Children's Home run by Goldenview Children Homes Limited in Bedford

Inspection report for children’s home: 2816169 1 Registered provider: Goldenview Children Homes 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

The home is owned by a private provider. It provides care for one child with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 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 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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2816169 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There was one child living at the home at the time of this inspection. No children have moved out of the home since the home opened in April 2025. The child spoke to the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have developed positive relationships with the child. They strive to ensure that the child attends activities they enjoy and enjoys time outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education and encourage the child to persevere with their education. Staff maintain effective communication with the child’s school to support their attendance and development. Staff support the child to develop age-appropriate independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff provide the child with individualised care. They seek the child’s opinions on household décor and activities planned. The child has a say in how their bedroom is designed and decorated, and, as a result, the child has a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s social worker is positive about the care provided to their child and the progress they are making. The positive relationships developed between them and the staff have contributed to the progress that the child has made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff do not always help the child to understand how their views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account. When decisions are made in the child’s best interests but are not in line with their views wishes and feelings, these are not always well explained. The child, as a result, does not always understand the reasons for decisions made. For example, the child wanted to go out to meet friends. However, professionals assessed this as a risk and prevented the child from going. The child was not consulted with or given the reasons, and this left them feeling confused and not listened to.

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

Staff understand their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. They ensure that the child is kept safe. The child said that they feel safe living at the home. Partner professionals are confident in the safeguarding practice at the home. The child’s social worker said that they had no concerns with how their child is cared for and safeguarded.

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

Staff complete the organisation’s mandatory safeguarding training. There have been no allegations made against staff. However, staff understand the whistle-blowing policy. They are confident in their roles and how to report and escalate any child protection concerns.

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

The children’s guide is child friendly and gives children a sense of what it is like to live at the home. The guide contains information to help children understand who to speak to if Inspection report for children’s home: 2816169 3 they are worried or if they need support outside the home. There have been no complaints. However, the child is aware of the complaints procedure and understands how to complain to external agencies if necessary.

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

There have been no physical interventions or missing-from-home incidents. Staff know the procedures to follow in the event of children going missing, and they are trained in physical intervention.

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

Managers failed to identify a medication recording error that did not result in harm to a child. However, such failures could result in administration errors if not identified and rectified without delay.

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

The suitably experienced manager is working towards a relevant level 5 diploma.

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

Leaders and managers do not always ensure that staff have appropriate experience, qualification and skills for their roles. Some staff have suitable experience caring for vulnerable children. However, some staff have been recruited in senior roles despite not holding relevant experience or qualifications. Leaders and managers do not have a clear or accurate workforce plan. The plan does not identify further training required for all staff currently working at the home; this means opportunities are missed to support staff development.

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

New staff have not always completed an appropriate induction, and most staff have not received one-to-one reflective supervision. This lack of appropriate induction and supervision undermines the manager’s ability to understand the strengths and development needs of their team. This limits the opportunities to reflect on practice and formally discuss and assess staff’s training needs.

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

When incidents occur, there are often delays in leaders and managers reviewing them. This means managers do not always have sufficient oversight of staff practice during incidents. Therefore, the ability to be responsive to incidents and opportunities to identify learning to reduce incidents are potentially missed.

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

Managers do not ensure that staff have access to children’s individual care plans and risk assessments. Staff do not receive clear and up-to-date guidance on how to support the child in difficult situations.

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

Managers have not ensured that safer recruitment checks required by regulation are always carried out prior to staff working at the home. On one staff recruitment file sampled, the staff member had been employed despite a missing employment reference and verification. This could leave children at potential risk of having unsuitable people caring for them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2816169 4 The manager has developed positive and supportive relationships with partner professionals, who describe good communication in place. Staff feel supported by the manager. Inspection report for children’s home: 2816169 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 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all incidents are reviewed by leaders and managers to monitor practice and identify any learning. 29 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1)(a) (4)(b)) 29 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, 29 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2816169 6 if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that medication recording errors are rectified without delay to prevent the risk of administration errors. 29 September 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Children’s placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff have access to children’s placement plans and risk assessments. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that staff recognise that a child may express wishes that are not always in their best interests or which may conflict with the views of other children in the home. In such circumstances, the responsible adults will have to balance the wishes of the child against what they judge to be in the best interests

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Recommendations

of the child and reach a reasonable view about the best way forward in the interests of all. The reasons for reaching any decision will need to be carefully explained to and understood by the child or children concerned. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 21, paragraph 4.9) Inspection report for children’s home: 2816169 7

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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: 2816169 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Goldenview Children Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Apartment 16, Philip Larkin House, 8-10 The Avenue, Bedford MK40 1EF

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Inspector

Anver Rose, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2816169 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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