Children's Home run by Oakland Support Services Ltd in Medway

Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 1 Registered provider: Oakland Support Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private company and was registered in June 2023. The home provides care for up to 4 children with social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There were 2 children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

p.1

inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

p.1

inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

p.1

inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/05/2025 Full Good 14/01/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/09/2024 Full Inadequate 07/03/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 3

p.2

Summary of findings

Several changes in leadership and management have led to a period of poor oversight of the home. Risks to children are not fully understood or acted on by staff. Arrangements for record-keeping are ineffective, and information is not easily accessible. Unsuitable restraint training was delivered to staff, introducing techniques that are not appropriate for use in a children’s home. There have been serious incidents that have not been reported to Ofsted. Policies for disciplinary action and whistleblowing are not clear, and there is no process for independent review of grievances. Children have made progress since living in the home. The overall judgement is due to the impact of poor leadership and management and how well children are helped and protected.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Overall the home is judged ‘inadequate’ due to serious shortfalls in help and protection and leadership and management. Despite some areas of positive practice, leaders have not always taken appropriate action to keep children safe.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Boundaries are not consistently implemented, which for one child has meant that there is no consistent or structured routine to support good sleep hygiene.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There is a stable team of staff working with the children. They are committed to maintaining consistency for the children in their day-to-day lives, despite the management changes. They encourage children to communicate openly and honestly and to be reflective. Children have positive relationships with staff. Staff show genuine care for the children and an interest in their lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are consistently accessing education. One child is now attending school full time, and another has recently passed their English and mathematics exams.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are provided with activities in line with their interests and are encouraged to do some of these together to promote positive relationships between them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are supported to spend time with family members. However, families of children are not consistently communicated with, and issues with family time are not consistently addressed.

p.3

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

Risk assessments for staff to follow to keep children safe are not kept up to date and do not accurately reflect the level of risk for children. This is because staff have failed to identify and escalate concerns. This has resulted in a lack of meaningful safety planning for one child at significant risk of child sexual exploitation and criminal exploitation. The Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 4 child’s wider professional network is not aware of the ongoing and emerging risks to the child.

p.3

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

When risks are identified for children, a plan to ensure the child’s safety is not always implemented. There has been a significant change to one child’s safety planning for independent community access, which significantly impacts staff’s ability to keep them safe. This has not been adequately addressed and considered.

p.4

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

Staff have some awareness of the risks to children, and there are occasions when these risks are addressed. However, there have been times when children have been at significant risk, and the response from staff has not been robust. Staff have not been supported by the manager to ensure that meaningful steps are taken to keep children safe.

p.4

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

Restraint is not commonly used in the home. Restraint training provided earlier in the year was not designed for use in a children’s home. Following concerns raised by staff, more suitable training has since been provided.

p.4

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

CCTV and door alarms provide unnecessary and excessive monitoring of children. CCTV encroaches on spaces used by children and is not in line with the home’s statement of purpose. Door alarms continue to be used, despite the risks associated with their use no longer being relevant.

p.4

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

Allegations made against staff by children are responded to appropriately, but on one occasion, the child was not kept informed of the outcomes. Staff have recently had allegation training.

p.4

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

The whistleblowing policy is not clear on how to escalate a concern about managers, which has resulted in managers receiving grievances about themselves. This has the potential for the development of a closed culture, or staff may feel unable to raise issues of serious concern.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is no registered manager in place at this home, and there have been 3 managers since the last inspection. The last permanent manager left in November 2025. A new manager was appointed, applied for registration in December 2025, but did not complete the process and left in May 2026. The most recent manager in post was temporarily appointed prior to the inspection visit. Widespread concerns have been raised about all levels of leadership in the home through internal processes. This shows a lack of confidence in members of the management team, who have not been able to work together to ensure the safety and wellbeing of children and staff.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that there is effective oversight of the home, resulting in significant shortfalls not being identified or acted on in a timely way. Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 5 Not all serious incidents are reported to children’s placing local authorities or Ofsted. This significantly compromises the local authority’s ability to stay up to date and understand what is happening to their children who live in the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The policy for disciplinary action is unclear and does not provide clarity on the different stages of the process and who is responsible for decision-making. Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 6

p.5

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.6

Requirement Due date

*The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

p.6

Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

p.6

Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

p.6

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)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

p.6

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that safeguarding concerns and incidents are reported to the appropriate professionals for review, and that follow-up action is taken to protect the children from the identified risk. 17 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 7 * The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

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;

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

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;

p.7

Requirement Due date

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)(h)) 17 July 2026

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.7

Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

p.7

Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(e)) 28 August 2026

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

p.7

Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy.

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that CCTV does not encroach on areas used by children and that door alarm use is reviewed in line with known risks. 28 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 8 (Regulation 24 (1)(d))

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which—

p.8

Requirement Due date

sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect.

p.8

Requirement Due date

The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

p.8

Requirement Due date

describe the measures which may be necessary to protect children following an allegation of abuse or neglect; and

p.8

Requirement Due date

describe how and to whom staff are to report, without delay, any concern about abuse or neglect of a child.

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep under review and, as necessary, revise the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 34 (1)(b) (2)(e)(f) (6))

p.8

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that polices for whistleblowing and disciplinary action are clear and updated, naming who is responsible for each stage and how to whistleblow against the responsible individual. 28 August 2026

p.8

Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

p.8

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff build a positive relationship with each child and help the child develop skills to have positive relationships with others. ‘Others’ includes family. In particular, staff should ensure they are maintaining the communication methods chosen with family and address family-time issues with them immediately to ensure the best interests of the children are maintained. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.6) Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 9

p.8

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: 2721681 10

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oakland Support Services Ltd

p.10

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 9 Grover Gardens, Romford RM5 2EA

p.10

Inspectors

Emma Blake, Social Care Inspector Faye McCarthy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2721681 11 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.

p.10

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.11

Inspectors

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

p.11

Inspectors

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

p.11