Children's Home run by Oak Childcare Plus Limited in Telford and Wrekin

Inspection report children's home: 2674059 1 Registered provider: Oak Childcare Plus Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home registered with Ofsted in February 2023. It provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. The home is privately owned and forms part of a small social care organisation that offers care and support.

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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 children's home: 2674059 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/08/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 06/08/2024 Full Good 05/09/2023 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2674059 3

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Summary of findings

Since the last inspection, no children have moved into or out of the home, and three children continue to live there. Managers have taken effective action to improve the quality of care provided to children. However, some areas require further improvement. Staff responses to children are not always supportive, and the language used within records is not consistently child centred. Managers have not always identified, challenged or remedied these shortfalls effectively.

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Summary of findings

Children are supported to develop a positive understanding of their identity and individuality. Staff promote children's education well, and all children are enrolled in education and are supported to attend and engage in learning. Staff respond promptly to children's health needs and advocate effectively to ensure that children receive the services and support they need to promote their well-being.

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Summary of findings

As a result of this inspection, 2 requirements and one recommendation have been made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children report having enduring relationships with staff and can identify adults whom they would approach in a time of need. However, two children also described occasions when they have felt unsupported and questioned whether some staff care about them because of the way they respond. This undermines children's sense of security and the trusting relationships they have developed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to engage in education and achieve their individual potential. Staff promote the importance of learning and work proactively to minimise disruption to children's education. When children are excluded from school, staff implement home- learning arrangements to reduce any loss of education. As a result, children maintain their engagement with learning and are supported to achieve positive educational outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's health needs are well understood and effectively supported. Staff ensure that children have timely access to appropriate healthcare services and escalate concerns promptly when required. Staff adopt individualised approaches to encourage children to participate in regular exercise and make healthy food choices. As a result, children are supported to develop healthy lifestyles and improve their overall well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to develop a positive sense of identity and individuality. Staff advocate for self-expression through a range of activities and support children to make choices about how they present themselves. This contributes to children feeling respected, valued and accepted for who they are. Inspection report children's home: 2674059 4 Children are supported to maintain positive relationships with the people who are important to them. Families speak positively about the manager's communication and the commitment shown by staff to facilitate meaningful family time. Feedback from professionals is equally positive and highlights the manager's effective communication and proactive approach to sharing information. This collaborative working helps to ensure that children receive well-coordinated care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has benefited from redecoration and environmental improvements, providing children with a warm and welcoming living environment. Children have been involved in choosing the colours and design of their bedrooms, which promotes a sense of belonging and ownership.

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

Staff do not consistently demonstrate an understanding of the underlying needs communicated through children's behaviour. At times, they focus on managing the presenting behaviour rather than exploring the reasons behind it. As a result, children can feel unheard and situations may escalate when earlier therapeutic intervention could have prevented this.

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

Staff responses are not consistently calm, nurturing or trauma informed. During one incident, when a child expressed suicidal ideation, staff did not respond with sufficient empathy or demonstrate professional curiosity to explore the child's thoughts and feelings. This limited the emotional support available to the child at a time of significant vulnerability. In contrast, during another incident involving self-injurious behaviour, staff demonstrated professional curiosity and compassion. This helped the child feel safe enough to share their feelings and surrender the item they had used to cause harm.

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

The manager responds appropriately to allegations and makes timely referrals to the local authority designated officer. This ensures that safeguarding concerns receive appropriate external scrutiny and oversight. However, lone-working risk assessments have not always been signed by all staff to confirm that they have read, understood and will work in accordance with them. This reduces the manager's assurance that staff will follow agreed strategies to safeguard both children and them.

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

During children's free time in the community, staff maintain regular communication to promote their safety and well-being. If a child does not return at an agreed time, staff take appropriate action to locate them promptly. This includes attempting to contact the child directly, contacting known associates and searching areas where the child is known to spend time. Staff work proactively to locate children and escalate concerns to managers and relevant agencies when necessary.

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

The manager models calm and patient practice. During one observed interaction, the manager's measured approach helped a child feel safe enough to reduce the physical Inspection report children's home: 2674059 5 distance between them and engage positively. This demonstrated the positive impact of therapeutic care and how it can support children's sense of safety and emotional well- being.

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

There are inconsistencies in recording practices that are not always identified through management oversight. Records are not consistently respectful or child centred. While some records are of a good standard and written in a manner that recognises the child as the reader, others contain subjective and opinionated language. For example, terms such as 'rude' and 'demanding' are used to describe children's behaviour. This language does not reflect a trauma-informed approach and may cause children distress if they access their records in the future.

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

The manager has completed good-quality supervision with some staff but has not been sufficiently consistent in challenging poor practice across the team. Although supervision has led to some improvement, this is not yet embedded, and inappropriate staff responses continue to go unchallenged. In addition, the manager's monitoring and auditing systems are not consistently completed within required timescales. Delays in undertaking audits reduce the manager's ability to identify shortfalls promptly and take timely action to drive improvement.

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

Monthly team meetings provide staff with regular opportunities to review children's current and emerging needs. Children are discussed individually, enabling staff to reflect on their progress, share relevant information and identify any changes required to care planning. As a result, care is regularly reviewed and adapted to meet children's changing needs. Inspection report children's home: 2674059 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— mutual respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c) and (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff responding positively and supporting children consistently during moments of upset. 28 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that —

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring staff receive adequate training to improve practice and the registered person consistently challenges poor staff practice. 28 August 2026 Inspection report children's home: 2674059 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home's policies on record-keeping, and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,' page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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 children's home: 2674059 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Oak Childcare Plus Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Suite 3, Oak House, Kingswood Business Park, Holyhead Road, Albrighton WV7 3AU

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Inspector

Latoya Morgan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2674059 9 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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