Children's Home run by Benjamin UK Ltd in Buckinghamshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC067757 1 SC067757 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

The home is owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional and difficulties. At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 2024.

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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: 2 September 2024

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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: SC067757 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/09/2024 Full Good 19/12/2023 Full Good 09/08/2021 Full Inadequate 04/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC067757 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children have made good progress since moving to the home. One child has recently moved on and made positive progress during the time they lived in the home. Since the last inspection, another child has also left the home after several years and returned to live with their family in accordance with their preferred care plan. Staff celebrated both moves with pride and created positive endings for children, helping them to reflect on the journeys they have been on over the time they lived in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite good intentions, one child did not make progress during the time that they lived in the home. Following a sustained period of unwanted behaviour, the child was supported to move to an alternative home. This had a negative impact on staff and other children. More recently, the members of the staff team have been able to stabilise the day-to-day arrangements in the home, and consequently, both children currently living in the home are much more settled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children living in the home attend education. Staff advocacy and encouragement enabled one child to return to school in line with their wishes and feelings. During this process, staff adopted a sensitive approach to supporting the identification of a specialist school that could meet this child’s needs, while replicating as much as possible a mainstream environment. This helped the child to know that their voice and preferences were respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff speak with passion about their role supporting children, and the privilege of guiding them through emerging life events. Children have benefited from a stable and consistent staff team and can identify preferred adults to seek help from when required. Despite this, several established members of staff are leaving the home imminently, and although this is for appropriate reasons unrelated to their work commitments, managers recognise that this may cause some short-term disruption.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s records and experiences are recorded in a first-person narrative, alongside this staff create meaningful memory books, which are given to children when they move on from the home. Children benefit from a range of positive experiences during their time in the home, and both children recently went on a holiday and created valuable memories with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Following a substantial period of stability, one child’s move to the home coincided with a period of unfamiliarity within the staff team, as they struggled to respond to their presenting needs. Staff practice at times did not demonstrate a sound understanding of child development and trauma-informed care, consistent with the organisation’s preferred approach. The child subsequently moved on from the home as managers recognised that they could not provide the care that this child required. Inspection report for children’s home: SC067757 4

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

Staff support children to maintain relationships with their birth families and help them to understand their journey into care. For one child, this included positive life-story work and follow-up therapy. This has enabled important opportunities for this child to talk about their feelings and emotions.

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

Staff provided empathetic care and sensitivity towards one child following a close family bereavement and have also identified an appropriate organisation that will be able to offer specific support to this child. In addition, this child has benefited from regular therapy to support them around the management and understanding of their emotional triggers and making healthy choices in their life.

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

Staff engage children in meaningful conversations, covering thematic topics reflecting children’s individual needs. Staff use their initiative to help children to learn following difficult events. Both children benefit from access to an organisational well-being officer, who has offered good support and advice around sleep hygiene, healthy eating and vitamins and minerals. All staff receive a wide range of training to support their care of children, including training in dialectical behavioural therapy, a form of psychotherapy that is part of the organisation’s preferred approach and statement of purpose.

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

Despite staff having therapeutic training, this is not always demonstrated in their day-to- day practice. For example, some staff could not understand the relationship and trust- building opportunities provided by carrying out a simple daily routine relating to a personal hygiene task on behalf of a child, feeling this was not a suitable use of time or resources. This undermined the approach that the manager had initiated to try and show this child that the staff team had the best aspirations for them and create some foundations to build staff relationships with the child.

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

During a two-month period since the last inspection, staff did not carry out their duties to the best of their ability, frequently struggling to respond appropriately to one child’s emotional and behavioural needs. This led to several police-callouts and some staff expected the police to adopt a punitive approach towards the child. This contradicted the wider organisation’s therapeutic approach and demonstrated that staff did not fully understand the child’s behavioural needs or implement their training as required.

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

Leaders and managers recognise that in the face of emerging difficulties staff have not used physical interventions when proportionate and necessary, leading to incidents unnecessarily escalating. For example, staff have relied too much on the police or not taken effective action to prevent unauthorised children from repeatedly accessing the home, impacting on the quality of care that children have experienced. As a result of this, staff confidence has been undermined following these incidents, and this infringed on children’s sense of stability. Inspection report for children’s home: SC067757 5

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

The foundations of good leadership are not consistently in place. This has been particularly apparent when the management team has been away from the home, such as for planned annual leave. During one period, both the registered manager and deputy manager were on short-term leave at the same time, and the covering manager from another home in the organisation was not realistically able to cover two homes while carrying out their existing responsibilities. This led to a deterioration of well-established household routines and compromised existing positive relationships between staff and children.

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

The home’s manager leads by example, but on occasions, this direct approach has impacted on their ability to carry out all their competing responsibilities, and this has impacted on leadership and management oversight across the home. For example, regulatory notifications have consistently not been sent in a timely manner, despite a previous shortfall in this area, and some notifications lack sufficient detail.

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

An over-reliance on the police to help manage children’s behavioural needs has undermined the capacity and confidence of the staff team to consistently provide the care that children need; this had the biggest impact during a specific two-month period. Following valuable post-incident learning, some staff shared concerns about the impact of allegations, and this prevented them from carrying out their duties in accordance with the expectations of their respective roles.

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

Managers have tried to implement appropriate routines and relevant safety plans following difficulties in the home, although the effectiveness of this has been limited and staff have not been able to consistently put these strategies into practice. This has undermined the ability of the management team to promote consistency across the wider staff team, and in turn, this has caused instability for children.

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

The management team has been proactive in seeking to learn from unplanned endings and difficult incidents in the home. Staff supervision records and recent team meetings reflect a desire to improve and appropriate curiosity by staff and managers to understand what could improve. During an isolated month, very few staff received supervision, and this was related to insufficient management cover.

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

At times, staff do not demonstrate child-focused practice, and decisions taken to support children have not been influenced by the therapeutic principles that the members of the staff team have consistently implemented in the past. Leaders and managers recognise there are shortfalls in staff practice and are motivated to provide additional training and learning opportunities for the staff team to enhance their confidence and knowledge. Inspection report for children’s home: SC067757 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 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. (Regulation (40)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is repeated. 22 September 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; 22 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC067757 7 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; 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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are effectively safeguarded. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff take effective action to minimise the opportunity for children placed elsewhere in the organisation to access the home. All staff should have a consistent approach outlining the actions they must take in such circumstances.

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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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(e)(f)(h)) 22 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC067757 8 In particular, the registered person must ensure that there is suitable management cover for periods when they are away from the home, such as planned annual leave. Senior leaders should consider the proportionality of having more than one manager off at any given time, and the capacity of any covering manager to provide practical support, by taking into consideration their existing responsibilities.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff fully understand their day-to-day responsibilities, including appropriate escalation protocols, such as proportionality around when to call the police to support with children’s behavioural needs. Leaders and managers should be able to demonstrate how staff have considered and balanced any safeguarding decisions they make to promote children’s welfare. 22 September 2025

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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: SC067757 9

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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: SC067757 10 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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