Children's home run by Oakley House Children’s Home Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2610935 1 Registered provider: Oakley House Children’s Home Limited

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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 run by a private provider and provides care for up to two children who experience social and emotional difficulties. Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2021

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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

Date of last inspection: 30 October 2023

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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: 2610935 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/10/2023 Full Good 04/10/2022 Full Good 15/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 05/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2610935 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home. Both children took part in the inspection. Since the last inspection, two children have moved out and two children have moved in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy at the home and enjoy living here. Staff are providing children with a sense of stability. One child has been at the home for two years. For another, this is their first experience of the care system.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to see family and other people who are important to them. They are helped by staff to maintain friendships and regularly have friends visit the home. This helps children develop and sustain connections and a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have worked hard to engage the children in education. When children are not accessing education, staff advocate for a school place for them or a bespoke education package. This has seen one child return to a mainstream education setting after not attending education for a significant period.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in a wide range of activities taking into account their individual likes and interests, such as go-karting, top golf, bowling and attending the gym. Staff focus on ensuring that calendar events, such as Christmas and birthdays, are made a special occasion due to children not previously having experienced this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are being met. Staff advocate and challenge professionals to get children support for their emotional well-being in a timely manner. When physical health concerns arise, staff act on these without delay.

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

Children are safer since moving to the home. Staff and managers have worked closely with multi-agency partners to achieve a reduction of individual risks for children. One child was at significant risk of exploitation, but this is no longer the case and they are engaged in post-16 vocational training.

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

At times, it has been necessary for staff to use restraint to prevent harm to staff and damage to the home. The incident records are detailed so that it is clear to see that holds have been proportionate and used for the shortest length of time necessary. Debrief discussions are held with children and staff to help identify triggers and any lessons learned.

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

When children have gone missing, they are safeguarded by the consistent approach that staff use to locate them. Staff search local and known areas, liaise with known associates and communicate effectively with external professionals. Incidents of going Inspection report for children’s home: 2610935 4 missing have reduced. Before moving to the home, one child regularly ran away. This has stopped since they moved in.

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

Some allegations have been made against staff since the last inspection. These have been managed well and information has been shared with the relevant professionals and timely action has been taken. This has helped demonstrate to children that their views will be listened to and taken seriously.

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

Staff spend time talking to children about many different areas of their lives. However, they do not always take available opportunities to discuss and explore some risks. This is a missed opportunity to help children learn how to manage situations and keep themselves safe.

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

The home is led by a suitably qualified manager who is supported by an experienced deputy manager. At times, the manager has been unable to be present in the home. On these occasions, the deputy manager has maintained the day-to-day running of the home, supported by the director.

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

Leaders and managers have not always ensured that important records in the home are kept up to date or capture risk effectively. This reduced oversight limits the opportunity for learning and identifying trends. In addition, on occasion children have been known to smoke in their rooms. This presents a fire risk. However, the fire risk assessment has not been reviewed by a competent individual since March 2021, potentially reducing effective safeguarding in relation to this aspect of health and safety.

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

The monitoring systems do not sufficiently explore the views of parents or children. This limits the manager’s ability to consider these views in relation to improving the quality of the service provided.

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

The statement of purpose for the home had not been shared with Ofsted or updated since May 2023. The document contained information that was outdated or gave conflicting messages to the approaches the home was using. This does not provide placing authorities with accurate information about the home.

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

Appraisals for staff are undertaken. However, these do not include feedback from professionals or children. This reduces the breadth of overview of the staff member’s performance and opportunities for the identification of areas for development.

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

Since the last inspection, several staff have left the home. Leaders and managers have worked directly with children and when needed, used a small group of temporary staff to maintain consistency and familiarity for the children. Several new staff have since joined the home; however, the team remains new and less experienced.

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

Feedback from social workers is positive about the support staff provide to the children, saying that this is evidenced in the positive progress they have made. Inspection report for children’s home: 2610935 5 The manager ensures that individual staff are spoken to promptly in relation to concerns about their practice. The manager identifies areas of learning and actions to prevent reoccurrence. These learning areas are shared with the wider team through discussions in team meetings. Inspection report for children’s home: 2610935 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 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

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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

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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

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)(f)(g)(ii)(h)) 18 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. 20 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2610935 7 (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff have the skills and confidence to communicate easily and understand the importance of listening to, involving and responding to the children they care for. In particular, ensure that staff take opportunities to have discussions with children that help them learn how to manage situations and keep themselves safe. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.10)  The registered person should ensure that annual appraisals take place and are recorded and accessible to the staff member and include, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits

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Recommendations

to the home as an independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. In particular, the independent person should report on the views of the children, their parents and relatives. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)  The registered person should ensure that a review of the fire risk assessment is undertaken by a competent individual to comply with relevant health and safety legislation. (‘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: 2610935 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oakley House Children’s Home Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 413 High Street, Stratford, London E15 4QZ

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Inspector

Naomi Starbuck, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2610935 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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Inspector

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