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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2740650 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

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. The home provides care to three children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2024. She is experienced and suitably qualified.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the homes first inspection since registration. At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home, they were both present during the inspector 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 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: 2740650 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm, welcoming and has a family atmosphere. Children’s belongings fill the home, and their photos are proudly on display. Children personalise their bedrooms and this allows them to take a sense of pride in their home and promotes their well- being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive high-quality care that makes them feel valued and secure. The staff demonstrate unwavering commitment to them. Children living here have made significant and meaningful progress from their starting points. For example, both children’s incidents have reduced significantly; children are reflective of past events and can now recognise right from wrong; and they want to change their behaviour and be successful in everything they do. Children are extremely positive about the care that they receive. One child said, ‘I love it here. I am proud of how I have been supported to change my behaviour; I have learned so much. I just want to keep my head down, get back into mainstream education and have a decent job in the future.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is promoted and supported well. Managers and staff support and encourage the children to engage in education. Staff advocate for children to have the best opportunities. Staff are ambitious for children and have offered them support to ensure that their individual needs are met. The staff work effectively with education providers and promote children’s engagement with school. Staff know how well schools and colleges meet children’s needs and act if they are concerned that they do not. For example, the manager challenged one child’s local authority due to their education provision being so far away from the home, this negatively impacted on their attendance. As a result, a new provision was identified close to the home. This has resulted in this child finding the best educational support for their needs to help them to achieve now and in the future. However, there has been a missed opportunity to support

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

another child. Although a new college has been identified for September 2025, in the interim, this child has not been fully supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. This does not support this child’s learning needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Internal care planning processes are structured and well recorded. Staff complete internal placement plans to a high standard. These plans detail clear targets and enable staff to track children’s progress and achievements. Children’s internal care plans detail longer-term aims and mirror statutory care plans. This promotes good-quality and consistent care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are expertly addressed. There are strong links with health professionals and specialist services. The manager has demonstrated an ability to seek specialist help when this is necessary and have undertaken research to meet specific needs of the child they care for. The multi-team approach means that the child’s needs are responded to effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: 2740650 3 Children are supported to develop independence skills at a pace that suits their needs and abilities. Children develop skills, such as being able to budget money, travel independently, complete laundry tasks and they can prepare meals. These opportunities enable children to take on appropriate levels of responsibility to develop life skills for the future. These skills are supporting one child to have a well-planned transition out of the home to independent living soon.

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

Managers and staff are clear about their responsibilities to protect children. Staff understand the child protection policy and know how to report a safeguarding concern. Managers have an effective system for recording, reporting and monitoring safeguarding concerns. Communication with professionals is effective. Additionally, the depth of staff’s safeguarding knowledge is continuously reflected on during team meetings, supervision and mentoring sessions.

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

When children go missing from care, staff follow the joint protocol effectively. Searches conducted by staff and persistent attempts to make contact show children they are cared about. Initiative-taking collaboration with parents, local authorities and police supports children to return home safely. Missing-from-care incident records are clear, enabling thorough monitoring of these events by the manager.

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

Staff educate children about risk. Children participate in important, planned conversations with staff and online training where safeguarding scenarios are discussed to address identified risks and raise their awareness about topics of concern. This direct work includes online safety, exploitation and the dangers of going missing from home to name a few. This positive work enhances children’s knowledge of risk and allows them to take the lead in their learning.

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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. Relationships between staff and children are a significant protective factor, staff know the children well, they are attuned to their needs and can recognise any changes in behaviours. Additionally, the children told the inspector that they trust the adults who care for them and will communicate to them when they are struggling or need support. The staff team’s approach to supporting children who self- injure is nurturing, caring and curious. Staff talk openly with children and listen to them effectively about how they are feeling. They support children to manage their need to hurt themselves and understand the reasons behind it. Staff and managers work in partnership to support children with their emotional health. Children who harm themselves are provided alternate strategies to keep them safe. Risk assessments and

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

safety plans are kept up to date, and include support from children’s mental health services and therapy. Children have supported staff in writing these plans.

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

Managers and staff demonstrate a great understanding of children’s vulnerabilities and potential risks posed to them. This awareness is embedded in the staff’s day-to-day work, which effectively reduces and minimises the risks for children. Staff are directed in Inspection report for children’s home: 2740650 4 how to manage and mitigate the risks identified for each child. Staff are highly skilled in diversion, distraction and de- escalation and these strategies are effective. This helps ensure that children are protected from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate about the service and advocating for children. She keeps children at the heart of all she does. She, alongside the house manager and responsible individual role model a nurturing and therapeutic approach to children’s care. She is fully involved in children’s lives. She is clear about the progress children are making and has high aspirations for what they can achieve. She is enthusiastic in her efforts to be a trusted person for children. This makes her a good role model for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings and supervisions take place regularly and are used as a place for reflection, learning and provide a comprehensive overview of the progress made by children. This allows all staff an opportunity to discuss children’s progress, generate ideas and have a consistent approach to the care provided. Important issues are tracked and discussed, and children are at the centre of all staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is proud of the home’s ability to retain a core, experienced staff team. She welcomes new team members and supports them with a clear development pathway for their personal development. Staff are very well supported by the manager through mentoring sessions and reflective sessions about research-based practise. This shows that she has a real commitment to the professional development of her team. In addition, this strengthens staff’s understanding of the children’s needs and how to support children, to sustain good quality care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Manager’s monitoring systems are embedded into practice, which ensures that they have a good oversight of the home and take action to address issues as they arise. This comprehensive oversight makes sure that all aspects of care and the running of the home are maintained to a good 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: good

The manager has established good connections with partner agencies. Professionals are positive about the communication with the staff team and about the care provided for the children. One social worker said, ‘They go above and beyond in everything they do. T he progress my child has made in such a short space has been amazing; they have come a long way with the support that they have been receiving.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak about the children with love, warmth and enthusiasm. Staff provide a culture of respect, nurture and safety. Staff are committed to children. They love working in the home and feel supported by managers. One staff member said, ‘I feel 100% supported and listened too. My manager is so child focused, no better role model for the team.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2740650 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that where children are placed in a home and are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full- time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. If no education place is identified by the placing authority, the registered person must challenge them to meet the child’s needs under regulation 5 (engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.5)

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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: 2740650 6

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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: 2740650 7 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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Inspector

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