Children's Home run by Oakland Support Services Ltd in Medway

Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 1 Registered provider: Oakland Support Services 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 home is privately owned and provides care for up to four children who may require support with their social, emotional or mental health needs. At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since November 2024 and was registered with Ofsted in May 2025.

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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 requires improvement to be 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

Date of last inspection: 14 January 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/09/2024 Full Inadequate 07/03/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There has been a strong focus on making improvements to the service. As a result, there is a better quality of care for the child living in the home, and staff are well supported. Managers and staff demonstrate a calm, natural approach and a determination to support the child through their individual challenges and to improve the child’s longer- term outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff employ humour and positive communication as a strategy to help the child to manage their day with a structured routine and, when necessary, to de-escalate situations when the child is upset.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home. They were supported to move to semi-independent living. This has been a challenging time for the child. Managers have continued to offer support to the child that has been both practical and emotional.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have built strong, trusting and respectful relationships with the current child. These meaningful connections have provided the child with a sense of emotional security and stability. This has enabled the child to better understand their past experiences and move forward with greater confidence and resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s social worker said that the child has been supported through a consistent, compassionate and flexible approach. They noted that this has empowered the child, helping them to develop a stronger sense of control and trust in the adults around them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take immense pride in the child’s progress and consistently celebrate their achievements. A visual chart is used to provide structure and predictability throughout the day, which has been instrumental in helping the child to feel settled and secure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is actively engaged in tracking their own progress. They use the chart to measure their success and are positively motivated by the opportunity to choose their own rewards. This approach not only reinforces positive behaviour but also fosters a growing sense of independence, self-worth and motivation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to enjoy a wide range of activities. For example, the child has been helped to develop their interest in horses by accessing animal care in an educational environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in supporting children’s education. The current child has been helped to overcome personal barriers and started engaging in sessions with a visiting tutor. Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 4

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improvement to be good

On one occasion, a concern raised by a previous child was not appropriately escalated to the relevant professionals, and the associated risks were not fully assessed to determine the necessary safeguarding actions. Since then, there has been a marked improvement. Managers and staff now have a clearer understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities. Risk assessments are now well developed, individualised and regularly reviewed.

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improvement to be good

Following any incident, staff engage the child in reflective conversations to help them understand what happened and support them in learning from the experience. This approach has contributed to the child becoming more self-aware and developing healthier coping strategies.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, there have been notable improvements in the protocols for responding when a child goes missing from the home. Staff have received clear guidance to ensure that children are supported to stay safe, and incident forms are now completed to a higher standard. However, prior to the implementation of the new protocol, some records were incomplete, making it unclear what actions staff had taken to safeguard children during those incidents.

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improvement to be good

Staff regularly talk to children about everyday risks, including how to stay safe online. This is helping to build children’s awareness and understanding of their vulnerabilities and how to stay safe.

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improvement to be good

Managers have introduced a robust procedure for recording and reviewing physical interventions to ensure that they are necessary and proportionate. However, not all staff have received training in the home’s approved method of restraint, which presents a gap in consistency and safety.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have made considerable efforts to recruit suitable staff and to carefully plan for new children moving into the home. However, while the impact of new children joining the home has been considered, not all potential risks posed between children have been fully assessed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are deeply committed to the care and well-being of children. Despite facing significant challenges since the last inspection, they have worked tirelessly to prioritise support for both staff and the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Throughout a difficult period, managers and staff have demonstrated resilience and adaptability. They have managed the children’s high levels of vulnerability and complex needs. Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 5 Managers place strong emphasis on supporting staff, beginning with a thorough induction process and continuing through regular supervision sessions, team meetings and ongoing training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although there has been a high turnover of staff, managers have used this as an opportunity to strengthen the team and foster a child-centred culture. One staff member commented, ‘This is one of the best companies I have worked for.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is well organised and has implemented effective systems for oversight and monitoring of children’s care. They have a clear understanding of the service’s strengths and areas for development, and they are ambitious in their plans to continually improve the home. This includes enhancing data analysis to better understand the root causes of children’s behaviours, and identify when specialist support may be needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When external support has been delayed, managers have actively challenged these delays and sought interim solutions to ensure that children’s needs are met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 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 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

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;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii) (b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that safeguarding concerns and incidents are reported to the appropriate professionals for review, and that follow-up action is taken to protect to children from the identified risk. 31 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 7 The registered person should ensure that staff have completed the appropriate mandatory and specialised training to support children safely and meet their needs.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records detail all individual incidents when children go missing from the home (regulation 36 (schedule 3(14)). This information should be shared with the placing authority and, where appropriate, with the child’s parents. Evaluation of incidents when children go missing from the home should be undertaken to identify any gaps in records around what action was taken, training, skills or knowledge for staff, or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 9.31)  The registered person should ensure that assessments completed to inform decisions about children coming to live in the home capture how their needs, risks and the potential impact of children on each other have been considered. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph

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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: 2721681 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oakland Support Services Ltd

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Inspector

Shirin White, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 9 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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