Children's Home run by Fonjock's Social Work Practice Limited in Buckinghamshire

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2585102 1 Registered provider: Fonjocks Social Work Practice Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in September 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspectors evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2585102 2 The inspection started on 14 January 2026. It was paused in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy. The inspectors returned on 15 January 2026 to complete the inspection. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2585102 3

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Findings from the inspection

We identified serious and widespread concerns in relation to the care and protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

Since the full inspection in April 2025, and particularly since November 2025, there has been a significant increase in safeguarding notifications relating to children frequently going missing from the home. The inspection was paused on the first day due to a serious safeguarding incident the previous evening, involving children and staff in the home. This resulted in both children immediately moving on from the home during the inspection. This, together with other incidents, indicates a deterioration in the quality of care and safety experienced by children at the home.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders, managers and staff are committed to the children in their care, and they are eager to learn and to improve practice. However, staff practice during incidents and subsequent management oversight and reflection have been ineffective in achieving positive change. Over the past few months, children’s behaviours have escalated and risks to children and to staff have increased.

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Findings from the inspection

The home has sufficient staff to care for children. However, staff turnover has resulted in frequent use of agency staff and inconsistencies in practice, which have had an impact on children’s behaviour and on building positive relationships. In one incident, the children were out late by themselves but understandably refused to return home with a new staff member who came to collect them, as they said they did not know who this staff member was.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders and managers have cultivated effective partnership working with the respective teams around each child. There has been mixed feedback from placing authorities, with some very positive about the home’s commitment to their child. Others report that management systems did not always ensure that information was shared with children’s local authorities in a timely way, meaning that social workers have not always had up-to-date oversight of any concerns.

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Findings from the inspection

When children go missing from the home, appropriate actions are taken in most cases to locate them and to support their return to the home. Managers request return home interviews from the placing authorities. However, while there had been some limited success in reducing the number of incidents of missing from home, both children have continued to have regular missing episodes. The home enjoys positive working relationships with the PCSO, who support the home well in this regard; however, the Police officer spoken to during the inspection told inspectors that staff are unable to manage children’s behaviours and that they are called out to deal with low-level incidents, which he believed could be managed by staff.

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Findings from the inspection

Consequences imposed following incidents, such as loss of access to the internet, have had an adverse effect on children’s behaviours, resulting in them becoming angry or going missing. Consequences have not been reviewed to assess their effectiveness, nor to promote restorative practice. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2585102 4 Children have not consistently experienced a homely environment. Some areas of the home currently show graffiti and damage, which appear to have resulted from recent escalating incidents. Although repair and redecoration work had already been planned, this had not yet been carried out at the time of the inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

Children’s engagement in education has declined. Staff have attempted to provide some meaningful activities in the absence of education engagement; however, this has been unsuccessful. Furthermore, staff have not been able to establish positive daily routines for children, meaning that the children sleep longer in the daytime and then go missing from home in the evening and at night.

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Findings from the inspection

Children are supported to spend time with people who are important to them, and staff have advocated well for children’s family time to be increased. This resulted in one child having visits from their family over the Christmas period. Children also have access to external advocates.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders and managers have responded to most of the requirements and recommendations set at the last full inspection. However, they do not act as an appropriate adult when a child is in police detention. This is despite feedback from the police, who say that this would benefit staff’s understanding of the children and the support that they require.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders and managers’ oversight of the home have not been effective in enabling them to understand the experiences of the children living there and to help them to make progress. This resulted in children moving on from the home in sudden and unplanned ways. This means that the children have not received the practical and emotional support to prepare for these moves. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2585102 5

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/04/2025 Full Good 09/04/2024 Full Good 16/01/2024 Full Good 24/05/2022 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2585102 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—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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.

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(v)(vi)(b)) 8 March 2026

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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

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; 8 March 2026 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2585102 7 ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; 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 has sufficient staff to provide care for 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

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;

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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)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(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—

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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;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those 8 March 2026 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2585102 8 expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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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. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(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.

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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)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children have quick access to support, preferably by someone who knows them when they are taken into police custody. 8 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that arrangements are in place to— 8 March 2026 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2585102 9 manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iii))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the premises are well maintained. In particular, any damage caused in the home during incidents should be addressed without delay. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, pages 46-47, paragraph 9.38) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2585102 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Fonjocks Social Work Practice Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Orchard House, 1 Old Convent Orchard, Bury St. Edmunds IP33 3PQ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Monica De Castro

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Inspectors

Karen Flanagan de Martinez, Social Care Inspector Lisa O’Donovan, Regulatory Inspection Manager Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2585102 11 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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