Children's home run by 5ab Care Ltd

Inspection report children’s home: 2512898 1 Registered provider: 5ab Care Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care and accommodation for up to two children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

A suitably qualified acting manager is in post. She has not yet submitted her application to become the registered manager of the home.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: This is the home’s first inspection.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: Not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2512898 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

This is the first inspection of the home. Inspection report children’s home: 2512898 3

p.2

Recommendations

 Children’s homes staff should encourage children to take a proactive role in looking after their day to day health and well-being. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.10) This is in relation to staff educating children about the importance of attending routine health appointments.  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) This is in relation to staff recording clearer details in fire drill records and restraint incident reports, and managers always recording debriefs with all staff involved in physical interventions.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is a newly registered children’s home that experienced an unsettled period shortly after opening. However, prompt and decisive actions taken by the senior leadership team in response to this have been extremely effective. The home is now a warm, welcoming and happy environment. A child said, ‘It is a peaceful home and I would recommend it.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have been successful in building and maintaining good relationships with the child living in the home. The child spoke very positively about all the staff, describing them as ‘kind and fair’. The child has developed trust in the adults caring for him. After experiencing several placement disruptions, the child now has a secure base from where he can develop.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

After being out of education for a significant period, the child has successfully re- integrated into school with a bespoke package of education being provided. This is significant progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff encourage the child to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. This includes growing vegetables in the garden and then using them to create healthy meals chosen by the child. More could be done, however, to educate children who are reluctant to attend routine health appointments about the importance of them. This will help to ensure that children understand and reap the benefits of receiving both universal and more specialised healthcare. Inspection report children’s home: 2512898 4 Because of the high levels of encouragement and support provided to the child by the staff, he is starting to engage more in a range of different activities. Praise given to the child after completing activities helps him to feel good about himself. It is resulting in improved levels of confidence and self-esteem.

p.3

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

Regularly updated, clear and detailed risk assessments and behaviour support plans help to keep children safe.

p.4

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

The child currently living in the home reported feeling safe. He said, ‘The staff are always there for me, and there is always someone here who I can talk to.’ Such positive relationships provide children with an additional layer of safety.

p.4

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

Children are well supported in relation to their specific vulnerabilities. For example, regular key work sessions have helped a child who previously frequently went missing and engaged in criminal activities to develop insight into the risks associated with such behaviours. The child has not been missing and has not engaged in criminal activity since moving into the home.

p.4

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

Thorough checks and scrutiny of any prospective new employee in the home help to ensure that only those adults that are suitable to work with children are employed.

p.4

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

Proactive behaviour support systems are largely effective. Incentives agreed with children are motivating them. Physical intervention is only used as a last resort to safeguard children and staff. However, a lack of consistent recording, for example in relation to the location of interventions, and a failure to always record debriefs with all staff involved in interventions limit the manager’s ability to monitor the effectiveness of practice in this area.

p.4

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

The home is a physically safe environment. This is promoted by regular safety equipment checks and fire drills. The records of fire drills lack clarity and detail. This limits the manager’s oversight of the effectiveness of these fire drills.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A recently appointed, very experienced acting manager and an experienced deputy manager are well respected by staff and other professionals. The management team has brought structure and aspiration into the home. The team leads by example and is providing staff with high levels of support and challenge. Staff feel valued and share the management team’s passion to improve children’s experiences and outcomes.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team is very reflective and has learned from experiences and incidents. For example, when it became apparent that the dynamics between two children were becoming unmanageable, the management team took prompt action to resolve this and reduce the impact on both children. Learning from this has resulted in more robust placement matching procedures, a strengthened leadership team and time Inspection report children’s home: 2512898 5 and space for staff to regroup and develop before a new admission is considered. This has had an extremely positive impact on the child who has experienced a calm, settled home environment. The decision not to admit another child until the home has stabilised has also had an impact on staff morale, which is now very good.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working is strong. External professionals spoken to during the inspection complimented the management team and staff on good levels of communication. An education professional commented, ‘There is a coordinated approach to care and education, meaning a consistent approach to behaviour support.’

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff have the relevant qualification required by regulation. They have also completed a range of mandatory and additional training. This, and regular supervision by one of the management team, is helping the staff to develop the insight and skills required to meet the specific needs of the current child and children who come to live in the home in the future. Staff have also benefited from some recent input from the local police on child criminal exploitation. This has helped staff become alert to potential risks in the community.

p.5

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

p.5

Information about this inspection

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: 2512898 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 71 Knowl Piece, Wilbury Way, Hitchin, Hertfordshire SG4 0TY

p.6

Inspector

Rachel Griffiths, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2512898 7 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.6

Inspector

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 http://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.7

Inspector

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

p.7

Inspector

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

p.7