Children's home 2833109

Inspection report for children’s home: 2833109 1 Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in April 2025 and is operated by a charitable organisation. It provides care for up to 4 children with learning and/or physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living at the home. Both children were present during the inspection and spent time with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a permanent registered manager, who is suitably experienced and qualified.

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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

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: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2833109 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are having a good experience and making progress at the home. Managers have made careful and thoughtful considerations in deciding that the home is suitable to care for the children who now live there. Enthusiastic staff warmly welcome children when they first arrive. This has helped the children to settle in very quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prepared a child well for the introduction of another child to the home. Managers shared appropriate information and responded sensitively to their questions about this change. As a result, the child was well informed and keen to help prepare for their arrival, including baking cakes for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in planning children’s care and their day-to-day lives. One child, who is very new to the home, has been helped by staff to adopt healthy routines for meals, sleep and leisure activities. As a result, they have made progress in spending time outside of their room and eating meals at the table. This is swift progress from their starting point. For another child, their progress has been vast, with improvements in managing their hygiene and going out to activities, widening their horizons.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a pleasant space for children to live in comfort. Staff have helped children make choices to personalise their bedrooms and they have a wealth of toys and games in line with their interests. Staff are attentive to children and offer and encourage their participation in a range of activities, such as baking, craft and feeding the ducks. Staff are enthusiastic in their interactions and adapt their approach and communication to each child’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers act to establish education arrangements for children. As a result, after a very long period out of education, one child is actively engaging in home tuition, achieving both learning and enjoyment. Staff encourage children to develop their independence skills and use incentives to encourage progress. For example, one child is awarded stickers for brushing their teeth, working towards a reward of a new doll.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to spend time with those who are important to them. Managers and staff ensure that arrangements are made to facilitate this, ensuring that the necessary safeguards are in place. Managers and staff show empathy and respect to family members and understand the importance of these relationships for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2833109 3

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

Staff understand children’s needs, vulnerabilities and risks. As a result, they provide quality and consistent care to children so they can meet their individual needs. Staff are well trained to meet children’s specific care needs safely, such as for moving and handling.

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

Staff provide clear guidance and boundaries for children; this is primarily through embedding and establishing clear routines. As a result, children are learning what is expected of them. Children are taught to look after themselves and stay safe. Staff create social stories, using communication aids to support this. For example, recent topics have included fire safety and managing their health needs.

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

The manager takes action to keep safeguarding a key priority at the home. Safeguarding is discussed during staff supervision sessions and team meetings. These opportunities are used to explore safeguarding scenarios and to reinforce what actions to take. This helps staff become and remain confident to manage safeguarding concerns that may arise. Staff demonstrate awareness and understanding of escalation processes for safeguarding concerns and for whistleblowing at the home.

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

The home has specialist equipment to support children’s disability needs. This is well maintained, and external health and safety personnel provide assurance of the safety of this.

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

Overall, there are good systems at the home for managing children’s medication safely. However, one child receives their medication in a crushed form mixed with a drink. While the manager has discussed this with the pharmacy, there is no written protocol or consent for this in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a well-experienced and competent manager, and leadership is enhanced by a skilled team leader. They work collaboratively and effectively to manage the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an established staff team at the home. There are sufficient staff, and no staff have left. This means that children receive consistent care from staff, and this has really helped their progress. For example, the consistency of care has helped one child increase their confidence in independently mobilising for transfers, which has reduced their dependency on a hoist.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive training in a range of relevant topics. This equips them well for their roles. Bespoke and specialist training for children’s individual needs is sourced and provided. For example, gastrostomy care. A community nurse told the inspector that the care provided to the child in relation to this need is of a good standard. Inspection report for children’s home: 2833109 4 Managers are highly effective in their partnership working. They maintain excellent communication with children, staff and partner agencies. Parents and professionals are kept well informed in relation to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, staff are supervised on a regular basis. There is some variation in the quality of staff supervision, with some good examples of reflective discussion. However, some examples lack professional curiosity, and concerns raised by a supervisee have sometimes not been shared with managers promptly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision of senior staff does not review their supervisory role. This is a missed opportunity for their development and information-sharing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have high expectations for the quality of care provided to children, and they are aspirational for the progress children can make. This motivates the staff team in their roles to help children achieve progression and have good experiences. Inspection report for children’s home: 2833109 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that medication is administered in line with a medically approved protocol. Regulation 23 requires the registered person to ensure that they make suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. These are fundamentally the same sorts of arrangements as a good parent would make but are subject to additional safeguards. This includes having the appropriate written consents for the method of administration and for the use of any covert medication. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  The registered person should ensure that there are systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, allowing them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children in their care. This includes ensuring that all staff with supervisory

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Recommendations

responsibilities have sufficient experience and skills to do this effectively. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2833109 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Action for Children, 3 The Boulevard, Ascot Road, Watford WD18 8AG

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Inspector

Alison Snell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2833109 7 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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