Children's Home run by Care Acre Limited in Oxfordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2853371 1 Registered provider: Care Acre Limited 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 a private provider and provides care for up to 3 children. The home caters for children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living at the home.

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Information about this children's home

This is the first inspection of the home since it was registered in November 2025.

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Information about this children's home

There has been a registered manager in post since the home was registered.

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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: 2853371 2

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Summary of findings

Since the home opened 6 months ago, children have moved in and have settled quickly. They are starting to make good progress. Staff know the children well and ensure that they have access to the support they need. Children say they feel safe and are happy to be living at the home.

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Summary of findings

Staff understand potential risks to children's safety and welfare. They are well trained and supported to manage and reduce these risks. Staff safeguard children well and collaborate with other professionals to ensure that children can access the services and the support they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel settled and have made good progress since they moved in. One social worker referred to the manager and staff as 'miracle workers' due to the significant progress a child has made. The care and support that the child has received has led to a clear and tangible improvement in all areas of their life. Children have meaningful and genuine relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from clear routines and boundaries and are supported in a variety of ways to express their wishes and feelings. This promotes children's autonomy and helps them to feel included in decision-making. One child said, 'There was a warmth straight away; the kind that makes you feel like you belong somewhere.'

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has been intentionally decorated to create calm and welcoming spaces for children, who describe it as having a 'real family feel'. Children's contributions and achievements are represented in the decor. Thoughtful decorative touches have been added around the home in recognition of a day of significant importance to one of the children. This helped the child to feel recognised and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are learning new skills. They are being supported to learn to cook, clean and meet their own hygiene needs. There is a good focus on helping children to develop the skills they need to prepare for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have fun. They enjoy a range of leisure and community-based activities that enable them to further develop their own interests and to increase their social confidence. Staff enable children to enjoy childhood experiences, such as planned sleepovers, scout trips and inviting friends to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to build healthy lifestyles. Staff support children to go to the gym and take part in sporting activities. Children are supported to attend regular health Inspection report for children's home: 2853371 3 appointments, and staff talk with them about sexual health, relationships and taking care of themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children's educational opportunities are tailored to their individual needs. Children learn through a balanced mix of formal and informal learning arrangements, such as alternative provision, which offers structure and continuity to children while permanent school placements are being sought. One child is in full-time education, working towards a full timetable of GCSE exams. They are being supported by staff to apply for college and their chosen apprenticeship.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A comprehensive assessment of risk and review of a child's care needs by the staff provided a better understanding of the child's lived experiences and the level of care they needed. This helped the professional network have relevant information and enabled the child to be able to move to a home most suited to meet their needs.

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

Children feel safe and can identify trusted staff who they seek support and advice from. Staff are thoughtful in their approach to caring for children and encourage them to reflect and learn following difficult incidents.

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

Children's individual care plans outline what approaches work best, and staff support children using a range of well-informed strategies. These plans are continually updated by staff and include children's views. This ensures that plans are child-centred and responsive to children's emerging needs.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s self-injurious behaviours. One child said that they feel confident to seek support from staff in relation to this.

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

Children do not go missing from the home. This is a significant improvement for one child and reflects how settled and well cared for they feel. The child said they do not feel the need to go missing. This is a result of staff knowing the child well and supporting their important relationships.

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

Staff work well with children to promote positive behaviour. Physical intervention is rarely used and only when it is necessary. Staff pay attention to repairing relationships between children and themselves following the use of any measure. When restraint is required, it is a reasonable and proportionate response to the behaviours displayed and risk presented. Managers take time to explore incidents with children and staff so that they can understand what happened and apply any learning to reduce the likelihood of future occurrences.

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

Staff prioritise children's safety and wellbeing. Staff understand the risks to children in their care and the action to take when there are safeguarding concerns. Risk management and safety plans are kept up to date so that staff are aware of and respond to children's changing needs. Inspection report for children's home: 2853371 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and staff have high aspirations for children. They are committed to giving children stability, high levels of care and providing opportunities to help them flourish.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the management team and each other. They have regular formal and informal supervision. There are regular opportunities for training and development for staff. The manager has established a skilled, resilient and cohesive staff team in a matter of months. This helps to ensure that children receive safe and well-coordinated care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers take effective action when safeguarding concerns arise, and any subsequent investigations are carried out in a prompt and child-centred manner. The registered provider ensures that staff who are new to the home are fully vetted and that comprehensive safer recruitment processes are in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff support children to maintain relationships with family members and significant people in their lives. Therefore, children sustain important connections to their past. These relationships continue to be an important part of children's lives and enable positive outcomes and experiences for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from living in a home where there is good leadership. There are effective systems in place for quality assurance. The registered manager compiles a comprehensive monthly audit tool to track progress and developments. This tool incorporates actions from previous months and integrates findings from other monitoring systems, providing good-quality oversight and helping to drive continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children's monthly progress reports are prepared by staff and shared with children's social workers. The reports capture children's progress and achievements as well as any challenges they have experienced. The manager uses these summaries to inform her own monthly review of practice to ensure that there is continuous development of care and support provided. Inspection report for children's home: 2853371 5

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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: 2853371 6

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 36 Magdalen Road, Oxford, Oxfordshire OX4 1RB

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Inspector

Gemma Bullen, social care inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2853371 7 regulates and inspects 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 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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Inspector

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