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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 1 Registered provider: Acorns to Oaks Children’s Care and 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 owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2024.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/10/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/02/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children spoke with the inspectors about their experiences of living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children like living in the home. They say the home is ‘excellent’. One child said, ‘There’s always laughter here, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health and regularly attend medical appointments. Staff are aware of children’s individual health needs and work with partner agencies to ensure that children’s emotional health and well-being are supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s progress in education is variable and attendance for some children is very limited. One child attends an alternative education setting on a reduced timetable. The other child is refusing to attend school. A lack of routine and structure does not support children’s engagement in education. Leaders and managers have not been creative in their thinking to encourage participation are not proactive in challenging professionals to ensure that children receive sufficient support. This limits opportunities for children to achieve their academic potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop interests and are encouraged to attend groups such as cadets, dance classes and gymnastics. Staff encourage children to have fun and spend time together playing games away from their electronic devices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with people who are important to them. Families say their children are making progress and describe staff as ‘caring’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to have a voice in the home and are regularly consulted about how they feel and what changes they think might improve how they are supported by the staff. This helps children to feel valued.

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

Children know how to raise complaints and feel listened to. When children make a complaint, the manager responds promptly and ensures that children are kept up to date and made aware of the outcome.

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

On one occasion, a child has been held to keep them safe. The hold was proportionate, and both the child and staff were supported to reflect on the incident.

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

Incidents of children going missing from the home have reduced. When incidents occur, staff understand their responsibilities and are proactive in searching for children and supporting their safe return. When children return home, staff talk to them about the dangers of going missing and provide them with the opportunity to talk to an independent person. Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 4 Staff help children to understand how to stay safe on the internet. When concerns occur, these are addressed by the manager, and children are supported to undertake further training on important safety topics. Children have responded well to this level of support.

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

Staff understand children’s risks and vulnerabilities and respond appropriately to keep children safe. However, children’s risk plans are overly lengthy and confusing. This has not had an impact on children’s safety.

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

Safer recruitment is not consistently robust. One employee had a gap in employment that had not been identified before this inspection. The manager took action to address this during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced manager leading the team. She is child focused and committed to improving outcomes for the children who live in the home. The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partner agencies are consistently positive about their experience of working with the managers and staff. They describe communication as good and are complimentary about the progress children make.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the manager and receive regular supervision. Supervision sessions allow staff the opportunity to reflect on children’s progress and experiences, discuss areas they feel could be developed and reflect on training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly, giving staff the opportunity to discuss the development of practice in the home and to reflect on the progress children make. The manager uses this opportunity to deliver additional training to the team on subjects which are specific to children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has made changes to how children’s plans are completed. In doing so, she has created a system that is confusing and no longer provides a detailed picture of children’s experiences and achievements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring systems are not fully effective, targets are often repetitive and do not always demonstrate how they support the development of the service and care for children. The manager has carried out a review of the quality of care, which is detailed and celebrates children’s success. However, the evaluation of the impact of changes made is limited and the actions are not set in a way that allows their success to be easily measured. This limits opportunities for leaders and managers to continuously improve the quality of care provided to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 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 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,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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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)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that gaps in employment are explored for all employees. 3 September 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

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; and 3 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 6 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home (Regulation 13 (1) (a)(2)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement in the home.

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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 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. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children who do not attend full-time education have a regular routine and education timetable. In addition, ensure that staff are creative in their approach, consistently supporting children to complete educational activities. 3 September 2024

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs; 3 September 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 7 if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that decisions regarding children’s education are in their best interests and that any concerns are appropriately challenged and escalated as required.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life, clearly demonstrating their progress and achievements. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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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: 2690420 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Acorns to Oaks Children’s Care and Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 3, 125 to 129 Witton Street, Northwich CW9 5DY

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Inspectors

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Nicola Rutherford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2690420 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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