Children's Home run by Action for Children Services Ltd in Buckinghamshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC424103 1 SC424103 Registered provider: Action For Children Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a short-break service run by a national charitable organisation. The home can care for up to eight children at any one time. A total of 22 children are currently accessing the service. The children have special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), with associated physical, health and sensory impairment and/or complex multiple needs.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were accessing the service at the time of inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC424103 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/08/2024 Full Good 04/01/2024 Full Good 22/02/2023 Full Good 02/06/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC424103 3

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy being at the home. Staff are fond of the children and are dedicated to meeting their needs.

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improvement to be good

However, staff are not consistently supporting the children to have a wide range of positive experiences that lead to progress.

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improvement to be good

Children are not always supported and enabled to engage in meaningful activities after school. During the inspection, one child spent all afternoon sitting on the sofa, with minimal interaction with staff and peers. Another child spent all their time on a tablet computer. The lack of planned and meaningful activities limits the opportunities for children to develop creative expression, social interaction and independence skills.

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improvement to be good

Care plans for the children are not detailed or clear. Due to the poor quality of planning and case recording, staff do not consistently understand what needs to be achieved to support each child’s progress. One child has poor sleep hygiene, which has been an ongoing concern. However, managers and staff have not reflected on and considered an alternative way of working with the child.

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improvement to be good

Children’s records do not include their up-to-date education, health and care plans. This means that staff are not aware of the children’s broader needs, goals and targets, and therefore how they can support them towards achieving the desired outcomes.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the children’s health needs and ensure that the necessary arrangements are made to support their medical requirements.

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improvement to be good

Managers use a standard risk assessment for each child to consider their medical, sensory and language needs. However, these assessments lack the necessary individualisation and do not provide detailed guidance and the specific actions to take in response to behavioural incidents. This means that the impact of incidents on children is not fully considered. For one child, staff are using restrictive practices to ensure the child’s safety while they are in bed. However, managers had not recognised that this practice required a personalised risk assessment, developed in collaboration with external agencies.

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improvement to be good

Appropriate policies are not in place to review and regularly update individual risk assessments. This means that there are no clear arrangements to consider whether restrictive practices, for example, could be modified as children develop and their needs Inspection report for children’s home: SC424103 4 change. The current approach is insufficiently responsive and does not focus on the needs or well-being of the child.

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improvement to be good

The home does not have a clear policy for noting any injuries or marks on children and then recording this in children’s individual files. This means that staff do not routinely record when children have marks and bruises and also means that there is no opportunity to monitor safeguarding concerns in or outside of the home, leaving children vulnerable to risks.

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improvement to be good

There are no concerns regarding children going missing from the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff have been able to manage children’s distress by using careful and calm conversation to divert the children’s behaviour. They have not needed to use physical restraint when children’s behaviours have been unsafe.

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

The home has a long-standing team of staff who are dedicated and committed to achieving the best outcomes for the children. However, the current culture in the home does not promote high expectations for staff, and this, in turn, has lowered expectations for the children. Staff do not feel supported in delivering high-quality care. Leaders and managers are not sufficiently ambitious for children and are not ensuring that all staff are equipped to provide care that supports children’s progress and development.

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

The shortfalls identified during the inspection demonstrate that the registered manager is not fully aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the team and has not implemented appropriate plans to address areas of concern. As a result, they have not been able to take decisive actions to promote children’s safety and well-being.

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

Managers are not proactive in reviewing care plans and risk assessments. Managers and leaders do not have clear and established communication with families and external agencies. This means that they are not challenging external agencies appropriately to ensure that children’s needs are met and that relevant plans are updated to support the children’s care.

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

Staff supervision sessions are not consistently completed and do not provide reflective practice that enhances the care that staff provide to children.

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

The home has a communication book between parents and staff for all the children. However, this is not used consistently. One parent was unhappy with the lack of communication and the lack of activities available for their child at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC424103 5

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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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s plans consistently provide clear guidance for staff on how to meet each child’s needs. 20 November 2025

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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; 20 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC424103 6 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. (Regulation 12 (1)(a) (2)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 30 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(i)(ii)(v)) 20 November 2025

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills. 20 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC424103 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

develop the child’s interests and hobbies;

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Requirement Due date

participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences; and

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Requirement Due date

make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. In particular, ensure that staff have the skills and knowledge to communicate with all children to gain their views. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: SC424103 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Action For Children Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 The Boulevard, Ascot Road, Watford WD18 8AG

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Inspector

Shaheda Dhandia, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC424103 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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