Children's Home run by Care Acre Limited in Oxfordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2663781 1 Registered provider: Care Acre 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 owned children’s home is registered to provide care for up to three children. The statement of purpose states that the function of the home is to provide 24- hour individualised care and support for children aged between 10 and 17 years with social and emotional difficulties because of early-life trauma, complex or challenging behaviour, neglect and/or family breakdown or disruption. Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager in the home since 31 December 2024.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children are not protected and their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none. Inspection report for children’s home: 2663781 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/04/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/09/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2663781 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

This visit found significant concerns regarding how effectively children are kept safe and a lack of effective oversight by leaders. As a result of these shortfalls, a restriction of accommodation notice has been issued. This means that no new children can be admitted to the home while this order is in place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Since the last full inspection in April 2023, one child left the home under emergency circumstances following a serious incident. Two children have since moved into the home. Senior leaders had given notice on one of these children continuing to live in the home, as they recognised, they were unable to keep them safe. On the day of the inspection, this child moved immediately from the home due to further child protection concerns. Children generally move into the home in a planned way, with leaders meeting with children and their important adults to conduct assessments prior to them moving in. However, these assessments are poor in quality and many fail to adequately consider how children’s individual risks and needs would impact on the other children living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Frequent staff and management changes are creating instability for children and confusion around staff expectations and working practices. Professionals and children report that these changes are unsettling.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Leaders strongly advocate for children to attend education, and they challenge external agencies to secure appropriate educational provision. Staff support children to benefit from tutoring, or alternative provision, and one child attends school full-time. However, at the time of the inspection, two children had no structured plans for promoting their education, leaving them bored and with significant unstructured time. This lack of planning also limits staff understanding of how to address safeguarding risks in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are supported to personalise their bedrooms, which has a positive impact on their sense of belonging and being cared for. Staff have worked persistently to engage children in this process, with positive results. Managers are also supporting one child to share their views regarding their legal status.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Leaders demonstrate an understanding of self-harm risks and have effectively supported one child to reduce these behaviours.

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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2663781 4 The language used by staff and managers in relation to child exploitation is not child centred and does not align with the provider’s statement of purpose. This reflects broader weaknesses in staff’s and managers’ understanding of safeguarding and the culture this has created. Risk assessments lack proper analysis and consideration of risks, rendering mitigation strategies ineffective, particularly in managing risks related to grooming, exploitation and online safety.

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

Children are supported to attend routine health appointments, and there is evidence of staff advocating effectively for medical support when necessary. However, this support is not consistent for all children. One child was at significant risk due to missing health documents related to emergency medication management, and not all staff were appropriately trained. This child has since moved from the home. However, this posed a serious safeguarding concern for the child while they were living in the home.

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

Staff sometimes fail to maintain consistent professional boundaries with children and blur the boundaries of their carer relationship with children, which negatively affects children’s welfare and their ability to develop healthy relationships.

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

Managers have reported most concerns that they should have done to local authorities who have children living in the home. However, there are instances when child protection matters are not identified, reported or communicated effectively. This includes missed opportunities to protect children and to ensure that multi-agency risk assessments are completed to help to better protect them in the future. Complex recording systems further complicate this issue, with staff struggling to navigate them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leadership changes since the last assurance visit in January 2024 have disrupted the home’s stability, with a consequent negative impact on children and on the ability of staff to protect and care for them effectively. The registered manager left suddenly. An external review was commissioned, and its findings are being used to improve staff practices. A new manager was appointed on 1 January 2025 and has said that they intend to apply for registration. There have been three changes in the responsible individual since April 2023, with a fourth application currently under review.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The proposed responsible individual has positively engaged with staff and children and initiated team meetings to address recent concerns. Managers have implemented audits and action plans aimed at improving the home. Staff report feeling heard and say that they are hopeful that the new leadership will provide consistency and stability. However, it is too early for these actions and positive intentions to have had any significant impact for children

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders lack focus on transition planning and helping children to prepare for adulthood. Children’s care planning lacks both measurable targets and the meaningful engagement of children in shaping plans for their own care. There are missed opportunities to involve children in a way that fosters positive relationships and mitigates risk. Inspection report for children’s home: 2663781 5 Additionally, there are no daily systems in place to monitor staff using their own vehicles to transport children, including daily compliance checks. On the day of inspection, a significant safeguarding concern relating to this was raised by inspectors. This is under investigation by managers. Since the assurance visit in January 2024, staff now have regular supervision that is reflective and promotes professional development. Staff report feeling supported, despite ongoing leadership changes. Inspection report for children’s home: 2663781 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them 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

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background and

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iv)(vi)) 1 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. 1 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2663781 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child and

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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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 that staff—

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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 and promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)) 1 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that— the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to— 1 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2663781 8 achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans and

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm and

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)) 25 February 2025

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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; and promotes their welfare.

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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 25 February 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2663781 9 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 research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

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)(c)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)) 1 April 2025

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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: 2663781 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 36 Magdalen Road, Oxford OX4 1RB

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Inspectors

Kelly Monniot, Social Care Inspector Becky Paradise, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2663781 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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