Children's home run by 5ab Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2597747 1 Registered provider: 5ab Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to three children with complex needs, including learning disabilities and/or autism spectrum disorders.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2020.

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: 8 November 2022

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2597747 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/11/2022 Full Good 06/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2597747 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are two children living at the home. Children benefit from a family-style home. Both children are settled and making good progress. The children have learning disabilities and associated communication needs. The staff have an in-depth understanding of their needs. They make every effort to understand children’s cues and use communication systems that children are familiar and confident with.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children moved from their family homes, directly to the home. Families are extremely important to children. Staff fully support family relationships. They upskill and empower children’s parents, while making the most of their knowledge and expertise. The staff support parents when children visit their family homes, and warmly welcome parents to the home. Parents enjoy family-style celebration meals at the home. This benefits children and their parents, who value the therapeutic value of meeting other parents who have similar experiences.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a bright open-plan and spacious home. The house is light, contemporary and full of resources that children enjoy. There is ample room for children to play and move quickly and spontaneously. This space works very well for children who require space, and the privacy of two communal areas. The garden is maintained, however there is a lack of play equipment to encourage children outside.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff provide meaningful activities that are safe, and provide value and stimulation. Children pick vegetables and visit farms; they enjoy local parks and swim regularly. Staff provide children with regular access to the community that is safely managed.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are fully supported to attend school. Staff work closely with schools, to ensure communication is open and address any difficulties.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have limited interactions and social skills are living alongside one another calmly. They enjoy a wide range of experiences, and have strong relationships with the staff team. For families, who have always cared for their children, this is very reassuring. One parent said, He [the child] is living his best life.

p.3

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

Children are safely cared for and very well supervised. Staff understand individual children’s risks and vulnerabilities. Children use alternative methods of communication. The staff have a detailed understanding of how children express their needs and feelings. This is effective in reducing children’s frustration and stress, as they feel understood and responded to by staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2597747 4 Staff know children well and are attuned to their cues. Staff use holistic methods to support individual children. They will use a foot massage or direct children to the garden swings as strategies to help children to calm.

p.3

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

The staff can easily explain how they would raise any safeguarding concerns should they need to. This shows that the staff have the confidence and skills to help keep children safe.

p.4

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

The staff provide children with high levels of support and supervision both at the home and in the community. With this level of supervision, the risk of children going missing from the home is very low.

p.4

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

The manager follows safer recruitment procedures to ensure that staff are recruited in a safe way.

p.4

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

Staff rarely use restraint, and when they do it is necessary, proportionate and recorded well. However, following one restraint, minor injuries sustained by a child were not reported to the local authority designated officer. This reduces the external safeguards.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been recently registered with Ofsted and is qualified. She is very child-focused and motivated to deliver consistent and high-quality care. She is ambitious for the children and talks about them with pride. She values the staff team and provides them with a positive role model. Staff feel supported by the manager and staff morale is high. The team is collectively committed to providing the best outcomes for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The systems in place to monitor and review the quality of care provided are effective. The manager has good oversight of the day-to-day running of the home, staff practice and children’s progress.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children benefit from consistent care and staff that they know well. Agency staff are rarely used. The children benefit from familiar and known staff.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A good-quality induction programme ensures that all new staff have completed mandatory training. This includes safeguarding training. New staff said that they are well supported by the manager and enjoy working with the children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff receive training to develop the necessary skills to understand and meet the child’s individual needs. Core training is up to date. Training is responsive. Following a review of the current restraint training, staff have received specific guidance. This is to ensure that the strategies used are bespoke and suited to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2597747 5 The manager promotes a culture of learning and encourages staff to follow up on holistic training therapies which are in the best interest of the children. These include reflexology and sensory resources.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is evidence of strong partnership working. The manager will challenge professionals when the needs of children are not being prioritised. The manager challenged a school when a child was sent home. She felt this was not in keeping with the child’s usual behaviour support strategies. This approach helps the children to make progress in different areas of their lives, and encourages others to better understand children’s needs.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has excellent relationships with professionals. Feedback from professionals and parents is extremely positive.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is readily available to staff, meaning staff feel able to talk through issues when they arrive. Supervision sessions are regularly held and are recorded. However, these could be more reflective, especially following incidents, in order to support staff to develop resilience. Inspection report for children’s home: 2597747 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vii)) 31 August 2023

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the garden is a more usable and welcoming space for children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that all staff, including agency staff, receive supervisions which enables them to reflect and act on how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15)

p.6

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: 2597747 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Jones Hunt Ltd, 71 Knowl Piece, Wilbury Way, Hitchin SG4 0TY

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered manager: Lauren Forbes /Nadine Hewitt-Jamieson

p.7

Inspectors

Deirdra Keating, Social Care Inspector Hannah Phillips, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2597747 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.

p.7

Inspectors

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.8

Inspectors

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

p.8

Inspectors

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

p.8