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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2508525 1 Registered provider: Abbey Green Therapeutic Children’s Services 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 by a private company. It provides therapeutic care for up to four children who have experienced trauma and may subsequently experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, four children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 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: 2508525 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2024 Full Good 01/03/2023 Full Outstanding 01/03/2022 Full Good 02/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 2508525 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During the inspection, the inspector spoke to all four children living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since moving to the home, all children have made individual progress. They achieve this by maintaining positive relationships with the staff, the manager and the in-house therapists. The relationships between the younger children have directly influenced their social development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The in-house therapy team and the staff have a fully integrated relationship, which directly benefits the children and the progress they make. They work together to develop effective practice and share information. Staff use the therapy team’s presence in the home to help them understand and adapt their work practices to better meet the needs of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and inviting. The home’s layout caters to the varying ages of the children. There is a large, bright playroom filled with toys and books for the younger children, as well as a garage that has been converted into a space suited for a teenager, complete with musical instruments and gym equipment. The well-maintained garden is spacious, and children play there daily. Each child’s bedroom is decorated to a high standard and personalised according to their tastes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have numerous opportunities to voice their opinions, which is encouraged both in groups and individually. All children attend regular meetings to express their views, and they occasionally lead these meetings. They also have monthly one-to-one time with the manager, which allows them to discuss any difficulties in a safe environment. Children know how to make a complaint, but because of these opportunities, issues are resolved promptly. This demonstrates to the children that their views are valued, heard, and acted on when appropriate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend education and have individualised timetables to support their attainment. When a provision is determined as not meeting a child’s needs, the manager actively seeks a more suitable provision. Staff work in partnership with schools to engage children in their learning. There is collaboration with schools on how to best support children, which promotes consistency.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff carry out key work with children at every opportunity and capture it using child- centred language. Staff have trusting and strong relationships with the children, allowing them to discuss difficult behaviours and concerns they may have. However, the children’s daily records often fail to reflect this, with some use of language that is not helpful to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2508525 4

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

There have been allegations of harm made by children and through whistle-blowing procedures. The manager has responded quickly and effectively, accessing the appropriate advice and guidance. All records are detailed and accurate. When areas of learning in staff practice are identified, they are addressed individually as well as part of team development to prevent reoccurrence. This protects staff and children.

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

Physical interventions are used appropriately. Incident reports are detailed and explain why the intervention was used, emphasising the importance of transparent working practices. Children and staff reflect on these incidents, which helps them identify alternative strategies for managing their behaviours.

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

Staff respond quickly and effectively to incidents involving children falling out with one another. Following these incidents, there is an emphasis on repair work, with children being supported to discuss the incident with each other so that relationships are restored promptly.

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

Consequences are used sparingly to manage behaviours. When applied, they are fair, reasonable, and appropriate for the behaviours displayed. They create learning opportunities for the children and promote further conversations with staff about how they can prevent the behaviour from reoccurring.

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

Staff are recruited in line with safer recruitment policies and practices. This ensures that staff are suitable for working with children. An effective induction involves staff receiving training to equip them with the necessary skills to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed to the children and staff and is an aspirational and motivated leader. The manager actively assists staff, demonstrating expectations and offering additional support when necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and leaders have effective systems to monitor what is happening in the home. This allows them to have consistent oversight of staff’s practice and the impact on the children’s care. The manager and leaders promptly address any concerns that are identified in the team. They put plans in place to rectify issues, ensure minimal disruption for the children and maintain consistency in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager clearly understands each child’s needs and what they require to make progress. The manager will confidently advocate for the children and challenge professionals when necessary. This demonstrates the manager’s commitment to the children’s well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s review of the quality of care requires further work. The review contains good oversight of children’s progress but does not specifically evaluate the care provided to the children. Feedback from the children and stakeholders, with a clear action plan, is Inspection report for children’s home: 2508525 5 also missing from the review. This limits how the manager can make future improvements to children’s lives and their home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Group supervision sessions take place during monthly team meetings. These are facilitated by the in-house therapist and provide a space for staff to speak collectively about the care and progress of the children and staff team. However, individual supervision of staff does not take place on a regular basis. There is no consistent opportunity for staff to reflect on their practice and understanding of their role. This could limit learning opportunities for staff to enhance their work practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2508525 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

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.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to above must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (2)(a)(b)(c) (5)) 31 July 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should support staff to record information about individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third- party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should have systems in place so that staff receive supervision that allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report for children’s home: 2508525 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: 2508525 8

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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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Inspector

Deirdre Silkstone, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2508525 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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Inspector

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