Children's Home run by Action for Children Services Ltd in Buckinghamshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC424103 1 SC424103 Registered provider: Action for Children

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a short-break service run by a national charitable organisation. The home can care for up to eight children at any one time. The children’s needs range from moderate to severe learning disabilities, with associated physical, health and sensory impairment and/or complex multiple needs. Four children were accessing the service at the time of inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

This inspection was brought forward following the death of a child who regularly used this short-break service. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate incidents of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the child’s death were considered (where appropriate) alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform the inspector’s judgements.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 2023.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC424103 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/01/2024 Full Good 22/02/2023 Full Good 02/06/2021 Full Outstanding 18/09/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC424103 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and their families receive a warm welcome when they visit the home. Children are greeted by the staff with a smile and very friendly greetings. Good planning arrangements enable the staff to be very well informed and prepare each child who stays at the home for their short break. Staff’s knowledge of individual children’s needs, their likes and dislikes and routines, ensures that plans work smoothly for children’s arrival.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Nurturing care from a committed team of core staff leads to children feeling relaxed and confident in their environment. Children’s achievements and progress, however small, are celebrated and beautifully captured in memory books and displayed in the dining room for everyone to see. This builds children’s self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The consistent and good-quality care that children receive is critical to their experiences, progress and development. This is achieved through a wide range of additional experiences, including interaction with peers, opportunities to develop their independence skills and being able to participate in local trips to parks and farms. Consequently, children develop confidence in their social and independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who are verbal can choose meals and activities. However, staff have not received specific training to be able to communicate effectively with children who are not able to verbalise. This restricts non-verbal children in communicating their views and giving feedback on their experiences following their stays in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents praise the staff for the care and support they provide for their children, as well as the opportunities they give them, for example, trips to the local town. Parents say that due to the quality of care provided, they have trust and confidence in the staff to keep their children safe. These positive views are echoed by social workers. One social worker said, ‘Children have formed really good relationships with the staff. They [staff] engage well with them [children], and they understand and support them well. Children have made progress in their independence skills.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children play happily with the wide range of toys and use arts and crafts materials, as well as relaxing in the communal lounge, dining area or sensory room. The home is spacious, and children play freely in all areas of the home and garden. However, some areas of the home need improvement to make it cosier and more like a family home.

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

Children’s actions, demeanour and confidence around staff show that they feel safe in the home. Staff are acutely aware of all children’s needs and vulnerabilities, ensuring that they keep them safe in the home and the community. Inspection report for children's home: SC424103 4 Staff help children to regulate their behaviour by using known calming or self-soothing techniques. Staff promote positive behaviour with children, through providing children with positive choices. Consequently, incidents involving children’s behaviour are rare.

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

The staff are clear about, and follow, procedures for identifying and responding to concerns about the safety of the children. Staff understand their responsibilities to safeguard children and how to report concerns. Staff receive training on safeguarding and child protection. Leaders and managers have good links with local authorities, designated safeguarding officers and other important safeguarding agencies.

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

There is a lack of curiosity to ensure that safe recruitment checks are completed satisfactorily. For example, one member of staff’s recruitment file did not clearly demonstrate that identification checks or gaps in employment had been explored fully. Furthermore, original copies of Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks had not been seen by the registered manager.

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

Staff undertake regular health and safety checks, supported by external service checks. The storage and administration of medication is robust.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has a good knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. The home’s development plan highlights areas for change and improvement, demonstrating a commitment to ensuring good standards of care for children. The independent person provides a good level of external scrutiny and makes helpful suggestions regarding practice development. This is enhanced by the support of the responsible individual.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers provide staff with good-quality reflective supervision. However, for some staff, supervision has not been held in line with the organisation’s set timescales. New staff receive an induction that includes training and the opportunity to work alongside established staff to familiarise themselves with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Training needs for staff are understood by leaders and managers, and specific training has been carried out to meet some of the specific needs of children. This includes training in vagus nerve stimulation, gastrostomy feeding and auto-injectors. However, training to support children to communicate and have their views heard could be further enhanced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Robust action is taken to address any issues of concern, including complaints. Effective action has been taken to address all the requirements and recommendations from the previous inspection. However, children’s records vary in quality. Some provide clear information and guidance for staff, while parts of some children’s plans do not. This could compromise how children are supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) and the home’s charter have been a focus for the registered manager. The manager involves staff in their vision for the home and how to Inspection report for children's home: SC424103 5 improve quality of care and outcomes for children. One example of this is an anti-racism plan that clearly links to improvements to support EDI, through training, policies and the recruitment of a diverse staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are very positive about their roles. Most of the staff have worked in the home for several years. Staff work well as a team and feel that they all support each other extremely well. This has been very evident following the very sad death of a child. Staff demonstrate their love for the children and their pride in each child’s achievements. One member of staff said, ‘The best thing about working in the home is the support you get from the team and how we work together. I enjoy seeing the children interact and learn new skills.’ Inspection report for children's home: SC424103 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s plans consistently provide clear guidance for staff on how to meet each child’s needs. 4 October 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

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there are satisfactory explanations for gaps in employment, that the identification of staff is confirmed and that original DBS certificates are scrutinised. 4 October 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff supervision is delivered in line with the home’s policy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that the home maintains a domestic rather than institutional impression. This is in relation to redecoration and making the home cosy, Inspection report for children's home: SC424103 7 like a family home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. In particular, ensure that staff have the skills and knowledge to communicate with all children to gain their views. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: SC424103 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Action for Children

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Action for Children, 3 The Boulevard, Ascot Road, Watford WD18 8AG

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Inspector

Hannah Cox, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC424103 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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