Children's Home run by Buckinghamshire Council in Buckinghamshire

Inspection report children's home: 2836141 1 Registered provider: Buckinghamshire Council

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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 home is operated by the local authority and provides care and support for up to 4 children who experience emotional and behavioural difficulties. Three children were living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

This was the home’s first inspection since its registration on 5 August 2025. The manager was also registered with Ofsted on 5 August 2025.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2836141 2

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improvement to be good

The inspector saw all 3 children and spent some time with 2 of the children to gain their views and experiences of living in their home.

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improvement to be good

Children experience mainly warm, nurturing care from the staff that care for them. They are making progress in education, health, and emotional well-being. Staff spend meaningful time with the children, supporting positive activities such as football, guides youth club and planned holidays abroad. However, some staff use language that feels institutional rather than nurturing, which is inconsistent with the home’s intended ethos.

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improvement to be good

The home is clean, welcoming, and bedrooms are personalised for each child. During the inspection, leaders responded promptly to feedback about aspects of the home that felt more institutional, such as noticeboards displaying personal details and staff-only kitchen cupboards removing them to create a more inclusive environment. Leaders have said that they will review environmental restrictions such as locked snacks and window restrictors, to ensure they are proportionate and used in a way that maintains a homely atmosphere.

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improvement to be good

Children attend school regularly and are progressing well. They have aspirations for their futures and one child said they would like to drive a bus and the other is hoping to work in the care sector. Education professionals report strong support from the home in promoting learning and maintaining school attendance.

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improvement to be good

Family time is promoted when it is safe to do so. Children are supported to maintain important relationships through face-to-face visits, with staff providing practical and emotional support. These efforts help children to sustain and strengthen connections with significant people in their lives.

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improvement to be good

Weekly children’s meetings give young people a meaningful voice in day ‑ to ‑ day life. Staff act on their suggestions, including arranging football tickets, helping them join a gym, and facilitating ‘culture days’ that promote shared learning and experiences.

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improvement to be good

Management oversight and safeguarding arrangements are not consistently robust. Reviews of safety measures have not been maintained effectively, and monitoring systems do not always ensure standards are met. While children’s experiences are positive, these shortfalls limit the home’s ability to demonstrate consistently good practice. Leaders and managers did take action to address some shortfalls identified during the inspection. Inspection report children's home: 2836141 3 Incident recording and managerial oversight are inconsistent. Records of physical interventions often lack detail, combine multiple incidents, or omit key information, making it difficult to evaluate the appropriateness of measures used. Notifications to Ofsted have also not always been submitted in a timely manner. Leaders recognise these weaknesses and have begun to improve systems, though changes are not yet embedded.

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improvement to be good

When an allegation from a child was made, the manager sought advice from LADO and spoke with staff involved. However, internal investigations and feedback to children were not consistently completed, reducing transparency and opportunities for learning.

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improvement to be good

A significant oversight occurred when essential information about a child was not identified prior to them moving in, resulting in the children not being able to live safely together. This led to staff being injured and both children’s moving out prematurely. Senior leaders have since strengthened the admissions process to improve the robustness of decision ‑ making and reduce the risk of similar incidents happening again.

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improvement to be good

Children’s plans do not provide clear, regularly reviewed guidance for staff, limiting the ability to measure progress or evaluate the impact of support. In one case, the use of a tracker was agreed with a social worker but not reflected in the child’s risk assessment, and the measure was disproportionate to the risks identified.

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improvement to be good

Online safety arrangements, including firewalls, parental controls, and monitored Wi ‑ Fi are in place, and staff support children to understand safe technology use before providing personal devices.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers demonstrate a developing understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for improvement. There is evidence of a commitment to trauma-informed and relational practice, and steps are now being taken to strengthen oversight through audits. However, these improvements are not yet embedded or consistently applied across the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff feedback is mixed, some staff report feeling well supported, while others describe the management approach as unsupportive, overly directive, and lacking visibility. This inconsistency in leadership oversight creates variability in practice, which may result in children experiencing differing approaches to care, potentially affecting their sense of stability and emotional security.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Supervision records lack depth and do not consistently show reflection, the rationale for decisions, or analysis of safeguarding and children’s experiences. This limits leaders’ ability to monitor practice and support staff development, which increases the risk of inconsistent care and may reduce the quality and responsiveness of support that children receive. Inspection report children's home: 2836141 4 Training is in place and includes mandatory and specialist courses tailored to children’s needs. However, while the training programme is thorough, therapeutic approaches are not consistently reinforced in practice and are still developing within the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Professionals report that communication with staff and the manager is positive and consistent, and they feel children are well cared for and are making good progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers take appropriate steps to escalate matters to professionals when children require additional services. This demonstrates a clear understanding of the importance of multi-agency working and a commitment to ensuring children’s needs are addressed. Inspection report children's home: 2836141 5

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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 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

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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2) f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that plans to support children are written in plain language, with measurable and specific strategies and detailed understanding of all restrictions and their monitoring of need and action to support independence alighted with risks and the age of the child. Furthermore, the registered manager should ensure timely compliance with submission of notifications related to incidences within the home. 30 April 2026 Inspection report children's home: 2836141 6 Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must supply to HMCI, at HMCI's request, a statement containing a summary of any complaints made during the preceding twelve months and the action that was taken in response to each complaint. (Regulation 39 (1) (3) (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that all complaints are adequately recorded, to support children now and in the future to understand the action taken and the outcome. 30 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child's behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is 30 April 2026 Inspection report children's home: 2836141 7 authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the provider ensuring that incident reports are recorded accurately and include details of all individuals involved, as well as any use of restraint. It also relates to the provider ensuring that any staff member involved in a restraint is spoken to within 48 hours of the measure being used. 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

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that language used in the home is not institutionalised and there is a shift towards more caring language 30 April 2026 Inspection report children's home: 2836141 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they review the use of window restrictors and trackers to ensure their use is necessary and proportionate. ('Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that supervision records and team meeting minutes are strengthened to include reflective commentary and greater detail. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 39, paragraph 8.5)  The registered person should ensure that the entire home consistently reflects a nurturing and homely environment. In particular, this refers to the visibility of noticeboards, children’s personal information being on display and children’s snacks being locked away which detracts from the home’s overall welcoming and homely appearance and contributes to an institutional impression. ('Guide to the Children’s

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Recommendations

Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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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: 2836141 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Walton Street Offices, Walton Street, Aylesbury HP20 1UA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Krishane Madhavan

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Inspector

Karen Hallam, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2836141 10 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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