Children's home run by Oracle Care Limited in Central Bedfordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC378464 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.1

SC378464 Registered provider: Oracle Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care and support for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection there were three children living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 23 November 2022 and is suitably qualified.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC378464 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/05/2024 Full Good 11/09/2023 Full Good 06/07/2022 Full Good 10/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC378464 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children have made positive progress since moving to the home. Most notably, staff have been able to support children to reduce known risks and help these to be better managed, which has helped children to have an increased sense of stability and belonging. One child who has moved on since the last inspection said, ‘This is the only place that felt like home.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of children’s individual needs and have worked hard to develop positive relationships with children. Children can identify preferred staff members, and these staff tend to be more effective at encouraging children to engage in the support required to help them make progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are accessing education in accordance with their individual plans, and one child has made significant progress in engaging with education since moving to the home. This child’s social worker stated, ‘Staff push them, and they respond well to this. Finding somewhere that the staff are invested in them has been really important. It has worked out for them, and they have made great progress.’ The progress for two other children has been slower, and staff continue to try and motivate both children in their educational engagement.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are engaging positively in developing their independence and self-care skills, which is particularly well developed across the home. As a result, children will be better prepared to manage their own needs when they move on from the home and into their adult lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide positive support to children as part of planned moves, and this has helped children to be clear about expectations and have a positive experience of moving into the home. For one child, managers provided positive advocacy to help this child make a complaint to their placing authority after their belongings were moved in refuse bags. This led to a formal apology from this child’s placing authority and, importantly, demonstrated to the child that staff had listened and shared their concern.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has a poor sleep routine, as they spend too much time accessing technology during the night. Despite a written plan being developed, staff are not consistently implementing this. This undermines the ability of the staff team to encourage this child to adopt a healthier routine, meaning that this child is often very tired, which impacts on their engagement in other areas of their life. Staff need to be more aspirational for this child and recognise the importance of them having better routines.

p.3

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

Staff provide a range of positive support and guidance to children, which helps children to know that staff have their best interests in mind. Staff proactively plan targeted Inspection report for children’s home: SC378464 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.3

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

conversations with children, and they also make use of a wide variety of intuitive opportunities to provide the help and support that children need to be increasingly safe.

p.4

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

Staff know children well and have developed a good understanding of their individual needs, which enables staff to anticipate when children may require extra help or support.

p.4

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

Staff value the relationships they have built with children and take pride in helping children to find healthier ways of managing their behavioural needs and understanding their emotions.

p.4

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

One staff member undertook some planned work with a child over a prolonged period to help them to make connections with their self-regulation and the varying feelings and emotions that contribute to this. Consequently, this child has improved their ability to connect their feelings with a colour-coded strategy that reflects their state of mind.

p.4

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

External professionals praise the ability of staff to manage difficult risks and work as part of a team. One social worker said, ‘The staff provided a safe place for [name of child]. They were so knowledgeable about how to support them, they were always present with them, even sometimes being up for nights on end. This helped me to do my job, and together we made sure all the support was in place. It was always 100% effort from them.’

p.4

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

Children value the support that staff and managers provide to them. Staff regularly seek children’s feedback about their experiences of living in the home, which helps staff to understand how they may be able to enhance their support to children. When required, staff use natural consequences to help children make connections with how their actions impact on themselves and others.

p.4

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

On occasion, staff have needed to use physical interventions to keep one child safe. These have been appropriate and well managed. After these incidents, staff spent valuable time with this child, helping them to think about their own actions and, as a result, the decisions that staff had to make to keep the child safe. This transparency was important for helping this child to build trusting relationships with staff.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team is visible and engaging. Managers lead by example and have substantial professional backgrounds, using their skills and knowledge to be strong figures of support for staff and children. The support provided by managers has been fundamental to the progress that children have made. In particular, the confidence and resilience of managers helped to provide strong foundations for staff when one child’s needs became very difficult to manage.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff receive regular training and supervision. Staff also benefit from regular therapeutic consultations. This provides opportunities for clinical team supervision and Inspection report for children’s home: SC378464 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

has been important in helping staff to reflect on their own feelings. In addition, this support has helped develop the capacity of the staff team to connect children’s behavioural difficulties with their traumatic experiences earlier in their lives.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is generally positive, and staff have worked well together through periods of uncertainty. This was particularly apparent through a sustained period of difficulty supporting one child’s emotional and mental health needs. The staff team promoted safety and stability for this child, who was able to benefit from a positive ending and move on to their adult life. This would not have been possible without the united effort of the entire staff team.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Positive working dynamics in the staff team have been undermined by inconsistency regarding children’s day-to-day routines and individual plans. Despite several conversations between staff and managers, the agreements around one child’s access to technology have been particularly chaotic. Staff have, on occasion, put too much emphasis on information provided to them by this child and have lacked professional curiosity. Consequently, well-intended plans have been undermined.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A high number of staff feel they are not always included in decisions by managers. Managers only have a limited understanding of this, as staff have not been fully transparent about their concerns in team meetings or supervision. There is a risk of a closed culture developing if staff lose faith in the willingness of the management team to include them in day-to-day decisions about children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC378464 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.5

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.

p.6

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(a)(b)(e)(f))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure transparent decision-making between the management team and staff. This should promote consistency across the home and enable staff to make appropriate decisions relative to their roles in regard to children’s day-to-day care. The culture of the home should enable staff to be confident in sharing their views and if they disagree with any decisions being made. 30 January 2026

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; 30 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC378464 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

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;

p.7

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. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)(vi))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff help children to develop positive routines that will prepare them for adult life. This should include spending appropriate amounts of time on technology devices and promoting a healthy sleep routine. Staff should balance children’s rights to freedom and liberty of choice with staff’s wider caring responsibilities in determining what is in children’s best interests.

p.7

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: SC378464 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oracle Care Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suites 1 & 5, Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 0RN

p.8

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Samantha Mitchamson

p.8

Inspector

Ashley Edwards, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC378464 9 OFSTED USE ONLY

p.8

Inspector

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.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9