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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2613829 1 Registered provider: Abbey Green Therapeutic Children’s Services Ltd

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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 care for up to four children who need support to manage their social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has a suitably qualified and registered manager who has been in post since January 2024.

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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: 2613829 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/06/2023 Full Good 06/04/2022 Full Outstanding 17/08/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2613829 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use a therapeutic approach in all the work that they do with the children. Staff spend time with children, and this helps children to build their trust and confidence in the staff caring for them. Consequently, children can talk to staff about concerns or worries they may have.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff enjoy taking children out into the community so that they can take part in lots of different activities. Staff are keen to provide children with as many opportunities to sample life outside of the home as possible. This is because they appreciate how it will enhance the children’s overall development and understanding of the community and world they live in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are registered with the necessary health services. When appointments are needed for a child, staff take the time to explain to the child what will happen. One child required a specialist appointment, and staff did all they could to make the experience for the child as good as it could be. This was with the aim of the child receiving the necessary treatment. The child didn’t feel able to have the medical intervention, but staff have remained committed to the child and determined to help them overcome their worries.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into and out of the home are a real strength. When children leave, they know that they have been fully supported by staff as they move to their next home. The relationships between children and staff are strong, and when children leave, staff remain in contact with the child. This helps to ensure that the child is fully settled into their new home and services are coordinated to meet the child’s needs. Similarly, when children move into a home, the manager works in partnership with all involved to make the child’s move to the home as child focused as possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff work alongside psychotherapists in the company to deliver the best possible care to children. The therapy team is very proactive in its approach with the staff. The time that therapists spend with the children supports the children to make progress and assists them to develop their own emotional resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Childrens meetings take place in the home to allow children share their wishes and feelings. The meetings would benefit from having a fixed agenda for staff to follow so that all aspects are covered at each meeting. Equally, the children would likely appreciate some feedback from the manager after the meeting, as this would reinforce to them that their views and opinions matter.

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

Safeguarding is at the heart of all that staff do as part of their daily work. The risk assessments contain very detailed information about the children and how best to Inspection report for children’s home: 2613829 4 respond to them. These are updated each month to reflect how the child has been over the last month and to ensure that staff remain updated regarding all the child’s needs.

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

When incidents occur in the home, staff are proactive in their response. Staff can usually de-escalate situations without the need to physically intervene. After every incident, staff engage with the children to explore their feelings about what happened. The manager oversees all incidents, setting actions or identifying learning opportunities. However, the current system lacks a mechanism for tracking whether these actions or learning outcomes are completed. Implementing a monitoring system would help the manager to ensure that all follow-up steps are completed.

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

The staff are observant and vigilant. They are curious when they see a change in a child’s behaviour. Staff explore their concerns with the child and discuss their observations. Staff take appropriate action if needed. When concerns continue, staff work with the therapy team and external agencies to resolve them and ensure that children remain safe.

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

Complaints and allegations are escalated and investigated appropriately. Managers ensure that they promptly inform the local authority designated officer following any allegation. Safeguarding protocols are consistently followed.

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

Staff understand the risks posed to children using mobile phones that have access to social media and the internet. Staff undertake individual sessions with children and talk about the dangers of being online and how they can keep themselves safe. Children allow staff to check their phones, and this shows how much they trust the staff. There is also an appropriate safety app in place that monitors children’s online activity and adds to their overall safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been in their role since January 2024. However, they were a manager in other homes before taking up their current post, so they are equipped with knowledge and skills to fulfil this role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager recognises the importance of children maintaining relationships with significant people. Children are supported to speak to and see those important people. This reinforces the children’s sense of identity and belonging.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works in close collaboration with external professional agencies. They keep professionals continually updated regarding the children and their needs. The manager has strongly advocated for the children to ensure that their wishes are heard and acted on when required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff receive the training they need to meet children’s needs. This can be specifically for a child or a wider safeguarding or developmental topic. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613829 5 Psychotherapists working in the organisation deliver research-informed training to staff. Staff unable to attend the training should be given opportunities to review the training that has been delivered. This will allow their knowledge and skills to be enhanced, with the overall positive impact on delivering good care to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A comprehensive induction program is in place for new staff. Staff appreciate the organisations approach, finding it valuable, and they feel well prepared with essential knowledge and skills before they work with children. It would be advantageous for staff to receive regular supervision during their induction period. This would confirm to the manager that staff fully understand their role and responsibilities and adhere to them while on shift.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s oversight of the home could be improved. They are unaware of some aspects of staff practice. This includes staff not reading essential documents relating to children. Additionally, the manager does not have a system that demonstrates what they have reviewed. This is a missed opportunity to learn from the manager’s review of documentation or care practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The report should be sent within 28 days from the last date the report covers. This would provide assurance to Ofsted that the manager and leaders are reviewing the quality of care being provided in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613829 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to ensuring robust quality assurance and monitoring systems are in place, used regularly and recorded. 29 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. 29 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2613829 7 After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to ensuring there is a suitable monitoring system in place and that reports are completed at least every six months and sent to HMCI within 28 days.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff consistently follow the home’s policies and procedures for the benefit of the children in the home’s care. They should ensure that staff read and sign all key documents in the home. (Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20)  The registered person should maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that staff receive purposeful supervision that reflects the statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes.

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Recommendations

(Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11) Inspection report for children’s home: 2613829 8

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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: 2613829 9

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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: Suite 3, Mercia Court, Bingham, Nottingham NG13 8QX

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Avgoustinos Demetriou

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Inspector

Lizette Watts, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2613829 10 regulates and inspects 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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