Children's Home run by 5ab Care Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2703722 1 Registered provider: 5ab Care 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 organisation. The home is registered to provide care for up to three children. Children may exhibit complex behaviours due to childhood trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since the home opened in January 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home. All children were present during the inspection and spoke with the inspector.

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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 outstanding

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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: 19 September 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children's home: 2703722 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/09/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2703722 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The team provide children with a welcoming, warm and nurturing home environment. Children’s bedrooms and the living areas of the home resonate with a sense of individuality, achievement and special interests. Toys, games, artwork, photos and certificates clearly reflect the individual hobbies, interests and achievements of each child. The décor, maintenance and organisation of the home clearly suggest that those who live there are important, valued and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between adults and children are warm, affectionate and loving. Their positive relationships are clear to see. Adults speak about the children with love, warmth and enthusiasm. They demonstrate unwavering commitment to them. Adults provide a culture of respect, nurture and safety. Staff are enormously committed to children. Adults are continually curious about, and reflect on, how they can help children grow in all areas of their development. This helps children to build trust and to feel safer and relaxed in their surroundings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are also incredibly positive about the care that they receive. One child said: 'The best thing about this home is the adults who care for me and [X] who I live with; they are like my sibling.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children like spending time with the adults and enjoy living at the home. As children grow in confidence, they access new social circles and enjoy a range of new activities. Children take part in activities with adults that they enjoy. This provides children with the opportunity to gain new experiences and have fun. For example, children have attended swimming and guitar lessons. One child has joined a local football club and all children have been on holiday.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and adults understand the importance of education. All children have faced challenges with their education and have had periods of disengaging. The manager and adults are persistent with children in motivating them to want to learn and finding ways to engage them. They work in partnership with schools and the placing authority to find children a suitable provision that reflects their learning needs. They have successfully supported the children to reintegrate into education despite them having a history of no attendance. This helps children to maintain a daily routine that supports their academic needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The adults successfully help children to develop and maintain relationships with their family and friends. Adults support and enable children to visit their own family at home for overnight stays. For some, this may be something they have not done for some time. Families appreciate this level of support and one parent said: ‘They go above and beyond; I am so grateful for the care and love they give my child. Apart from at home, I would not want my child to live anywhere else.’ Adults keep in regular contact with families to keep them up to date on the day-to-day progress of their children. Adults encourage children to make positive, social friendships in the wider community. One Inspection report for children's home: 2703722 4 child celebrated their birthday with a family barbeque at the home, inviting 30 members of their family to celebrate.

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

When children go missing from the home, adults talk to them to ascertain the cause of this and the support they need so that it does not happen again. Robust protocols provide adults with clear direction about what to do if a child goes missing. Adults search extensively for children and liaise with the local police until they are found. Because of the positive relationships with children, adults feel comfortable to express their concerns and worries to them when they have been missing, which shows a very real and nurturing response. An independent person always comes to talk to the children when they return home.

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

Keeping children safe is seen as paramount. The manager has a highly effective system for recording, reporting and monitoring safeguarding concerns. Communication with professionals, such as the local authority designated officer and social workers, are effective. The manager shares information with them swiftly to avoid delay and ensure that children are protected from harm. The manager takes guidance from these professionals, and they work together to ensure that children are safe.

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

The positive relationships that adults form with the children are a significant protective factor in helping to keep them safe. As a result, incidents of restraint are low. Adults physically intervene when children become unsettled and show behaviours that place themselves or others at risk of harm. Adults understand the reasons behind behaviours that cause concern and provide good support to children afterwards. This helps children to move on from the incident. The recording is effective and clear, and reflection and debriefs take place to help the adults to reflect on their practice and explore the triggers for the incidents, including how they could respond differently in the future. The manager provides close scrutiny of all incidents and measures of control to ensure that their use is fair and proportionate. Good management oversight and prompt action to address issues means that children are treated fairly and stay safe.

