Children's Home run by Oracle Care Limited in Central Bedfordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC421531 1 SC421531 Registered provider: Oracle Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. It provides care and clinical support for up to 3 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 19 June 2025. The manager has applied to cancel their registration with Ofsted; they were not present during this inspection.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC421531 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/07/2025 Full Good 09/10/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/10/2023 Full Good 06/06/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC421531 3

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Summary of findings

Since the last inspection, the children have made progress. They have built relationships with some staff, engaged in education and enjoyed activities. This has helped the children feel valued and listened to. Professionals, families and the children have no safeguarding concerns. Professionals and families are happy with the care their children are receiving. There has been a lack of consistent leadership and management of the home in the absence of the registered manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 3 children have moved into the home, and 2 children have moved out. Three children were living at the home at the time of this inspection. Two children spoke with the inspector, and one child was not present during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in activities that they enjoy, including days out and holidays. This has helped children who have experienced significant trauma to regain a sense of childhood. Staff support children to develop age-appropriate independence skills. Positive relationships with the staff have contributed to the progress that the children have made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive, warm and nurturing interactions were observed between the children and staff. Laughter is abundant. The staff are responsive to the individual needs of the children. The children are very comfortable in the company of the staff and have built trusting relationships with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from professionals and families was positive. One social worker said they were happy with the care provided to children and that their child had made significant progress since living at the home. Another professional said they felt their child was happy living at the home. A parent commented that their child is growing in confidence and developing their independence since living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from the children was also positive. When asked what they like about the home, one child said, ‘I like the house, it is homely.’ The home is also decorated and designed to the children’s interests. There are pictures of children and staff displayed throughout the house, which gives children a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff rarely use consequences. However, on one occasion a child received a consequence that was not appropriate, therapeutic or child centred. The child was told they would not be able to see a close family member, despite the significance of this relationship to them, and this resulted in the child leaving the home. The consequence was severe and disproportionate, restricting an important relationship rather than supporting the child to understand and reflect on their behaviour in line with the home’s therapeutic approach. Inspection report for children’s home: SC421531 4

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

Staff have undertaken the organisation’s mandatory safeguarding training. They are confident in their roles of reporting and escalating any child protection concerns. They understand the whistleblowing policy.

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

Professionals are positive about the safeguarding practice at the home. They said they had no concerns about how their children are cared for and safeguarded. The children spoken to said that they feel safe living at the home.

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

When children are involved in incidents, these are managed well by staff. Physical interventions, missing-from-home incidents, complaints and allegations against staff are appropriately managed and responded to.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that safe recruitment practices are followed. Staff are assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. These procedures help promote the safety of the children by reducing the potential of unsuitable adults working with them.

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

The children’s guide is child-friendly and gives children a sense of what it is like living at the home. The guide also contains information to help children understand who to speak to if they are worried or if they need support outside of the home.

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

One fire door had significant gaps around the door frame, which would have prevented it from sealing in the event of a fire. This was rectified during the inspection. The home’s fire doors are fitted with a self-closing mechanism. However, at the time of this inspection, a fire door was being propped open. This could pose a risk to staff, children and visitors in the event of a fire.

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

The registered manager has been away from the home on extended leave for a significant period of time, during which the home was supported by various managers. Consequently, during this period, staff morale was impacted. Staff said there were inconsistencies in the approaches and expectations of the managers who were supporting the home, which made it difficult to establish stability. A new manager has recently been appointed on a permanent basis.

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

Staff receive training in the administration of medication. However, when medication errors occur, managerial oversight and evaluation of learning are insufficient to ensure that practice improves. As a result, the same medication error was repeated, and there were significant delays in leaders and managers identifying the second error. This weak oversight increases the risk of children receiving incorrect medication and could compromise their safety and wellbeing. Inspection report for children’s home: SC421531 5 Leaders and managers have completed a quality of care review. However, the review lacks detail and does not contain any feedback from relevant persons. This means opportunities may be missed to incorporate the feedback of relevant persons into the assessment of the quality of care and development of the service.

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

The new manager works closely with the responsible individual and, together, they have introduced plans and monitoring systems intended to strengthen oversight and improve the quality of care provided to children. While these developments are positive, they are not yet fully embedded in practice, and it is therefore too early to evaluate their effectiveness in delivering sustained improvements and ensuring consistently good outcomes for children.

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

Staff receive regular, reflective supervision sessions and annual appraisal of their performance. Team meetings encourage discussion about safeguarding and the progress of the children.

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

Staff receive a thorough induction. This includes completing mandatory training and competencies. Some staff hold a relevant qualification. Those who do not hold a relevant qualification are working towards one within the agreed time frames, and new staff will be enrolled once they have completed their probation.

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

Feedback from external professionals is positive. A social worker and an education professional said communication has improved, which helps them feel supported and listened to. Another professional said staff are strong advocates for their child. Inspection report for children’s home: SC421531 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 work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(e)) 10 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that medication errors are identified without delay, and actions are put in place to prevent re-occurrences. 10 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child.

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Requirement Due date

The following measures may not be used to discipline any child— 10 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC421531 7 any restriction, other than one imposed by a court or in accordance with regulation 22 (contact and access to communications), on—

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Requirement Due date

a child’s contact with parents, relatives or friends. (Regulation 19 (1) (2)(c)(i))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home complies with relevant health and safety legislation. In particular, they should ensure that fire doors are not propped open. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2) Inspection report for children’s home: SC421531 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: SC421531 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oracle Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suites 1 & 5, Riverside Business Centre, Foundry Lane, Milford, Belper, Derbyshire DE56 0RN

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Samantha Mitchamson

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Inspector

Anver Rose, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC421531 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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