Children's home run by Oak House Children's Home Limited in Redbridge

Inspection report for children’s home: SC467847 1 SC467847

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Registered provider: Oak House Children’s Home 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 privately owned home provides care for up to five children who experience social and/or emotional difficulties. The provider has another children’s home in the area and there are close links between the two homes.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in August 2013, and the manager registered in October 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living at the home. The inspector spoke with two children during 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: 12 September 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC467847 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/09/2023 Full Good 19/10/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/10/2021 Full Good 11/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC467847 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good quality care in this home. Staff place children at the centre of their practice to ensure that their day-to-day needs are met. They are committed and passionate about caring for children and help them to make very good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are respected. Children are supported to actively participate in their care, and they are given opportunities to share their views. Children say they have trusted adults they can speak to and feel able to share their views freely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop their independence skills. Staff help children to learn how to cook, budget for shopping and do their own laundry. This support helps children to learn and develop important life skills and plan for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to encourage all children to engage in education. Most children have made exceptional progress in improving their routines, catching up with their learning, and sitting their GCSEs. Staff actively support children to achieve their aspirations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to manage their own health needs and have access to on-site therapeutic support. Staff talk to children about their health. For example, they discuss how children can look after themselves better through healthier diets, reducing substance misuse and using alternative ways to cope with negative feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individual support plans are effective. They are clear about what each child’s needs are, what the goals are and how the care provided to them helps them to make good progress. Children’s plans also include their views; children’s views make their plans more meaningful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is clean and safe for children. The home has signs of wear and tear. For example, the carpet outside one child’s bedroom is frayed and worn, the hallway on the stairs has marks on the wall and looks tired. There are plans in place to redecorate once children go on holiday.

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

Staff and managers understand the risks to children and know what each individual child’s needs are. Risk assessments are kept up to date and include effective plans to mitigate risks. Staff and managers work closely with other agencies and family members to ensure that appropriate action is taken to keep children safe.

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

Children are able to talk to staff about the things that concern them. Children have made disclosures to staff when incidents have happened. This helps children receive support in a timely way. Inspection report for children’s home: SC467847 4 Key-worker sessions focus on children’s individual needs and are in line with their plans. Formal and informal discussions are used to ensure that the sessions are relevant to the child and what is happening in their lives. Staff use information about children and educational tools to plan effective key-worker sessions. Positive relationships between staff and children allow key-worker sessions to be meaningful and beneficial for children.

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

Staff are proactive when children go missing from the home. They contact children and work with other agencies to ensure that children are safe. Records of missing-from-home incidents are thoroughly reviewed, and debriefs are completed with staff and children. This ensures that staff are continually reflecting on their practice and helps to reduce the risks to children. As a result, missing-from-home episodes have been reduced.

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

Most staff have a good understanding of whistle-blowing procedures. One staff member, however, did not know who to contact if they had a whistle-blowing concern. Leaders and managers take allegations of harm seriously and act promptly when issues arise.

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

Staff manage behaviour well. Staff challenge children’s poor behaviour. As a result, children have improved routines and boundaries. Physical restraints are few and are used as a last resort, and once all other means of de-escalation have been exhausted. However, one serious incident where police were called to support staff was not reported to the regulator.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed effectively by a permanent and suitably experienced registered manager, who is supported by an effective deputy manager. Leaders and managers have a very good understanding of children’s needs and the progress that they are making. They show compassion and warmth to the children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and managers receive regular and effective supervision. Supervision focuses on the children’s needs, experiences and plans. Regular team meetings ensure that the staff come together to reflect on children’s needs and plans. This demonstrates effective management oversight of staff practice and the progress that children are making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training helps staff to meet the needs of the children in their care. The registered manager regularly reviews what training is needed and requests additional training when required. This ensures that staff continuously learn and keep up to date with relevant practice issues.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is high, and staff feel supported in their roles. A number of staff have been working in the organisation for some time and say that leaders and managers help them develop in their roles. This provides consistency for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers regularly review the quality of care provided to children. They use learning from practice and review the lived experience of children. However, external oversight of the home lacks accuracy and sufficient detail to support the safeguarding Inspection report for children’s home: SC467847 5 statement to the regulator. This compromises the internal and external oversight of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers updated their statement of purpose during the inspection as information about their model of care and certificate of registration were not accurately reflected. Inspection report for children’s home: SC467847 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 ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers should ensure that monitoring reports are accurate and include details about safeguarding information. 16 September 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s whistle- blowing procedures. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.15)  The registered person should ensure that they notify Ofsted if one of the situations specified in regulation 40(4)(a)-(d) occurs. In particular, this refers to notifying Ofsted if emergency, 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 Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)  The registered person should ensure that they keep under review a Statement of Purpose. The home’s Statement of Purpose should indicate how the home provides individualised care to meet the Quality Standards for the children in their care. In

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Recommendations

particular, this refers to ensuring that the home sets out the model of care used by the home, and that the statement of purpose aligns with the home’s certificate of registration. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5) Inspection report for children’s home: SC467847 7

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: SC467847 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oak House Children’s Home Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: A B C Care Solutions, 249 Cranbrook Road, Ilford IG1 4TG

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Inspector

Jayshree Pillay, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC467847 9 regulates and inspects 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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