Children's Home run by Oxfordshire County Council in Oxfordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1244426 1 Registered provider: Oxfordshire County Council

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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 children’s home is run by a local authority. It cares for up to six children with social, emotional or behavioural difficulties. The home provides short-term care for a period of assessment.

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Information about this children’s home

There were no children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered in October 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered provider has recently appointed a new responsible individual, and we are currently checking this person has the relevant capacity, experience and skills to carry out the role.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: This home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 17 and 18 June 2025. Due to serious concerns about the leadership Inspection report for children’s home: 1244426 2 and management of the home, a compliance notice was issued in relation to serious concerns about leadership and management. A monitoring visit was completed in August 2025, and due to insufficient progress, the compliance notice was reissued. Inspection report for children’s home: 1244426 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/06/2025 Full Inadequate 04/12/2024 Full Good 03/07/2023 Full Good 15/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1244426 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

One child has recently moved out of the home at short notice. The care provided by staff had not improved sufficiently since shortcomings were identified at the last inspection and in the more recent monitoring visit. Consequently, the care experienced by the child was not good enough. The child had not had any informal learning, education opportunities or a structured daily routine. This lack of consistency and routine contributed to further instability in the child’s life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child continued to go missing from care and experienced repeated negative incidents within the community, which necessitated frequent police involvement. Due to the significant nature of these involvements the child needed to move from the home in an unplanned manner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Since the previous inspection, the home has undergone some refurbishment, resulting in a warm and welcoming environment. Staff have made efforts to enhance the living space, including the development of both a therapeutic room and a games room. The children’s bedrooms have been refreshed with new bedding and thoughtful welcome gifts, further contributing to a more nurturing and homely atmosphere.

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

Staff have failed to establish and maintain relationships with the child that are safe, respectful and nurturing. The child has not been kept safe since the last inspection and risks for the child remained until they moved out.

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

Staff have raised a number of concerns about poor staff conduct, including the safeguarding of children. On one occasion, a member of staff used derogatory language towards children on multiple occasions, which led to whistle-blowing by colleagues. The response to this concern has been poorly managed: the staff member under investigation was permitted to work with children in another home without any risk- reduction measures being implemented. This decision reflects a lack of management oversight and a failure to adhere to established safeguarding procedures. The decision to allow this member of staff to work with other children places those children at potential risk and, given that the investigation was ongoing at that point, places the member of staff at risk of further allegations, substantiated or otherwise, being made. Furthermore, the arrangements made in relation to this matter have not been transparently shared

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

with the local authority designated officer.

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

Managers say that they do not feel sufficiently empowered to challenge senior leadership when safeguarding concerns arise with staff as they are not always included in crucial communications from senior leaders. This culture of limited accountability and information-sharing undermines the principles of child protection and professional responsibility and so limits the capacity of staff and managers to appropriately safeguard children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1244426 5 Staff assessed the risks for the child. These included the assessment of the child being at risk of harm when missing from home. This reflects a proactive and preventative approach to safeguarding and well-being. However, the manager has not put in place a child sexual exploitation or child criminal exploitation assessment tool to assist the staff to consider these risks for the child and to plan appropriately.

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

Staff have undergone training to help them to better understand risks and how to work with children to safeguard them and meet their needs. Staff say that they have found the training very helpful and so feel more confident about working with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Although managers have made progress since the last inspection, they have not been effective in safeguarding the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has successfully taken action to address the shortfalls in leadership and management identified by the compliance notice. There has been encouraging progress in the staff approach to care planning and children moving into the home in the future. The referral panel has been refined to discuss and plan children’s moves, to allow decisions to be made with careful consideration. The decision to involve the clinical psychology team in the moving-in process in future is a positive development. It is particularly positive that the manager is now able to exercise their autonomy to decline referrals that do not align with the staff’s skill set or the needs of any children who might be already living in the home. This positive change demonstrates a commitment to maintaining stability and quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Another constructive step is the development by the manager of an audit tool to monitor children’s progress and inform future planning. It is designed to support a more structured and evidence-based approach to care and development. While new and positive processes and structures are being implemented by staff, these have not yet been tested to assess the effectiveness of caring for children and so their impact is inevitably limited at this point.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff supervisions are not being completed in a way that addresses safeguarding concerns. There is a lack of clear action planning to help staff understand identified shortfalls and how to improve practice. This undermines the development of a safe and reflective workforce.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Additionally, safeguarding concerns raised during team meetings are not being accurately documented. Records fail to reflect the depth of discussion or the agreed outcomes, which compromises accountability and the ability to monitor progress effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has not received appropriate supervision in a timely manner, which has contributed to a lack of awareness regarding key safeguarding concerns. This gap in support and oversight has weakened the manager’s ability to respond effectively to emerging risks. Inspection report for children’s home: 1244426 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— that staff—

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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

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

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vi)(vii)(b)(e)) 8 December 2025

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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 8 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1244426 7 promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(c)(e)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— mutual respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; 8 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1244426 8 communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii(viii)(ix)(x)(xi)(b))

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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. 8 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1244426 9 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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose; protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(v)(vi)(ix))

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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

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 40 (c)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 30 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1244426 10

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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: 1244426 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Oxfordshire County Council, County Hall, New Road Oxford OX1 1ND

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Inspector

Shaheda Dhandia, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1244426 12 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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