Children's Home run by Oakley House Kent in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: 2868467 1 Registered provider: Oakley House Kent Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and provides care for up to 4 children with learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 3 children were living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since the home registered in February 2026.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

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.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2868467 2

p.1

Summary of findings

Children make progress from their starting points, including improved educational engagement and a reduction in behaviours of concern. They benefit from positive relationships with staff and enjoy various activities and trips. Staff use creative approaches to support engagement. Safeguarding arrangements are strong, with risks well understood and incidents managed effectively. However, significant concerns remain regarding the home environment, particularly poor bedroom conditions that lack warmth, furnishings and decoration. Care planning has also been inconsistent, resulting in one child having to move due to poor planning and communication. While leaders are reflective and challenge practice when required, oversight of the environment and timely communication with professionals require improvement.

p.2

improvement to be good

Children have made progress from their starting points. Those living in the home have demonstrated increased engagement in education and a reduction in challenging behaviour.

p.2

improvement to be good

There is a lack of oversight of key aspects of the home environment, including the overall homeliness and warmth of children’s bedrooms. Some bedrooms lack curtains and appropriate furniture and do not contain children’s personal items, such as photos or toys. Bedrooms are poorly decorated, and staff have not addressed these issues promptly or effectively.

p.2

improvement to be good

Despite this, children are positive about their experiences. They express affection for the staff team, have developed positive relationships and enjoy spending time with them. Children have access to a range of activities, including trips to theme parks and local play areas.

p.2

improvement to be good

All children engage in daily education. Staff promote school attendance and help children to engage in online tuition. One child does not currently have a school placement; however, staff provide daily educational activities using a range of resources. Leaders have appropriately challenged external professionals to identify a suitable school placement for this child.

p.2

improvement to be good

Staff are creative in their approach to engaging children and use a wide range of strategies. For example, they have identified specialist groups in the local community to support children in developing social experiences. Staff introduced ducklings from a local farm, providing children with opportunities to learn how to care for and nurture animals. Children speak positively about these experiences. Inspection report for children’s home: 2868467 3 Children move into the home after risk assessments are carried out, with consideration given to the needs of other children already living there. However, staff did not fully assess or understand one child’s behaviours before they moved into the home. As a result, leaders decided that the child should move on after a short period. Despite improvements in behaviour, this move will result in the child experiencing a significant and impactful change to their life, which could have been avoided. Leaders must ensure

p.2

improvement to be good

that referral processes and staff skills are appropriate to meet children’s needs and that these are regularly reviewed.

p.3

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

Children are kept safe by a team of staff who have a good understanding of their risks and what may make them unsafe. All children have complex care arrangements, and these are well understood by staff.

p.3

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. Staff have good knowledge of how to respond to such incidents and take appropriate action to keep children safe. When incidents occur, staff collaborate closely with external professionals to help children reflect on the reasons for going missing. Children are supported to understand the associated risks, which has contributed to a reduction in the frequency of these incidents.

p.3

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

Leaders take concerns about staff practice seriously. They maintain effective links with external safeguarding professionals and respond promptly when concerns are raised. Recommended actions are addressed without delay, and thorough investigations are carried out to ensure appropriate understanding and responses.

p.3

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

Incidents and physical interventions are rare. Children appear happy. When physical intervention is necessary, staff respond appropriately. They consistently check on children’s wellbeing afterwards and ensure that children understand why the intervention was required. Leaders maintain good oversight of incidents and consistently ensure that children’s welfare is prioritised.

p.3

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

Disagreements between children are immediately responded to by staff. Children are encouraged to repair relationships and develop the skills needed to continue living together positively. Staff adapt their communication to meet each child’s level of understanding and ensure that work is carried out in a way that they respond well to.

p.3

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

Leaders demonstrate an understanding of the needs of the children living in the home. They speak knowledgeably about each child and are able to measure and highlight the progress that has been made.

p.3

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

Leaders promote a therapeutic approach to care. However, this has not always aligned with observations during this inspection. For example, leaders have not taken sufficient action to ensure that the home environment is warm, comfortable and child friendly. Inspection report for children’s home: 2868467 4 Staff supervision records are clear and address safeguarding issues, training needs and required actions. There is evidence of reflective discussion, and practice issues are highlighted and explored. Supervision identifies learning opportunities following incidents or challenging situations.

p.3

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

Leaders ensure that staff are safely recruited and suitable to work with children. Staff files demonstrate that all relevant checks are carried out, and any gaps in education or employment history are discussed and understood.

p.4

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

Leaders challenge partner agencies when necessary. When they do not receive timely responses, they advocate for children to ensure access to essential services, such as education. However, incidents are not always promptly reported to relevant professionals. Some social workers report delays in receiving significant information.

p.4

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

There are significant concerns that fall short of the standard of good care for children. Leaders have not responded effectively to the shortfalls in the home environment. In addition, challenges in care planning have resulted in one child, who had formed positive relationships and made progress, needing to move on from the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2868467 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.5

Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

p.5

Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

p.5

Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii)) 31 July 2026

p.5

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 31 July 2026

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

p.5

Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a))

p.5

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that incident reports are shared with relevant parties in a timely manner. 31 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2868467 6

p.5

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: 2868467 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 86 to 90 Paul Street, London EC2A 4NE

p.7

Inspectors

Mark Newington, Social Care Inspector Lee Muchmore, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2868467 8 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.

p.7

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8