Children's Home run by Abbey Green Therapeutic Children’s Services Ltd in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2612347 1 Registered provider: Abbey Green Therapeutic Children’s Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It provides therapeutic care and accommodation for up to two children who have experienced traumatic events in their lives and may subsequently present with a range of attachment, social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since the home registered with Ofsted in May 2021 and is qualified to the appropriate standard.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2612347 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2612347 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has lived at the home since the home was registered in May 2021. The child is receiving a very high quality of individualised care. The home’s ethos is to provide care which is full of love, nurture and respect. As a result, the child continues to make very positive progress. This year, the child’s independence skills have flourished. The child can independently catch a bus, has started a further education course, has had nights away from the home, including on a holiday abroad, continues to attend a youth club and has made friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff meet the child’s health needs well. The manager has ensured that all staff understand how they can best support the child following a recent health diagnosis. The child has made really positive educational progress and, in the summer of 2022, achieved various qualifications. The headteacher of the child’s school said communication from the home was of a good standard and that there was very good joint-working to help the child achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Recently, the child’s new education placement broke down. The manager has been proactive in ensuring that education planning meetings took place promptly to discuss the child’s next educational step. In the interim, while a new education placement is being identified, staff have helped the child maintain a daily routine and they have been offering the child some activities. However, there has been a lack of ambition in the planning of structured activities. The child is spending an increasing amount of time in their bedroom. As a result, there is a missed opportunity to help the child learn from a wide range of educational experiences and activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to enjoy family time and make friendships. Staff promote family time and work hard to ensure that the child and their family enjoy their time together. Last summer, the child and their sibling enjoyed splashing about in the large paddling pool in the garden. There are large pictures of this happy time on display on the walls of the lounge. The child’s parent said, ‘The best place [my child’s] been in since they went into care. Other places haven’t fitted [my child’s] need. They encourage [my child] with education. They make me feel comfortable when I’m in the home.’

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

The child is regularly supported to understand risk and how to stay safe. Staff have the skills to identify early indications of risk or vulnerability and act quickly to keep the child safe. Staff understand the need for the child to become independent and cope with social situations. The child has made excellent progress in this area.

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

Staff support the child to regulate their emotions if they are becoming upset. Staff maintain clear and consistent behavioural boundaries and these expectations are Inspection report for children's home: 2612347 4 communicated to the child daily by staff. As a result of this consistent support, the child is extremely settled. There have been no missing-from-home incidents and only one use of physical intervention since the last inspection.

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

Recently, the child was injured in a random and unprovoked attack. Support for the child following the event was nurturing and supportive. The child has been helped to understand what happened and given opportunities to talk the incident through.

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

The manager has addressed the requirements set at the previous inspection. Staff no longer lock the kitchen door at night, meaning the child always has access to the kitchen. A risk assessment has been carried out and fire safety measures are now in place in the lounge. There is an ongoing maintenance and health and safety monitoring system in place. Consequently, the child’s home is well maintained and safe.

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

Recruitment and vetting procedures are sound. There are clear and effective processes in place to ensure that staff working in the home are safe to do so. This helps prevent unsuitable people from having contact with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager leads by example. He understands the child’s history and needs well. The manager is a strong advocate for the child. He is proactive and is continuously constructively challenging other professionals to strive to do more to help the child progress. Stakeholder feedback is positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager describes the child with pride and love. He knows the child extremely well. A core group of staff members has been consistently caring for the child since they moved into the home. A staff member said, ‘I’m so proud of what [name of child] has become.’ When new staff start working at the home, they build positive relationships with the child. When staff move on, the child is prepared for this, to help them understand the reasons for this and to minimise the impact of loss.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are suitably trained to meet the child’s complex care needs. They have an understanding of safeguarding and whistle-blowing procedures. Staff say they feel well supported and value the time they spend in team meetings and one-to-one supervision. New staff would benefit from quicker access to training in autism spectrum disorder.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management monitoring and review systems are established. The management team regularly evaluates records and risk management plans. This means opportunities for improvements in practice are identified and acted on swiftly for the benefit of the child. When staff practice falls short of the high standards expected, appropriate action is taken to ensure practice is improved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a strong focus on ensuring that the team is well supported. As well as regular one-to-one supervision, there are group sessions with the in-house therapist and community time when the whole staff team and the child spend time together. Inspection report for children's home: 2612347 5 This has included cultural celebrations, meals out and barbecues. Events such as this help build on the caring and therapeutic family ethos that the manager has successfully created. A staff member described the support they receive as ‘phenomenal’. Inspection report for children's home: 2612347 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. In particular, new staff would benefit from a greater awareness of autism spectrum disorder. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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 Home Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children's home: 2612347 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Abbey Green Therapeutic Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 51 Abbey Green Road, Leek ST13 8SA

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Avgoustinos Demetriou

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Inspector

Catherine Honey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2612347 8 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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