Children's Home run by Oakley House Kent in Kent

Inspection report for children's home: 2625170 1 Registered provider: Oakley House (Kent) 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

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to four children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been vacant since July 2024. The current manager has applied to register.

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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

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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: 2625170 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/05/2024 Full Good 03/05/2023 Full Good 11/07/2022 Full Good 05/04/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: 2625170 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of inspection, the home was having maintenance works carried out, and children were staying temporarily in another location close to the home. The other home children moved to is not registered, and the provider failed to notify the regulator of this move or how long the arrangement would be in place for. However, staff did support children to plan for this move and liaised appropriately with placing social workers. The inspector visited the temporary home to see the children, and one child who spoke to the inspector reported that they liked the temporary accommodation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy going on activities of their choice. They have a say in how they wish to spend their time. Staff support children with their individual interests, such as bead making, fashion and journaling. Children currently living in the home get on well and enjoy shared activities. This helps children to develop their social and emotional skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote opportunities for children to learn. When children have been out of education, staff have ensured time is scheduled in for learning. The two children in the home are receiving support to engage in education and plan for their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain relationships with family members. They work closely with children, their families and placing social workers to ensure children spend good- quality time with their parents. One child was supported to spend time with her father in Italy. This was a positive experience and helped the child reconnect with her Italian heritage and culture.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Planning for children’s future independence is well considered. Staff help children gain the skills and support they need for adulthood in a way that is engaging and accessible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, there was a period when the home was unsettled. Some children came to live in the home, and staff struggled to manage behaviours and live harmoniously as a group. As a result, not all children who moved out since the last inspection did so in line with their care plan. Staff did, however, work through this period of crisis to ensure that children moved in a planned way to more suitable placements. The children currently living in the home report feeling settled and well cared for.

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

Staff know how to safeguard children, and there are effective strategies in place to intervene to help children become safer. Children are also helped to understand their behaviour following incidents through restorative conversations. Consequently, this has had a positive impact on children, and they are assisted in restoring relationships following any conflicts or incidents. As a result, the number of incidents has been significantly reduced in recent months. Inspection report for children's home: 2625170 4 When allegations and complaints are made, they are reported to relevant safeguarding professionals, and any required investigations are prompt and thorough. Staff ensure that children are continually reassured and supported throughout this process. Furthermore, leaders and managers ensure that there is an appropriate response to concerns and that agreed plans are in place to promote children’s well-being. As a result,

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

children report feeling safe, and they have trusted adults to share any worries with.

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

The use of physical interventions has been reduced. Staff receive continual learning and support to be able to intervene early and find positive ways to support children who may be in distress.

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

Situations where children go missing from the home are well managed. Staff work effectively with the professional network to support children to return safely. As a result, children who were particularly vulnerable to exploitation in the community are now learning to be safer and seldom go missing from the home.

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

The home is generally settled, and children are supported to understand and respect boundaries. However, it was observed by the inspector that a child using bad language was not challenged or corrected by staff. A recommendation was made at the last inspection in response to a similar situation. This suggests that staff are not yet intervening effectively to support children to understand what is socially acceptable in terms of the language they use.

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

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement.

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

This area is judged as requires improvement to reflect a period of instability in the management arrangements of the home. This coincided with an unsettled period for children and resulted in children leaving in circumstances that did not align with their original care plans.

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

There has been some inconsistency in management in this home. Three managers and two responsible individuals have left. The current manager of the home has been in post since September 2024 and has taken effective steps to create a more stable environment for the two children currently living in the home.

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

The manager provides continued opportunities for staff to learn and develop. She has ensured that staff are now better equipped to support children to learn positive behaviours. Staff report that they feel well supported and say that the manager is approachable and accessible.

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

The manager has a good oversight of incidents and ensures that there is learning from them. She is supported well by the responsible individual of the home, and together, they have reviewed their admission processes to ensure that children who now come to live in the home do so in a well-planned way. As a result, the children living in the home currently are well matched and well cared for. Inspection report for children's home: 2625170 5 Staff and managers advocate well for children and work effectively in partnership with placing social workers. They ensure that children’s best interests are at the heart of care planning. External professionals are positive about the home and how they have established effective working relationships with leaders, managers and staff. One social worker said, ‘It is positive how much the staff advocates for [name of child]. The staff are very supportive in taking [name of child] to appointments out of area and doing

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

direct work with them. Workers are able to get the [name of child] to return home when missing.’

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

The independent visitor does not always visit the home when children are present. This means that they do not always seek children’s views to inform their assessment of the quality of care provided by staff. Inspection report for children's home: 2625170 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 requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

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

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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)(iv)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, when children come to live in the home, ensure that their needs can be met and are compatible with the group of children already living in the home. 18 July2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation (44)(1)(2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the independent visitor makes all reasonable efforts to talk to children to inform their view about the safety and welfare of children. 18 July 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2625170 7

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Recommendations

 The registered provider should ensure staff understand factors that affect children’s motivation to behave in a socially acceptable way. Staff should encourage an enthusiasm for positive behaviour through the use of positive behaviour strategies in line with the child’s relevant plans. This specifically relates to supporting children to understand how to use language in a way that is socially acceptable. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)  The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. In particular, Ofsted should be notified if children are moved out of the registered home for anything other than a holiday (unless this is for more than 28 days). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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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: 2625170 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oakley House (Kent) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3rd Floor, 86-90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE

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Inspector

Karen Flanagan de Martinez, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2625170 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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