Houghton Regis children’s home gets thumbs up from Ofsted

Kingfishers Children’s Home provides short breaks, or long stays for up to four children with physical and/or learning disabilities.

At the time of inspection, 22 children were accessing the home for short-break stays on a rotational basis.

It was inspected over two days in December, with inspectors looking at three areas:

>Overall experiences and progress of children and young people

>How well children and young people are helped and protected

>The effectiveness of leaders and managers

For all three areas, the home was rated as ‘good’, maintaining the same rating in inspections in 2018, 2019, and 2021.

The report praised staff, saying: “[They] find creative ways to encourage children with complex communication needs to express their views and feelings. Staff understand the importance of children feeling heard and understood.”

Inspectors also praised the activities offered at the home, saying children: “… go swimming and trampolining and enjoy time at the local parks. Staff put photos of children’s experiences in booklets for the children to take home. Children have fun when they stay at the home,

and memories of their time are captured.”

The report noted that children enjoy spending time with staff, and are encouraged to be part of, and make positive contributions to, the local community.

Cllr Sue Clark, Executive Member for Families, Education and Children, said: “The news of another ‘good’ rating for Kingfisher’s Children’s Home is fantastic, and all down to our staff and their hard work. The report highlights the responsiveness of staff to address issues, and the bespoke and ongoing training that they take part in. They continue to prioritise the needs of the children and young people they look after, and create a fun, safe and caring environment for those in their care.”

The report made four recommendations for the home to consider ahead of its next inspection including making the front and back of the building more welcoming and continually assess the risks to each child.

The full report can be found on the Ofsted website at http://files.ofsted.gov.uk/v1/file/50205318