Children's Home run by Budwood Limited in Dorset

Inspection report for children's home: 2620261 1 Registered provider: Budwood Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private organisation. It provides care for up to two children who may have needs associated with social and emotional difficulties and/or have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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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: 2620261 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/07/2024 Full Good 01/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/10/2022 Full Good 27/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2620261 3

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improvement to be good

Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector spent time with both children. One child raised concerns about how staff were speaking to them and said that they were unhappy living in the home. However, they were seen to speak with staff in a happy and relaxed way. This child had experienced several upsetting incidents recently which were impacting on their emotional well-being, this may have led to them giving a more negative view. The other child was positive about the home and the experiences that they are having.

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improvement to be good

Staff too often accept that one child does not want to engage with activities that are on offer. They have been unable to use their relationships with the child to encourage them to engage with a variety of enriching activities. More could be done to ensure that children have close relationships with staff and that children spend time having a range of positive experiences. Staff have not used alternative strategies to build their relationships with this child, or to engage them in positive activities.

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improvement to be good

One child’s bedroom lacks personalisation and any decorations. More could be done to ensure that this child has a room that they can be proud of. Another child’s bedroom walls are painted a colour which they say they hate. Leaders and managers have not done enough to ensure that children’s bedrooms are spaces they can be proud of.

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improvement to be good

One child has a positive routine and aspires to attend college next term, which staff are supporting and encouraging. One child has made progress with the risks that they face, However, they are not consistently benefiting from a good standard of nurture. This child decided to stop their college course and is regularly isolating themselves in their bedroom and spending extended periods alone. Not enough action has been consistently taken by staff to reduce this isolation.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to engage with friends and family when this is safe and appropriate. Overnight stays with friends are positively happening for children.

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improvement to be good

Children’s stability is promoted; one child has lived in the home for nearly three years and another child has lived in the home for nearly 18 months. Children have set goals, and these are reviewed monthly. Children work towards semi-independence, and their progress is monitored and reviewed, this means that when children move on to semi- independence, they will have developed a range of skills which will help them with their next steps.

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improvement to be good

Inspection report for children's home: 2620261 4 Due to a member of staff’s inappropriate action, one child has been able to obtain paracetamol which they then misused. One external professional raised concerns about this incident. Follow-up conversations with the member of staff have taken place, however, consultation with the local authority designated officer was not completed despite there being serious concerns about this staff member’s actions. Some additional training has been recommended for this member of staff. However, action to prevent this happening is lacking.

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improvement to be good

When children misuse substances medical attention is sought at times, however the guidance to support staff with meeting this child’s needs is not robust. This means that staff are also not consistently clear on when to seek medical advice if they have concerns for a child. In addition, it is not clear that staff always increase their monitoring of children when there are concerns around substance misuse and alcohol.

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improvement to be good

Some significant conversations are taking place with children. However, these are not taking place regularly, and at times they are very brief. This means that opportunities to help children learn about issues which are important to them are missed.

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improvement to be good

When children are missing from home, staff make good efforts to stay in touch with them, search for them and follow protocols in relation to ringing the police. One child raised concerns that they do not receive a nurturing response from staff when they return from being missing. Incident report forms and management oversight following incidents do not effectively consider the response that children receive from staff, therefore clarity regarding the support children receive is lacking.

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improvement to be good

One incident of restraint has taken place since the last inspection. Staff action was proportionate, and appropriate follow-up conversations with the child took place.

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

A lack of purposeful management oversight has meant that opportunities to identify alternative ways to help a child make further progress have been missed. Recently, some new ideas to engage the child have been suggested by a therapist. However, staff have not been supported effectively to implement these and try alternative strategies to strengthen their relationships with this child.

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

Management oversight of significant incidents is poor, with a consistent lack of effective critical analysis around staff practice, which means that inconsistent staff practice has not been highlighted or addressed effectively.

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

Team meetings and supervisions take place regularly, and some important details about children are shared and considered. However, opportunities are missed to robustly explore how the team can improve their practice to support children to achieve best outcomes. In addition, there is a lack of reflection around significant incidents. This means that opportunities to reflect, share ideas and learn from incidents are missed. Inspection report for children's home: 2620261 5 One of the children raised concerns with the manager around the language used by another member of staff. This has been appropriately considered and followed up with the member of staff. There has been good reflection and learning from this, which has been embedded into wider staff practice.

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

Professionals report positively on the care provided in the home and the communication from the manager. Professionals consider that children have made progress in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2620261 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 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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)).

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff support children to have good routines in the home, and that children have regular access to a variety of stimulating activities. In addition, the registered manager must ensure that strategies to achieve this are reviewed when they are found to be ineffective. 1 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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to — 1 December 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2620261 7 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

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; 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must identify areas for improvement in staff skills when children’s needs are not being met or when children are not being kept safe.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have the skills and knowledge to help keep children safe. Managers and staff should have a sound understanding of safeguarding and the role of external professionals in helping to keep children safe. In addition, the registered person must ensure that when 1 December 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2620261 8 children present with risk-taking behaviours, staff carry out relevant work with them to help them learn about their risks, in line with their plans, and that children are effectively encouraged to abide by the rules in the home.

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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 have effective oversight of staff practice to ensure that they are adhering to children’s plans. Additionally, the registered person must have effective oversight of incidents in the home so that they understand how staff respond to children, allowing for learning and reflection. 1 December 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are regularly talking with children about the decoration of their rooms, to ensure these are personalised to their tastes (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.19)

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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: 2620261 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Malvern View, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove, Worcestershire B60 4AD

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Inspector

Minnette Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2620261 10 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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