Children's Home run by Benjamin UK Ltd in Central Bedfordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1236832 1 Registered provider: Benjamin UK Ltd

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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 privately run home offers therapeutic support, education and care for up to four children who may have experienced neglect, abuse or trauma that has left them vulnerable.

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Information about this children’s home

Education is offered at a linked provision on a different site. The inspector only inspected the social care provision at this site.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 4 June 2024. He is currently working towards a relevant level 5 qualification.

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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

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: 1236832 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/03/2024 Full Good 26/04/2022 Full Good 05/01/2022 Full Good 24/09/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1236832 3

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improvement to be good

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. Only one child was spoken with, as the other child was in hospital. Since the last inspection, children living at this home have been involved in frequent and escalating incidents. This has led to staff being injured and allegations against staff. Management oversight has been limited and inconsistent. Professionals such as the independent person and the local authority designated officer (LADO) have raised concerns about the level of support available to staff and children during incidents. However, they have agreed that the manager’s response to incidents has prevented any widespread failures.

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improvement to be good

Staff generally speak warmly about the children they care for. However, at times staff spoke of children ‘absconding’. Staff’s risk assessments use this language. One staff member spoke of children ‘having too many rights’. This is not in line with the home’s therapeutic and trauma-informed ethos.

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improvement to be good

The home is well decorated and homely. Some areas of the house have been damaged due to recent incidents. The manager has made sure that repairs are carried out quickly.

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improvement to be good

Two children have moved into the home and two have moved out since the last inspection. Moves are generally well considered. The manager has made efforts to maintain a relationship with both children who have moved out. One child’s social worker said that this was important to their child being able to look back on their time at the home without feeling blamed.

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improvement to be good

Staff meet children’s health needs. They support children to attend health appointments.

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improvement to be good

The staff support children well with their education. They work closely with the linked school. They tailor children’s education to their needs. This supports children’s sense of achievement and resilience.

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improvement to be good

Staff liaise with the linked school to plan activities that reflect the children’s hobbies and interests. This helps staff to build relationships with children which are meaningful.

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improvement to be good

The manager has failed to notify Ofsted of three serious incidents. He has also failed to act on two allegations, one during which a child alleged that a member of Inspection report for children’s home: 1236832 4 staff had hurt them and another when a child raised concerns about their safety at the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff have hidden in bedrooms during incidents. They have failed to provide a secure base and consistent safety for children. This is not in line with the home’s statement of purpose and does not support staff to work in a trauma-informed manner.

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improvement to be good

Staff have not always been supported to build effective relationships with the police. This has led to the police being called to manage incidents at crisis points. This does not evidence that staff have supported children to learn about the consequences of behaviour without the risk of being criminalised.

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improvement to be good

The manager has failed to review staff’s practice of storing all cutlery and some food items in the staff office after incidents. This does not help children to understand and manage risk.

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improvement to be good

Professionals’ feedback is mixed in respect of children’s safety. One child’s independent reviewing officer shared concerns that their child is no safer since living at the home. However, another child’s social worker said that the staff have supported their child well. They said that staff have helped their child to stay as safe as possible given the child’s vulnerabilities.

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improvement to be good

Staff generally have a good understanding of the risks that they need to manage for each child and the actions that they should take to keep children safe. When children have set light to items at the home, staff have responded well. They invited the fire brigade to speak with the children at children’s meetings.

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improvement to be good

Staff are proactive when children go missing from the home. Staff search for children and advocate for them to receive return home interviews.

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good

The manager has failed to provide consistent oversight of staff’s practice and children’s care since the last inspection. He said that he feels overwhelmed at times by the high level of incidents. He has not been able to complete all the required records. Senior managers have offered the manager well-being support and support through agreed action plans following incidents. However, this has not been sufficient to mitigate the shortfalls in the management oversight.

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good

At times, children have used cannabis at the home. The manager has failed to notify Ofsted of two serious incidents involving a child making cannabis tea while the other children were in bed and staff were unaware on one occasion. Inspection report for children’s home: 1236832 5 Two staff have not achieved a relevant level 3 qualification within the required timescales.

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good

Staff understand the risks present in the community. The manager identifies local risks and consults with services local to the home to reduce these risks. The manager is developing his awareness of the home’s strengths and areas for improvement. However, he has not completed a quality of care review since the last inspection. This requirement is restated.

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good

The manager ensures that staff are suitable by following safer recruitment processes. He takes steps to ensure that there are sufficient skilled staff supporting the children.

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good

Staff say that the manager is approachable and available. They enjoy working for him and say that he has helped them to work together as a team better. The staff say that their supervision sessions have helped them to reflect on their practice.

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good

Professionals, such as one child’s social worker, say that the manager is good at communicating with them. They also say that he is warm and available to their child.

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good

Senior managers have liaised effectively with professionals such as the LADO after the recent escalation in incidents. During the inspection, senior managers were able to agree a plan to address the identified shortfalls. Inspection report for children’s home: 1236832 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 that staff—

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that allegations against staff are responded to and shared with the appropriate agencies such as the LADO. 30 August 2024

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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;

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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

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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

the experiences of children, including complaints received; 1 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1236832 7 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(f)(g)(ii)(h)

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(e)) 2 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)) 4 October 2024

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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; 7 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1236832 8 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

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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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) (3) (5))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last full inspection and is restated.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that records relating to children are written in child-friendly language and that the language used to describe children is appropriate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, 14.4)

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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: 1236832 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Coach House, White House Court, Hockliffe Street, Leighton Buzzard LU7 1FD

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Claudette Rudman

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Inspector

Majella Russell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1236832 10 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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