Children's Home run by Buckinghamshire Council in Buckinghamshire

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

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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 social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager at the home.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/03/2026 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2836141 3

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Summary of findings

Children thrive in this nurturing, well run home where staff provide consistent routines , warm relationships and individualised support. Children engage in varied, purposeful activities that build confidence, health and community links. The home environment is safe, welcoming and well maintained. Education outcomes have improved due to strong encouragement and partnership working. Safeguarding practice is generally effective, however, recruitment checks and Ofsted notification processes have fallen short. Leadership instability has reduced oversight, with supervision , training and role clarity needing improvement. Despite this, staff remain committed, resilient and deeply attuned to children’s needs, enabling significant emotional and social progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from consistently positive day-to-day experiences. Staff provide clear routines and firm but nurturing boundaries, which help children feel safe, settled and able to thrive. Staff spend meaningful time with children and actively encourage curiosity in their hobbies and interests. As a result, children engage in a wide range of purposeful activities, including groups tailored to their individual needs. These opportunities enable children to explore new interests, maintain good physical health and develop positive links in their community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build warm, trusting relationships with children. They model the respectful behaviours they expect to see and adapt their communication style sensitively to meet each child’s needs. Children confidently approach staff with requests, knowing they will be listened to and taken seriously. Staff skilfully judge when shared social time is beneficial and when children would benefit more from individual time on their own. This reflects their strong understanding of children’s personalities, histories and emotional needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is immaculately presented and maintained to a high standard. It offers a comfortable, family-style environment where children can relax and feel proud of where they live. Children personalise their bedrooms, giving them a sense of ownership and belonging. Communal areas provide ample space for shared activities, while the garden offers both quiet seating areas and room for active play, such as football. Planters filled with fruit and vegetables further enhance the homely and nurturing atmosphere.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are actively supported to engage in education. For some, school attendance has increased dramatically due to staff’s persistent encouragement, effective routines and close partnership working with education providers. This has had a significant impact on children’s progress and confidence in learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have regular access to an independent advocate, who visits the home and supports them to express their views. Although some children take time to build trust, Inspection report for children's home: 2836141 4 they become increasingly confident in sharing their wishes and feelings. Staff listen carefully to children and ensure their views influence care planning, activity choices and even meal options. Children know how to raise concerns and trust that staff will respond promptly and effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know children exceptionally well and deliver high-quality, individualised care. They are passionate about their roles and ambitious for the children’s futures. Their commitment and consistency enable children to make exceptional progress from their starting points, both emotionally and socially. Staff demonstrate a strong understanding of their responsibilities and the positive impact they can have on children’s lives.

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

Children living in the home benefit from a safe and nurturing environment where staff demonstrate a sound understanding of their needs. Relationships between staff and children are warm, trusting and characterised by consistent, positive engagement. As a result, children feel secure and well supported.

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

Staff respond promptly when children require first aid, seeking advice and medical treatment when necessary and keeping appropriate records.

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

Allegations made by children are rare, due to the strong, trusting relationships built with staff. When concerns are raised, staff act immediately and ensure children are kept informed of the processes being followed. However, one allegation was not notified to Ofsted in a timely manner, which does not meet regulatory requirements.

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

Staff have invested considerable time in understanding each child’s needs and emotional presentation. This enables them to provide effective de-escalation support when children experience heightened or overwhelming emotions. As a result, there has been no use of restrictive physical interventions since the last inspection.

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

Clear and structured plans are in place to support children to develop safe and responsible phone and internet use. Children understand these expectations and are motivated to follow them, resulting in no concerns regarding inappropriate online behaviour.

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

Although incidents of children being absent from the home are rare, staff follow robust protocols when they occur. Staff make persistent attempts to contact the child and seek support from relevant agencies. Detailed incident reports and return-home debriefs are completed, supported by a clear chronology and checklist to ensure no essential information is overlooked.

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

Safer recruitment processes are not sufficiently robust. Shortfalls in recruitment checks mean that managers cannot be assured of the suitability of all staff. During recent checks, it also became evident that essential documentation relating to the suitability of staff transporting children in their own vehicles had been completed. This represents a significant shortfall in safeguarding practice. Inspection report for children's home: 2836141 5

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

The home is currently without a registered manager. The previous manager resigned with immediate effect the week before the inspection and had not been consistently present in the home for some time. This lack of stable leadership has contributed to uncertainty in the staff team and has limited leaders’ capacity to maintain effective oversight. Although the deputy managers have worked collaboratively to keep the home functioning, they have struggled at times due to inconsistent support from senior leaders.

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

The absence of a permanent manager has resulted in limited management oversight. Staff said they were uncertain about decision-making responsibilities and this has contributed to several shortfalls identified during this inspection. Senior leaders did not provide sufficient clarity or reassurance to staff during this period of instability, leaving them unsure about where to seek guidance. There is currently no clear interim plan in place to identify accountability, define leadership roles and provide staff with consistent direction.

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

Supervision was identified as an area for improvement at the previous inspection. Despite this, the quality and frequency of staff supervision remain inconsistent. Some staff have not received supervision within the organisation’s expected timescales, and the quality of recorded sessions varies significantly. Supervisions often lack clear purpose, reflection or evidence of professional development.

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

Team meetings have improved in the level of detail recorded; however, they still lack reflective commentary and are not used effectively to monitor progress or ensure actions are completed. This limits opportunities for shared learning and continuous improvement.

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

Staff are not up to date with all mandatory training. While some additional training has been offered, there have been missed opportunities to provide specialist training aligned to the children’s individual needs. As a result, staff are not fully equipped with the knowledge and skills required to deliver consistent high-quality care.

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

Despite the challenges created by leadership instability, the home benefits from a committed and resilient staff team. Staff have worked diligently to maintain a safe and nurturing environment for children. They describe the home as being calmer and more stable in recent months, attributing this improvement to the support and guidance provided by a deputy manager. Staff speak highly of her contribution, noting that she has been instrumental in restoring confidence and stability.

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

Feedback from external professionals and others involved in the children’s lives has been positive. While some noted previous instability in the staff team, they praised staff for their strong relationships with children, their understanding of individual needs and the quality of communication. Inspection report for children's home: 2836141 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 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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

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;

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Requirement Due date

and 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)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there is full and consistent management oversight of the home. This includes monitoring of work completed and decisions made for children’s day-to-day care, ensuring that specific training is provided to meet the individual needs of the children and 5 August 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2836141 7 adequate and appropriate support is provided for the staff team. The registered person should ensure timely compliance with submission of notifications related to incidents in the home.

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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

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

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)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that appropriate checks are completed before staff transport children in their own vehicles. 15 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d)) 15 July 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that supervision records and team meeting minutes are strengthened to include reflective commentary and sufficient detail to enable understanding and follow-up. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15) Inspection report for children's home: 2836141 8

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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: 2836141 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Buckinghamshire Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Buckinghamshire Council, Chief Executive, 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

Vicki Horton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for 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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