Children's home run by 5ab Care Ltd

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

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2020 and is currently on long-term leave. Another manager has been appointed to cover this period. They are not yet registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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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: 2597747 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/08/2023 Full Good 08/11/2022 Full Good 06/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2597747 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child was present during the inspection. The child has learning disabilities and associated communication needs. Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home. A manager was present for the duration of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has good relationships with staff in the home and these were observed during the inspection. Staff are attuned to the child and are quick to understand their cues. Staff talk very fondly about the child and work hard to ensure that the child is calm, happy and making progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff include the child’s family at every opportunity. A parent was invited to go on holiday with the child, giving an opportunity for meaningful shared experiences. The parent said, ‘We do appointments and activities together.’ The parent said that the staff allow her to be the child’s mum. This ensures that people who the child loves continue to be involved in their life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to take part in activities such as rock climbing and other local themed attractions. Staff arrange events that are linked with various international sporting competitions, such as a swing ball competition to coincide with a tennis competition. Staff capture these events in photo albums, which provides the child with a record of their childhood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the child’s health needs well. Clear plans are in place to instruct staff on what action to take if health needs arise. Staff are aware of these and ensure that the instructions are followed. A school nurse, who knows the child well, said that a certain aspect of the child’s health is the best it has ever been.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child recently had a very positive move from the home after living there for several years. As part of the planning for the move, the registered manager advocated for the child to ensure that the local authority understood the child’s level of need correctly. This ensured that the child moved to appropriate accommodation. Before the move, staff organised a leaving party for the child, which was a celebration of them and all that they had achieved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is open-plan and modern. There is a separate lounge to allow for more privacy if required. There is also a well-equipped sensory room. The garden has been developed to include play equipment and sensory areas, which makes it more inviting for the child to play in. However, the bathroom used by the child requires some renovations and cleaning to bring it up to the standard of the rest of the house. Inspection report for children’s home: 2597747 4

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

Staff know how to communicate effectively with the child using their preferred methods. Staff have also supported the child to gradually become more able to calm themselves. As a result, incidents are minimal.

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

During the inspection, the child came home from school showing that they were unhappy. Staff immediately knew what to do to help the child to manage these feelings, such as running a bath for the child and foot massages. The child was gently helped to feel happier and more relaxed. This demonstrates staff’s understanding of the child’s needs.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the risks relating to the child. Managers keep risk assessments under regular review and update this information as needed. Risk assessments clearly identify risks and detail the steps staff must take to keep the child safe.

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

On one occasion, the child was able to leave the house without staff realising. Due to the child’s needs and level of awareness, this was dangerous for them. The incident occurred because staff did not follow risk assessments and shift planning was not rigorous. The manager took immediate steps to ensure that a similar incident is unlikely to happen again. The manager has carried out a thorough investigation, and all senior staff involved in the incident have received appropriate outcomes. However, there has been no attempt to communicate an apology to the child for allowing this to happen.

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

Staff do not feel fully equipped or resourced to help the child overcome some barriers to communicating concerns. Consequently, staff have not sufficiently explored this with the child. As a result, some barriers to reporting harm have not been sufficiently explored.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Until very recently, two registered managers were in post. One manager has recently left the role but remains part of the organisation. The other manager is currently on leave. Senior managers have acted swiftly to promote the deputy manager to the role of home manager so that management arrangements are sufficient in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager ensures that the child’s needs are understood by all staff and are well met. Leaders and managers have shown due consideration to new referrals, demonstrating a commitment to ensuring that the needs of the child in the home remain the priority.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have good oversight of the home. The manager carries out regular audits, which enables her to identify issues quickly. The responsible individual visits once a week, making himself available to staff. He evaluates the documents produced by staff, which adds an extra layer of scrutiny. This also helps to support the manager who is new in her role. Inspection report for children’s home: 2597747 5 The recent management changes and a child moving have unsettled the staff team. Leaders and managers have recognised this and provided staff with the opportunity to talk about their feelings. To help staff process their emotions in relation to a child moving, a therapist was involved in a series of team meetings. As a result, staff feel supported and listened to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides regular supervision sessions. Minutes of these sessions are thorough and actions are set, which are reviewed at the next meeting. This provides staff with helpful and achievable targets to improve their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A small number of staff have not completed their formal qualification within the required time frame. The manager has recognised this, taken appropriate actions and given staff formal plans to support them to complete these. A new rota to provide staff with protected time to complete their work is being put in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have received relevant training in important topics, such as neurodiversity and specific health needs. Following practice errors made by individual staff, the manager has directed the individual staff to complete specific training. However, the errors have then been made by different staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works well with external agencies, such as the school nurse and social workers. Feedback from a social worker about the care provided is very complimentary. Inspection report for children’s home: 2597747 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff are equipped to explore barriers to the child raising concerns and take actions to reduce these. In addition, ensure that when the child has experienced less than satisfactory care, staff explore this with the child and apologise to them. 14 November 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the bathroom is deep cleaned and refurbished if needed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that, following recurring practice errors, effective action is taken, including the provision of training, to prevent further occurrences across the team. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) Inspection report for children’s home: 2597747 7

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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: 2597747 8

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Hannah Phillips, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2597747 9 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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