Children's home run by Abbey Green Therapeutic Children’s Services Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2791932 1 Registered provider: Abbey Green Therapeutic Children’s Services Limited

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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 managed by a private company. It provides care for up to four children who have social and emotional difficulties. Two children were living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection since registration.

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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2791932 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected N/A N/A Inspection report for children’s home: 2791932 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff provide children with a good standard of care. Staff work hard to form relationships with children, who value their support. Children feel able to approach staff and ask for their help. Staff are nurturing and patient in their approach and ensure that children understand what is being asked of them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the children are healthy. Appointments are made with health professionals if needed, and staff ensure that everything is seen through to conclusion. The children are offered a wide range of varied foods, but at times the children choose familiar and known foods. The staff acknowledge the benefits of a varied diet, and they continue to offer different foods.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Neither child is attending formal education. One child is receiving support from a tutor, and for the other child, staff undertake daily activities that focus on some basic educational skills. The manager has a proactive approach to the children’s education. They are visiting education provisions to try and identify a possible education placement that would meet the needs of the children. In addition, staff and managers are strongly advocating for the children with educational colleagues as they recognise the importance of the education for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Of the two children living in the home, one child moved from another home in the same company and another child moved in a few months ago. The move into the home was planned and coordinated, and the child remained central to the process. Before moving in, the child was visited by key members of staff so they could get to know them. In addition, the child was given a helpful visual guide about the process of moving to their new home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are attentive to the unique needs of each child and adapt their care accordingly. By providing tailored support, the staff help children develop their skills in a way that suits their personal growth. Over time, this approach has resulted in noticeable progress for the children across various areas of their lives. One of the children’s social workers said their child had made progress because of ‘the nurturing and bespoke care that she had received’.

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

Staff prioritise the safety of the children and have a good understanding of individual needs and vulnerabilities. Clear and detailed plans are in place, with strategies to minimise potential risk. Staff are vigilant and are curious to explore the feelings of the children and, where possible, de-escalate situations before then evolve into incidents.

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

When incidents do occur, staff are quick to respond, and they work with the child to resolve the incident as soon as possible. Staff are very attuned to the complex needs of Inspection report for children’s home: 2791932 4 the children. They use caring and nurturing approaches in their response to them and make sure their feelings are acknowledged and that staff are there to support them.

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

The collaboration between therapists and carers ensures a holistic and consistent approach to meeting the children’s needs. After incidents, therapists participate in debriefs to explore the underlying causes, which leads to a deeper understanding of the children’s behaviour. This thorough approach has had a positive effect on the children and staff, resulting in a reduction in incidents.

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

The staff provide children with support to manage their behaviour and emotions. The staff are attuned to the children’s individual experiences and set appropriate boundaries. This helps the children to remain safe and help them understand what is acceptable.

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

The medication process is well established, and staff administer medication to children every day. However, there is no medication audit in place that checks if staff are working in accordance with the policy and process. There has been an instance of unsafe practice which had gone unnoticed.

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

Safe recruitment processes are well managed, and regulations are followed. There is a dedicated office manager who oversees all recruitment, and they follow clear and effective processes. This ensures that the staff working in the home are safe to do so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced and suitably qualified. He is passionate about his role and achieving positive outcomes for children. The manager is supported by a deputy manager and together they are an effective team that is supportive of the staff. One staff member said, ‘They are an inspiration and their dedication to the home, team and, most importantly, the young people, filters down to the care team.’ However, oversight by the responsible individual is not evident in the home, to clearly demonstrate that their input ensures that the home is working in accordance with the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are skilled at their role and respond well to the children’s evolving needs. The staff have regular group supervision where they actively reflect together to better understand why a child may behave in a certain way. By sharing these insights and collaborating with colleagues, they ensure that a collective approach to supporting children. A key aspect of their practice is the focus on lessons learned. There is continuous reflection and improvement aimed at benefiting the children and enhancing the care they provide.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers support a learning culture in the home. Various training has been undertaken, and this includes training required by the provider alongside child-specific training. The skills and knowledge of the team are shared to support everyone’s development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervisions are completed on a regular basis. Of particular benefit are the practical supervisions. Managers explore key learning with staff to extend their knowledge and Inspection report for children’s home: 2791932 5 understanding. This dual approach to supervision supports the upskilling of staff to make them more effective in their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers recognise the value in children spending time with important people in their lives. Feedback from an important person was very positive, and they were able to see how the relationships have developed between a child and the carers supporting them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a multi-agency work approach to ensuring that children’s needs are met. There is a good level of communication between all involved. Feedback from a professional is highly complimentary of the support provided to a child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2791932 6

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Statutory requirement

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 registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1)(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff follow the home’s medication process and complete the medication records when medication has been administered. In addition, the registered person must ensure that a regular medication audit is completed. 11 November 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is led and managed in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s Statement of Purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)

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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: 2791932 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Abbey Green Therapeutic Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 3, Bingham Enterprise Centre, Mercia Court, Bingham, Nottingham NG13 8QX

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Inspectors

Lizette Watts, Social Care Inspector Caroline Hose, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2791932 8 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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