Children's Home run by Linden Oak Homes Ltd in Surrey

Inspection report children's home: 2737081 1 Registered provider: Linden Oak Homes Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to 3 children who experience social and emotional difficulties. There were 3 children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The registered manager post has been vacant since February 2026.

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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: 20 January 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2737081 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/01/2025 Full Good 25/01/2024 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2737081 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality, individualised care and make significant progress from their starting points. This is because staff understand children’s needs and are committed to improving outcomes for children. Staff form strong, professional and nurturing relationships with children and this contributes to them having positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make meaningful progress in relation to their emotional, social and psychological well-being. One child has been helped to overcome a dislike of medical appointments, and this has led to their health needs being understood and met. Two children are fully engaging in alternative learning at home, which was not the case in the past. One child has learned to read and write while living in this home. Another child is able safely to enjoy some independent time outside the home. All children are making progress in relation to improving their self- regulation skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s wishes and feelings are regularly obtained through key-worker sessions and consultations. If certain wishes cannot be granted, the reasons for this are explained to children. Furthermore, children are informed what they need to do to achieve the goals that are important to them. Staff and managers proactively advocate for children. Therefore, children’s rights are respected and promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children and their families experience positive times together. Staff work collaboratively with children’s parents and external professionals to ensure that children benefit from meaningful and safe family time. Staff are flexible and creative in providing such opportunities for children and their families. They promote positive experiences in the community or at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s heritage and identity are explored in a child friendly way. One child goes to a restaurant every week to enjoy familiar cultural foods. Another child is keen to maintain a hair style that relates to their cultural identity and staff support them to achieve this. All children enjoy traditional dishes from various countries that are cooked by the home’s staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are up to date with their health appointments and are in good health. However, recommendations from annual medical reviews are not incorporated into children’s health care plans and children’s daily routines. This represents a risk that key actions could be missed. Inspection report children's home: 2737081 4

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

Strong safeguarding practices are at the core of the managers’ duties and are filtered to staff. When children feel at risk in the community or online, they feel comfortable to report this to staff. This is because staff educate children about their own vulnerabilities and form trusting relationships with children.

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

When safeguarding concerns come to light, staff ensure children’s safety and report their concerns to the relevant authorities and professionals. Reflective practice identifies any learning, and this reduces the risk of a similar incident occurring.

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

When allegations about staff are reported to the manager, they ensure that local authority designated officers and other professionals are informed. The staff working arrangements are assessed within specific criteria and this protects children and staff. The manager ensures that detailed chronologies of their actions are collated and works closely with relevant professionals to conclude the required processes.

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

All children have been helped to find ways of managing difficult emotions in safe ways and behavioural incidents have reduced as a result. Children do not go missing from home. Physical restraint is used only rarely and when necessary to keep children safe. Work completed with children and staff after incidents is meaningful and effective. The manager’s oversight of such incidents is high quality and focuses on the best interests of children.

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

Staff are guided by well-defined safety and care plans. However, safety measures agreed with authorities are not consistently followed by staff and are not clearly recorded in children’s safety plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a significant change in the leadership team. The new responsible individual has many years of experience of working with children in care. The new manager is well supported by the responsible individual. The new manager is dedicated and committed to ensuring children’s welfare. Both leaders are aware of the strengths and areas of improvements and have a clear vision how this service could be developed further.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite the manager being new to their post, they have effective oversight systems in place. They make sure that staff understand what is expected of them. Furthermore, the manager uses monitoring tools that allow them to measure children’s progress and identify new goals for children. Inspection report children's home: 2737081 5 All staff receive supervision at agreed intervals. Staff say they value this time with their leaders. Supervisions are child focused and reflective. Furthermore, all staff receive annual appraisals within required timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff completion of training is an exemplary practice at this home. The leaders identify, source and arrange the training that is specific to children’s needs. This allows staff to have deeper understanding of personalised needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Not all staff have completed the qualification in residential care for children within the required timescales. This is a missed opportunity by leaders to ensure that plans are in place to support staff to complete the qualification, with additional time granted if needed. Inspection report children's home: 2737081 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s care plans include an individual health plan setting out the approach that the placing authority will follow, and the desired outcomes required to meet the child's health needs. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 33, paragraph 7.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, all staff in a care role, including external agency or bank staff, have the qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). The registered person may extend the time period if the member of staff hasn't worked in the role for a prolonged period, such as sick leave or maternity leave, or if it is not reasonable to expect the member of staff to complete in this timescale due to the nature of the hours they work. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 53, paragraph 10.12) Inspection report children's home: 2737081 7

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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 children's home: 2737081 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Linden Oak Homes Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 112 Morden Road, London, SW19 3BP

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Tania Richardson

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Inspector

Sonata Brisley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2737081 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 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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