Children's Home run by Oaktree Childcare Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2682141 1 Registered provider: Oaktree Childcare Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2682141 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/04/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2682141 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s progress and experiences of living in the home are variable. One child is settled and staff have worked hard to reduce the risks to them, resulting in court- ordered restrictions being lifted. However, for another child, staff do not always respond appropriately when the child is struggling to manage difficult emotions. This has resulted in their emotional needs not always being met, which affects their experience of living in this home.

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improvement to be good

When children move into the home, they are welcomed sensitively and with care. When possible, staff visit the children beforehand and children have the opportunity to visit the home and meet staff. This supports children to start to build relationships with other children and staff before moving into the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to lead a healthy lifestyle. They support the children to attend regular routine and specialist health appointments. Staff encourage physical activities in and outside the home and provide the children with healthy, balanced meals. Children are given choices about menus and activities and are supported to understand health and nutrition.

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improvement to be good

When barriers to attending education have been identified, the registered manager works with external agencies to find a solution that works best for the children. This includes escalating his concerns to the child’s placing local authority when he feels their needs are not being met. One child now attends a full-time education provision. Staff are supporting another child to access learning in the home. This measure has been put in place while an appropriate solution is identified with regards arrangements for ensuring that the child be transported to their school provision.

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improvement to be good

Staff recognise and understand the importance of the children spending time with people who are important to them. Staff support and, when appropriate, supervise family time. This is important to the children’s sense of self and their identity.

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improvement to be good

The home is a warm and welcoming environment. Staff help children to personalise their bedrooms according to their individual tastes and interests. There are photos of the children and people who are important to them throughout the home.

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improvement to be good

There have been two significant incidents in the home when one child was distressed and displaying self-injurious behaviours. Staff actions were not effective in supporting the child’s emotional well-being, which has been acknowledged by the registered manager. The staff’s focus was on ensuring that the child engaged in their education Inspection report for children’s home: 2682141 4 session in the home rather than meeting their physical and emotional needs. This does not ensure the well-being of the child.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always follow the children’s individual risk assessments and support plans to manage behavioural incidents in the home. Staff have used strategies identified in one child’s plan as ‘triggers to their behaviour’ to manage that behaviour. As a result, the child’s behaviour escalated, and the child was physically held by staff on two occasions.

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improvement to be good

Physical intervention is not always used only as a last resort by staff. Records of incidents do not always show the action taken by staff to prevent the intervention. On at least one occasion, staff physically held one child when it was not necessary or proportionate to do so. On one occasion, staff restricted children’s liberty by locking the outside doors of the home to prevent a child from leaving.

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improvement to be good

Children’s individual risk assessments and support plans are not always updated to reflect new behaviours displayed by the children. This means staff do not have the most up-to-date information when caring for the children.

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improvement to be good

Staff carry out searches of the children’s bedrooms when it is necessary and proportionate to do so. They remove any items which could be harmful to children or others. However, when staff have carried out searches of a child’s bedroom, the action taken by staff to dispose of harmful items found is not recorded.

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improvement to be good

Children regularly receive praise and rewards for positive behaviour and achievements. Consequences are used infrequently, but when imposed they are appropriate. As a result, the children have clear boundaries and routines in place.

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improvement to be good

There has been one occasion when children have been missing from the home. Staff are proactive in their attempts to locate the children and return them safely home. Staff talk to the children about their experiences of going missing and they use this information to understand and reduce the risks that the children face.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager ensures that staff are recruited safely and that they receive a good induction.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to make a complaint. Staff discuss with children how to make a complaint confidentially. Complaint forms are readily accessible in the home. This means the children can make a complaint confidentially should they want to. When complaints have been made, these have been managed efficiently and appropriately. Records of complaints detail the action taken by the registered manager to resolve issues and evidence clear rationale for decision-making.

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

The registered manager has not had sufficient oversight of care practice in the home and has not always identified the shortfalls. When shortfalls have been identified, the registered manager has not taken steps to address these in a timely manner to improve the quality of care provided to the children. Leaders and managers are now taking the Inspection report for children’s home: 2682141 5 identified shortfalls in staff practice seriously and there is a plan in place to address them.

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

The quality of children’s records is inconsistent and records do not always reflect action taken by staff. This is a missed opportunity to capture the progress and experiences of some children, as well as to monitor the care provided by the staff.

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

Before children come to live at the home, the registered manager completes a risk assessment. This identifies known risks for the child and the children already living in the home. However, the registered manager has not considered the staff’s skills and experience to meet the child’s needs or consulted with the placing authority of the children already living in the home. This means all considerations about matching are not appropriately assessed.

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

Staff and the registered manager do not receive regular one-to-one supervision. The records of sessions that have taken place do not evidence in-depth discussions about the children or about staff’s learning and development. This is a missed opportunity for the staff to discuss the quality of care they provide to the children.

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

Staff say that the registered manager is approachable and supportive. They say that they enjoy coming to work and feel valued. When staff are new to the home, the registered manager provides them with an experienced mentor to support their learning.

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

Staff are provided with a wide range of training, including training specific to the individual needs of the children. The registered manager is keen to support staff to understand the underlying reasons for children’s behaviour and to develop their knowledge of how childhood experiences can negatively impact on children’s emotional well-being.

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

The registered manager communicates well with partner agencies and family members. External professionals say communication is ‘really good’ and they are kept well informed about children’s progress. The registered manager advocates effectively on children’s behalf. As a result, there is effective partnership working to benefit the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2682141 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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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—

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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;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(viii)(e)) 13 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 13 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2682141 7 within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(ii)(v)(vii)(viii))

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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 and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; 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) (2)(c)(f)(h)) 13 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 13 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2682141 8

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that a child’s bedroom is only searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission. Immediate searching may be necessary where there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the child’s or another person’s safety or well-being. A record should be kept of the action taken to dispose of any harmful items removed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)

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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: 2682141 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oaktree Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ground Floor, Seneca House, Links Point, Amy Johnson Way, Blackpool, Lancashire FY4 2FF

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Inspector

Leanne Carr, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2682141 10 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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