addressed through discussion, using the strong relationships that exist in the home. As a result, children are living in a positive home environment which helps them to feel safe and build their interpersonal skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably skilled and experienced. Leaders and managers are driven to continuously improve the home and model a culture of learning in their day-to- day practice. Consequently, children experience good quality care that supports their experiences and progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager’s quality of care review reflects a detailed knowledge of the children and the progress they are making. However, it does not fully evaluate how the care the children receive has supported this progress and the views of children, staff and external professional are not considered in this report. This is a missed opportunity to build on the wider learning that takes place in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable and skilled staff team in place. Staff say they enjoy working at the home. They receive regular practice related supervision that helps them to undertake their roles to a high standard. Staff say they are supported by the registered manager and work well as a team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to a range of training that supports their care of the children. This provides them with the knowledge and skills they need to meet children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has good oversight of practice in the home. She monitors and evaluates children’s records and provides advice to staff to improve practice where necessary. The electronic case recording system used in the home does not always provide a clear record of the date the registered manager has evaluated incidents. Inspection report children's home: 2718813 5 The registered manager has effective working relationships with the children’s placing authority and with their schools. She is strong advocate for the children and ensures that their best interests are at the heart of care planning. Inspection report children's home: 2718813 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 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.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5)) 30 June 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the use of bedroom door monitors is supported by a written assessment of risk which is subject to regular review. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.6).

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the system for electronic recording of children’s care records allows for all records to be clearly signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3). Inspection report children's home: 2718813 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 children's home: 2718813 8

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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

Dawn Parton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2718813 9 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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