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

Incidents of children harming themselves have been managed well and have reduced from children’s starting points. The adult’s approach to supporting children who harm themselves is nurturing and caring. Adults are comfortable talking to the children and gently challenge them to consider the effect of their risk-taking behaviour. Adults talk openly with children and listen to them about why they harm themselves. Adults help them to work through their emotions and to talk more openly about their worries. Children are provided alternate strategies to keep them safe.

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

Managers do not always monitor, review and evaluate consequences given to children effectively. They have not, at times, identified shortfalls in staff recording and practice. Some consequences given are not restorative in nature, or in line with the home’s statement of purpose. The manager has taken prompt action to address this with the team, during the inspection to prevent this occurring in the future. Inspection report for children's home: 2703722 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and responsible individual are confident, ambitious and inspirational leaders. They lead by example, providing highly effective leadership. Together, they have formed a formidable management team that is ambitious and has high expectations and aspirations for the home, the children and the adults. Their leadership inspires the adults to provide exceptional care. Managers have created an open and inclusive culture that places children at the centre of practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has excellent relationships with the children. She prioritises spending time with children, and she is an avid advocate for them when needed. Throughout inspection she exemplified a strong knowledge of the children’s progress and a commitment to respecting their individual identities. She strives to provide excellent outcomes for children and improve the operation of the home. This ethos is shared by a highly motivated and enthusiastic team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leadership, management and staff cohesion are clear strengths of the home and ensure the safety and welfare of children. Strategic reviews of incidents at the home provide constant evaluation of adult practice and highlight children’s changing needs. This comprehensive oversight makes sure that all aspects of care and the running of the home are maintained to a high standard. This better assists the manager to identify concerns and make prompt changes to improve and maintain good standards of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Adults are extremely positive about working in the home. The manager is well regarded, and she is nurturing towards the team. This means that the adults work in an environment where they feel well supported. One team member said: 'She is amazing, by far the best manager I have ever had. She is so supportive and always there when we need her. She offers lots of praise but will also tell us when things need to improve. I respect that a lot.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and adults have working relationships with all external agencies that are extremely effective to ensure the best possible care, experiences and futures for the children. Professionals speak highly of the quality of care provided and the standards of communication maintained by the team. One external professional said: 'This is one of the best homes I have worked with, they go above and beyond in everything they do. I am so proud of the progress my child has made in such a short period of time.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Adults are provided with a wide range of training that informs their practice and meets children’s individual and diverse needs. The manager has completed development workshops with the team about behaviour management, professional curiosity, behaviour analysis and confirmation bias to name a few. She is creative in her thinking and is constantly looking for new and creative ways to support the team, to sustain the highest quality of care for children. This strengthens the adults understanding of the children’s needs and how to support children. Inspection report for children's home: 2703722 6 The remarkably strong leadership of the home and the quality of care create an environment where adults are proud to work, and children are proud to live. Inspection report for children's home: 2703722 7

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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, 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

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child.

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Requirement Due date

The following measures may not be used to discipline any child—

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Requirement Due date

any punishment involving the consumption or deprivation of food or drink;

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Requirement Due date

any restriction, other than one imposed by a court or in accordance with regulation 22 (contact and access to communications), on—

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Requirement Due date

a child's contact with parents, relatives or friends;

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Requirement Due date

visits to the child by the child's parents, relatives or friends;

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Requirement Due date

a child's communications with any persons listed in regulation 22(1) (contact and access to communications); or a child's access to any internet-based or telephone helpline providing counselling for children;

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Requirement Due date

the use or withholding of medication, or medical or dental treatment;

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Requirement Due date

imposing a financial penalty, other than a requirement for the payment of a reasonable sum (which may be by instalments) by way of reparation;

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Requirement Due date

withholding any aids or equipment needed by a disabled child; 6 April 2025 Inspection report for children's home: 2703722 8 any measure involving a child imposing any measure against another child; or

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Requirement Due date

any measure involving punishing a group of children for the behaviour of an individual child. (Regulation 19 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h)(i)(j))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the manager has effective oversight and that any consequence given to children is restorative in nature.

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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: 2703722 9

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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

Marianne Grandfield, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2703722 10 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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