Children's Home run by Benjamin UK Ltd in Milton Keynes

Inspection report for children’s home: SC391379 1 SC391379 Registered provider: Benjamin UK 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

A private organisation owns and manages this home. It provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, there was one child living in the home. The organisation also has a registered school, and teachers can provide bespoke education for children within the home environment in accordance with their individualised plans.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2023.

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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 good

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good

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

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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: SC391379 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/04/2024 Full Good 14/11/2023 Full Good 06/12/2022 Full Good 05/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC391379 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children have a good experience of living in the home and benefit from a range of positive activities and opportunities that create lasting memories for them. The experience of living in the home was a struggle for one child. When difficulties arose, leaders and managers made the right decision to support this child to move on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s educational needs are well understood and since moving to the home, most children’s level of engagement in education has improved. The home environment has a classroom which is linked to the organisation’s registered school, enabling children to benefit from bespoke one-to-one education. This is an effective strategy for some children who have experienced difficulties with engaging in education before moving to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met and provide positive support and encouragement to children to achieve this, for example attending appointments alongside children when they are anxious or helping to explain the healthcare that they require in a sensitive and nurturing manner. Staff act promptly when new health care needs emerge, and this enables children to access professional support without delay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from being looked after by a stable and dedicated staff team. The turnover of staff since the last inspection has been very low, and this has promoted stability for children and a strong sense of togetherness within the staff team. In addition, the range of diversity in the staff team enables children to benefit from different perspectives, and this promotes children’s understanding of diversity in the wider world.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move on from the home, staff promote positive endings and celebrate children’s achievements. Staff demonstrate a good understanding of how to capture information that helps children to understand their life story. The registered manager has maintained contact with several children who have moved on from the home, sustaining important connections that children have made with positive adult role models. This promotes a sense of belonging and acceptance for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

While staff aspire to provide the right support to children, there have been several occasions where staff have not engaged with children in the best way, and this has led to preventable incidents, for example staff spending too much time in the office instead of engaging and interacting with children. Leaders and managers are aware of this, but despite clear expectations, staff practice is not yet consistent, and, at times, this has had a negative impact on children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC391379 4

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

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding and take the right actions to ensure that children are kept safe. The stability of the staff team means that children can identify numerous trusted adults to seek help and advice from when required.

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

Staff benefit from therapeutically informed strategies, which help them to better understand children’s emotional and behavioural needs. Staff use this knowledge to provide effective direct support to children, enabling them to identify when they need help and the strategies that work best for them. The home therapist provides regular professional consultation for staff, and direct therapy for children when required.

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

When children going missing from the home, staff act promptly and work well with other safeguarding professionals to establish children’s whereabouts. A police officer praised the standard of care that one child has received since moving to the home, which has contributed to significantly improved outcomes and progress for this child.

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

Staff enable children to share their wishes and feelings when things do not go to plan. This helps children to think about the actions they take, and the impact this has on them and others. Staff are attuned to children’s emotional needs and are motivated to help children make positive decisions.

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

On the occasions when staff use physical restraint to keep children safe, this is undertaken for the least time possible. Staff instinctively seek to help children understand why this was necessary, sometimes spending substantial time with children to enable them to reflect and better manage their feelings. This also promotes strong communication and mutual understanding between staff and children. For example, children tell staff what made them unhappy, and staff can then use this information to consider alternative ways of supporting them in the future.

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

The registered manager has not consistently ensured that notifiable incidents have been made without delay, and some safeguarding incidents have not been notified. In addition to this, key information is sometimes absent from notifications, and this means that the full context is not well explained. This has had a negative impact on important regulatory oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The members of the management team have worked well to ensure that regulatory shortfalls identified in the previous inspection have been met. In addition to this, there have been several changes across the wider organisation to improve the consistency of care that staff provide for children, and to improve the actions they take to keep children safe. For example, a standardised resource folder provides clear instructions for staff to follow in relation to a range of safeguarding scenarios.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager demonstrates a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. The support that staff receive from managers, for example Inspection report for children’s home: SC391379 5 in supervision or team meetings, is strongly focused on identifying opportunities for staff to continually develop their practice. Consequently, there is a clear culture of professional curiosity in the home, which has a positive impact on the quality of care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When staff have not been able to support children to consistently make safe choices, leaders and managers assist staff to reflect on their care of children, and this is a strong motivator for staff to learn new approaches. The members of the management team are highly valued by the staff team and have an active presence in helping staff to provide the right care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff who join the home are carefully recruited, and this reduces the risk of unsafe adults working at the home. Staff benefit from a range of training opportunities and receive regular supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The morale and sense of togetherness in the staff team is high, and staff are strongly motivated to provide the best care for children. Despite this, the staff team experienced significant behavioural challenges while caring for one child, and this had a negative impact on staff confidence. Although senior managers provided positive support and reflection for staff, some staff remain anxious about new children moving into the home. Leaders and managers recognise that there is further work to be undertaken to support the staff team to move on from this period.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has not consistently ensured that the needs and background history of children moving into the home are fully explored. Consequently, this means that there have been missed opportunities to obtain important information about children’s presentation and progress from other professionals. Inspection report for children’s home: SC391379 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 registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii) 17 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC391379 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans. When accepting placements for children the registered person should consider gathering additional information from all professionals that know the child. (Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person is responsible for leading a team which provides high quality care for all children living in the home and should also play a key role in shaping the ethos of the home. The registered person should ensure that staff engage positively with children as much as possible and minimise the time they spend in the office. (Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards, page 52, paragraph 10.4)

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: SC391379 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Coach House, White House Court, Hockliffe Street, Leighton Buzzard LU7 1FD

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Claudette Rudman

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Inspector

Ashley Edwards, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC391379 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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