Children's home run by Buckinghamshire Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2611447 1 Registered provider: Buckinghamshire Council

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is a local authority children’s home, registered to provide care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties up to the age of 18. There were three children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2024.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 6 February 2024

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2611447 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/02/2024 Full Good 07/02/2023 Full Outstanding 18/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2611447 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good, individualised care and support, and staff understand the children’s day-to-day experiences. Staff practice is reflective and there is a review of children’s time in the home when they move out of the home either in a planned or unplanned way. This supports staff learning and identifies any lessons learned.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel at home and have developed secure relationships with staff. One child said that he felt comfortable with staff, because staff helped him, respected him for who he was and allowed him to be himself. Staff’s nurturing approach helps children to settle in quickly. One child, who recently moved into the home, has started developing trusting relationships with staff. The child’s social worker said, ‘This is the most I have seen him (the child) open up to anybody.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are in education and there is effective collaboration between the home and school staff. Children are in good physical health and staff support them to attend their primary healthcare appointments. The staff have good links with specialist mental health services, which means that there is little delay in accessing support for children, when needed.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are taken into consideration when planning for their future. One child was supported to move to foster care, while remaining in contact with the staff at the home. This was in line with the child’s wishes and feelings. The key worker supported the child with introductions and continues to support the foster carers when needed. This has helped the child to settle in their new foster home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to complain and when they do, this is taken seriously. The manager is proactive in organising meetings with children to understand their experiences and come to a fair resolution.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children are well prepared for independence. This includes supporting children to budget, do their own shopping, cook their own food, do their laundry, use transportation independently, and accessing community resources.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s diversity and cultural needs are well promoted and respected. For example, a child was supported to explore his curiosity about another religion and observed related celebrations.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is a local authority home and family time is managed by the social work teams. Staff encourage positive relationships between children and their families by natural day to day conversations and in key work sessions.

p.3

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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2611447 4 Staff help to keep children safe and have a good understanding of the children’s risks and vulnerabilities, and how to support them. Children’s care and behavioural support plans are completed with the children. This helps children to better understand their feelings and reasons behind their behaviours. It encourages reflective discussions between children and staff about the support children need.

p.4

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

Children perceive staff’s presence as a safety net when they experience distress, anger and unwanted behaviours. Children trust staff to support them, whether by requesting a hug or wanting ‘to be left alone’. Children know that staff are there for them.

p.4

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

Key work sessions are informative for children and explore topics related to family relationships, education, emotional well-being, safe relationships, sexual health, bullying, diversity, missing from home, keeping safe on-line and independent living. The direct work with children is tailored to their individual needs and it is recorded in a way that the children can understand. This increases children’s understanding of their lived experiences at the home, should they wish to access their records later in life.

p.4

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

Allegations, physical intervention and missing from home incidents are low in this home. When these happen, they are addressed in line with the risk assessments in place. This includes debriefs with children and staff, alongside reparation work if the children’s relationship with staff was affected.

p.4

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

There was a medication error since the last inspection. The manager addressed this appropriately, and there was no impact on the child’s health.

p.4

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

There is effective multi-agency collaboration to help and protect the children living at the home. Safeguarding incidents are shared and discussed with professionals, such as the local authority designated officer, social workers and the police. However, one incident involving an allegation against a member of staff was not reported to the relevant agencies, including Ofsted. The management team dealt with this incident through an internal investigation. There is evidence of learning from this incident for both staff and the management team.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is efficiently managed by a strong permanent manager. The manager is supported by a suitably experienced responsible individual. The responsible individual visits the home once a week to support the registered manager and the staff.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager, the responsible individual and staff, all have high aspirations for the children. This is demonstrated in practice, whereby staff and managers create opportunities for children to attend education, engage in their preferred activities and hobbies, visit their favourite holiday venues, improve their relationships with their families, create new relationships and achieve their dreams. Inspection report for children’s home: 2611447 5 The registered manager knows the children well and talks passionately about their progress. She is a strong advocate for the children and has successfully advocated for a child’s wishes and feelings to move into foster care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager’s management style is child centred. She has a good balance between supporting the children and staff at the same time, while prioritising the children’s needs.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The culture of the home is characterised by positive and supportive work relationships. Staff feel valued and listened to. The registered manager recognises the emotional impact on staff, and staff receive individualised support in this respect.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Induction and training are effective. Staff say that the training provided by the home helps them to safely care for the children. Additional external training is commissioned to support staff’s individual professional development. The registered manager and staff receive regular supervision and appraisals, which are recorded clearly and in a timely manner.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has good monitoring systems in place. However, the last quality of care review did not address feedback from children or actions that the manager considered necessary to improve the care provided for children. The registered manager and the responsible individual have reflected on this to make future improvements. Inspection report for children’s home: 2611447 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirements Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4) (c)) 30 April 2025

p.6

Requirements Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

p.6

Requirements Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

p.6

Requirements Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

p.6

Requirements Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (2)(a)(b)(c)) 30 April 2025

p.6

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: 2611447 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Buckinghamshire Council

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Inspector

Claudia Poienar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2611447 8 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8