Children's Home run by Action for Children in Oxfordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2786401 1 Registered provider: Action for Children

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a national charity and offers a short-breaks service for disabled children. It provides care for up to 4 children at any one time.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were staying at the home, and a total of 16 children were accessing the service.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s manager registered with Ofsted in April 2026.

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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 good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 5 November 2025

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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: 2786401 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/11/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/09/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2786401 3

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Summary of findings

Overall, leaders and managers have made improvements to safeguarding practice, recording and management oversight since the last inspection. Staff are more confident, engaged and focused, resulting in positive experiences and outcomes for children. Previous requirements have been met. However, some shortfalls remain in relation to safeguarding and recording information, the use of CCTV and the written delegation of responsibility from children’s placing local authorities. As a result, 2 requirements have been made, alongside one recommendation to improve practice regarding staff annual appraisals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and staff have positive relationships. Children arriving at the home are welcomed by staff who are familiar to them. During the inspection, children expressed excitement and engaged with all staff on arrival.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment has improved. In addition, children’s achievements are celebrated and showcased through certificates and photos on the walls. This has created a homely and individualised environment for the children who access the service.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children access a range of activities, both in the home and in the community. New garden apparatus has been installed, and access to a large park nearby helps to promote the children’s physical and emotional wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Improved partnership working and staff understanding of their roles and responsibilities have strengthened support for children. Staff have advocated proactively for one child who had been out of education for a year, securing a provision that better suits their individual needs. This has improved their overall wellbeing, reduced incidents in the home and enhanced peer relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand each child’s communication needs and respond accordingly. The use of appropriate aids and resources ensures that each child’s voice is heard and acted on. This includes representation of children by staff or managers at children’s care planning meetings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans are regularly reviewed and updated, ensuring that staff understand children’s changing needs and circumstances. Nonetheless, the arrangements for the use of monitoring devices are not sufficiently clear and consistent. Written consent from the local authority is not sought. Additionally, the purpose of the monitoring devices lacks clarity, including the frequency and agreed use. This does not provide sufficient assurance that monitoring is necessary and proportionate. Inspection report for children’s home: 2786401 4 Children experience a coordinated approach to their transition period when they move on from the home, as staff regularly communicate with parents and partner agencies. Parents praised staff for their kind and caring approach when children have moved on to alternative provision or adult services.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to celebrate their cultural identities and diverse needs through meaningful activities. These help children develop a strong sense of identity, belonging and inclusion across all aspects of their lives.

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

The management team has prioritised staff training, including relevant and appropriate workshops to inform their practice. This means staff focus on the safety and wellbeing of children and understand their roles and responsibilities in keeping children safe.

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

When staff are not performing to the high expectations of leaders and managers, tailored action plans are put in place. These are timely and reviewed regularly to support the development and overall practice of staff.

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

The registered manager has an informed and thorough oversight of safeguarding concerns. Actions and outcomes from incidents inform learning, and this is shared throughout the whole team. Professional curiosity has become embedded in practice.

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

Staff understand children’s behaviour and use effective de-escalation techniques to support children to understand their own responses. This has avoided the need for physical intervention when responding to children’s challenging or concerning behaviour. This further promotes the positive relationships between children and staff.

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

Staff and managers regularly review children’s risk information. However, recording of children’s complex health needs is not sufficiently consistent. Key information is not always easily accessible to staff, which reduces their ability to fully understand and respond to specific health needs.

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

All staff are trained in the safe administration of medication and have their competency assessed annually. As a result, there have been no incidents of concern or errors since the last inspection.

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

Staff induction has been revised. The induction process for new staff is comprehensive. Staff access a range of information, training and opportunities to shadow colleagues. This ensures that staff are confident in their practice and understand their role in keeping children safe.

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

Health and safety arrangements in the home are delegated to a named member of staff. This creates a thorough and consistent approach to ensuring children stay in a safe and well-maintained environment. Inspection report for children’s home: 2786401 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is persistent in her approach to implementing the necessary changes to practice throughout the service. She has high aspirations for children. Upskilling staff through positive role modelling has supported the team to develop and embed higher standards of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior leaders share an ambitious vision for the service. Monitoring systems and quality assurance processes are effective. These have helped to identify areas of development, including training needs, and have shaped the direction of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff understand the ethos and objectives in the home’s statement of purpose. The statement of purpose is reviewed and updated as necessary by the registered manager and includes staff changes and qualifications.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training has been prioritised by leaders and managers. This means staff focus on the safety and wellbeing of children and understand their roles and responsibilities delegated to them by the registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior support staff benefit from additional training that is tailored to their specific roles and responsibilities. Staff continue to draw on this learning and share knowledge across the wider organisation. One staff member said they feel more empowered as a result.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings provide a valuable opportunity to reflect, share learning and discuss children’s care planning. These are well attended, recorded well and actions are clearly noted and followed up through monitoring of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, practice-related supervision. Although the quality is variable, staff say they are well supported, their wellbeing is considered and they have embraced the changes. However, not all staff have received an appraisal of their performance and fitness to carry out their role in the last year.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior leaders have made continuous efforts to address staff vacancies. The use of agency staff remains high. However, these staff members are consistent and familiar adults known to the children and parents accessing the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers actively review the quality of care provided and consider recommendations made by the independent person’s monthly visits. This promotes continuous improvement and ensures that children benefit from increasingly effective care and support. Inspection report for children’s home: 2786401 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 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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that important information relating to children’s safety, health and wellbeing is recorded clearly and is accessible to all staff caring for individual children. 31 December 2026

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance. (Regulation 24 (1)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that for all children subject to monitoring by a device, consent from the child’s placing authority is recorded on that child’s care planning records. 31 December 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2786401 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: 2786401 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Action for Children

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 The Boulevard, Ascot Road, Watford WD18 8AG

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Inspector

Jill Sephton-Wright, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2786401 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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