Children's home run by Oaktree Childcare Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2550082 1 Registered provider: Oaktree Childcare Limited 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 provider. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND).

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home and was spoken to by the inspector.

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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 good

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good

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

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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: 2550082 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/08/2024 Full Good 25/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/04/2022 Full Good 18/11/2021 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 2550082 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living at the home continues to make good progress. There is considerable evidence of change and improvement, which is directly attributed to the care provided to the child by staff. Staff support the child to understand and process the impact of their childhood experiences. Previous restrictions implemented for the child’s safety are no longer in place due to the progress made. As a result, the child can enjoy more freedom independently and safely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoys positive relationships with staff who know them well. Staff are a constant source of positivity and reassurance for the child. They encourage the child to set future goals and support them to achieve their aspirations. The child and staff provide one another with regular appreciation notes that are displayed at the home. The child enjoys a range of activities with staff, both inside and outside the home, and staff support the child to join clubs so that they can pursue their chosen hobbies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s views, wishes and feelings are listened to and acted on by staff. Staff advocate on the child’s behalf and support the child to attend multi-agency meetings and share their views with professionals about their care. As a result, the child is spending quality time with people who are important to them, socialising in their wider community and making meaningful childhood memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is in good health and has no outstanding health needs. Staff support the child to attend regular routine and specialist health appointments. The child is provided with healthy, balanced meals and is encouraged to develop healthy habits that they will be able to sustain after leaving the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When barriers to the child attending education were identified, the registered manager implemented one-to-one tutoring at the home for a period, while working effectively with external professionals to source an appropriate provision to meet the child’s educational needs. As a result, the child now attends school and is due to sit GCSEs later in the academic year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to engage in the community. This includes volunteer work and raising money for local charities and the child’s chosen activity clubs. Consequently, the child is learning how to contribute positively to society.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a welcoming environment and has a homely feel. There are photos of the child enjoying a range of activities with staff throughout the home. The child has created a vision board that includes all their future goals and aspirations. The child has been involved in significant purchases and renovations at the home, demonstrating that their opinion is heard and valued by staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2550082 4

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

The presenting risks for the child have significantly reduced since living at the home. Staff have a good understanding of childhood trauma and use this knowledge to inform their care of the child. There are safety and support plans in place, co-produced alongside the child, with detailed guidance for staff to follow.

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

Staff complete extensive direct work with the child to support them to keep themself safe. The child also completes online courses to further develop their knowledge and understanding of community and online-based risks. As a result, the child now enjoys spending time online and in the community socialising with friends safely.

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

The child has difficulties in managing their emotions. The child has been involved in creating emotion cards that support them to communicate their feelings with staff during periods of crisis. Staff are supporting the child to understand difficult emotions and are providing positive strategies to manage these. Consequently, the number and severity of incidents are reducing.

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

There has been one occasion when the child was missing from the home. Staff immediately followed the child’s individual missing-from-home plan. Staff were proactive in trying to find the child. Records of the incident are detailed and include the actions taken by staff to locate and return the child home safely.

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

The registered manager and staff use research-informed practice that helps them understand the child’s behaviours and adjust how they care for the child to meet their needs. Staff use warmth, encouragement and humour to get the best out of the child. Consequences are rarely used, but when implemented, they are appropriate and proportionate to the behaviour displayed.

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

Physical intervention practice is variable. There have been six occasions when the child has been physically held by staff. On one occasion, the child was held when it was not necessary or proportionate to do so. On a second occasion, there was a delay in staff physically intervening to protect the child from potential harm. The level of scrutiny by the previous manager was not sufficient in identifying and addressing these shortfalls. Since the new registered manager and responsible individual have been in post, there has been a focus on staff development around the use of physical intervention and behaviour management. Consequently, there has been an improvement in the consistency of staff responses and there have been no recent physical interventions.

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

Leaders and managers do not always follow safer recruitment processes. They did not complete overseas checks for one member of staff, or ensure that references were verbally verified for two members of staff prior to them working at the home. This does not ensure that only suitable people work at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there have been significant changes in the leadership and management of the home. Following the departure of the previous registered manager, Inspection report for children’s home: 2550082 5 an interim manager was in post for a brief period. The current registered manager and responsible individual have been in post since December 2024 and November 2024, respectively. The registered manager and responsible individual are child-focused and have high expectations of staff. The registered manager leads by example and is aspirational about the child’s future. Together, they are driving improvement in the quality of care provided to the child living at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are some shortfalls in management’s oversight and evaluation of incidents. However, since the new registered manager has been in post, there has been an improvement in management oversight. The manager has a proactive approach and undertakes regular reviews of the child’s progress and considers any patterns or themes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they ‘love’ coming to work and describe the registered manager as being caring and approachable. One staff member said, ‘She looks after everyone in the home.’ Staff say that they feel listened to and valued by leaders and managers, who are supportive and available to offer advice and guidance where required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff’s learning and development are a priority. A number of staff are working towards gaining their qualifications. There is a wide range of training that staff attend, including specific courses to meet the individual needs of the child. The manager regularly completes development sessions with staff to improve the quality of care provided to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with opportunities to reflect on their care of the child during regular one-to-one supervisions and team meetings. The manager completes regular quizzes with staff during team meetings to test their knowledge and reflect on their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is effective multi-agency working, and staff are proactive in sourcing external agency support to meet the child’s needs. The manager communicates effectively with partner agencies and family members. Professionals say that they are happy with the care provided to the child. The child’s placing authority team manager said, ‘[name of child] has come on leaps and bounds. There have been difficulties over the years of staff being able to support [name of child] and understand [name of child]. These staff have really helped.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When complaints have been made, recordings demonstrate the actions taken by the manager to resolve issues and evidence clear rationale for decision making. However, one recent complaint received from outside the home included an allegation regarding staff conduct when in the community. Although prompt action was taken to respond to the concerns, the incident was solely processed through the home’s complaints procedures and was not treated or recorded as an allegation. As a result, the incident was not referred to the local authority designated officer and was not notified to the regulator in line with safeguarding procedures. Inspection report for children’s home: 2550082 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that any allegations against staff are sufficiently investigated and appropriately reported to the local authority designated officer.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that any use of physical intervention is necessary, proportionate and undertaken without delay to protect children.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that sufficient recruitment procedures are carried so that only suitable people work at the home. 18 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2550082 7 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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 18 December 2025

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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: 2550082 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oaktree Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ground Floor, Seneca House, Links Point, Amy Johnson Way, Blackpool, Lancashire FY4 2FF

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Inspector

Leanne Carr, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2550082 9 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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