Children's Home run by Buckinghamshire Council in Buckinghamshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1277453 1 Registered provider: Buckinghamshire Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a local authority. It provides care for up to five children who may experience social, emotional and mental health needs. Four children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 7 September 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 26 September 2023

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1277453 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/09/2023 Full Outstanding 17/01/2023 Full Good 28/07/2021 Full Good 05/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1277453 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children make extraordinary progress in all areas of their lives from the point at which they move into the home. Staff are ambitious for children and continuously offer them unique opportunities to explore their identify and develop independence. Two children are care ambassadors for the local authority, and regularly attend events to promote the voices of children in care. This gives the children a sense of belonging, increases their self-confidence and broadens their horizons.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children enjoy positive and warm relationships with staff, who are attuned to their individual needs and wishes. Staff enable children to talk to about their worries, nurturing trusting relationships while carefully exploring difficult topics. As a result, children have made meaningful progress in understanding and managing their feelings, which has created opportunities for them to thrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are encouraged to get involved in a range of activities. They are helped to make friends and be a part of their community. Staff join children in actively taking part in charity events and leading fundraising activities, which teach children to give back to their community and builds their self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have made incredible progress in school attendance and academic achievements. One child, who was not engaging in education, now enjoys going to college and has ambitions to gain qualifications towards their chosen career. Another child, who said they would never go to school, is now at school and exceeding expectations with their reading.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The manager is an advocate for children’s relationships with their families. Enabling children to see people who are important to them is a significant strength of the home. Life-story work completed with one child has been exceptional, resulting in the child being reunited with a parent and enjoying building strong family bonds. If there are challenges, the manager works with professionals and families to plan consistent contact and make arrangements for children to spend quality time with parents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is spacious, with welcoming areas where children enjoy relaxing or spending time with others. Children are encouraged to decorate their own bedrooms, which enables them to express their personality and gives them a sense of ownership. One child’s room has some damage to the walls that needs repair work ahead of the scheduled programme.

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

Managers and staff have an in-depth understanding of the risks and challenges faced by children. They use a therapeutic model effectively to look at issues from the child’s perspective, and help children by using innovative and individualised approaches. This Inspection report for children’s home: 1277453 4 way of working gives children space and time to talk, while enabling them to learn more about themselves and how to manage difficult feelings. As a result, children are making safer choices, the number of incidents is very low, and there have been no incidents requiring restraint. One child has stopped self-harming. Another child, who was often upset, is now able to stay calm and talk to staff.

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

Staff receive specialised training to equip them to deal with complex issues faced by children. Some staff take on lead roles, such as in child exploitation. This enables them to successfully guide children through challenging incidents in a positive manner and helps children to feel fully supported and able to reflect on and learn from their experiences.

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

Risk plans to guide staff on how to support children are comprehensive; they consider emotional needs and what is being communicated by children’s behaviour. Staff are knowledgeable about how to positively respond to behaviours, to effect change and reduce risk. There is a culture of continuous learning for staff and children. Extensive debrief work is undertaken that underpins learning, and incident prevention analysis further informs staff about what children need to be safe.

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

Children do not routinely go missing from this home. When incidents have occurred, staff have followed protocols and taken action to ensure that children have been supported to return safely. On one occasion, when exploitation concerns emerged, these were responded to with a high level of care and support for the child, while liaising with the relevant agencies to ensure that it was investigated and acted upon. This was a challenging time, but intensive and sensitive support was given by staff, who were able to draw on training to successfully support the child to process and understand what had happened.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager provides consistently high-quality, personalised care and is fiercely proud of the children’s accomplishments. The manager places high value and appreciation on the stable and committed staff team, who support the continuing success and positive outcomes for children. Staff give overwhelmingly positive feedback about the home and the support they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is proud of the work and accomplishments of the team. They seek to ensure that staff are acknowledged by more-senior managers by nominating them for awards that are recognised by the organisation and shared widely. This contributes to staff feeling valued and respected in their work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is passionate about the therapeutic model being embedded in practice. This places high importance on all professionals to understand the child’s perspective and experiences. This means that the children’s views are always at the centre of care and support plans. Inspection report for children’s home: 1277453 5 Managers communicate effectively with professionals and take action to ensure that children have access to a large network of support systems to help them to develop and thrive. Managers advocate for children and will actively challenge external professionals if they are concerned that children have been treated unfairly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Feedback from parents and carers is very complimentary. They are pleased about the progress that children are making and say that the communication they have with the home is excellent. One parent said the staff at the home have ‘jumped through hoops’ to support their child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has extensive oversight of the home through comprehensive monitoring systems. Records are clear and effective in providing oversight of children’s engagement, experiences and achievements. Care planning is kept up to date. As a result, there is a continuous high standard of support provided, with children making exceptionally strong progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 1277453 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children live in a warm and welcoming environment with a homely feel. Damage in children’s bedrooms should be reviewed and repaired in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 1277453 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Buckinghamshire Council, Chief Executive, Walton Street Offices, Walton Street, Aylesbury HP20 1UA

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Inspector

Shirin White, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1277453 8 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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