Children's Home run by Aden Homes Limited in Havering

Inspection report for children’s home: 2757606 1 Registered provider: ADEN HOMES 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 privately owned home provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in January 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

There were no children living in the home at the time of inspection.

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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: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2757606 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has lived in the home since registration and made good progress from their individual starting points. As the child was keen to gain their GCSEs, staff arranged for them to access tutoring and engage in education. Staff asked the tutor for feedback to help support the child further with their learning. This demonstrates staff’s commitment to the child’s educational success and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff helped the child to develop their independent life skills. This included learning how to budget, cook, bake, do their own laundry and take care of their personal hygiene.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understood the child’s health needs well. Staff worked closely with the child to focus on cooking and eating nutritious, balanced meals together and exercising in the community. This helped the child to develop an awareness of healthy eating and weight management. Staff also understood the child’s emotional needs and supported them to attend therapy sessions with an external therapist. This was very beneficial for the child, who engaged well with the support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of family relationships and supported the child to maintain connections with their family. Staff regularly updated the child’s parents and arranged for family visits at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoyed a range of activities in the home and in the community. These included a singing contest and trips to arcades and parks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained. The maintenance and repairs team regularly work in the home and garden to keep it in good condition.

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

Staff demonstrated a good understanding of the child’s risks, needs and vulnerabilities. The child’s risk assessments had clear strategies to help staff manage and mitigate risks.

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

Staff managed incidents in the home well. The child’s behaviour management plans were tailored to their individual needs and their views were recorded. For example, the child’s behaviour management plan included the child’s views on how to calm them down. This helped staff to manage and de-escalate difficult situations well. The child would be given space to calm down as they requested, and opportunities would be given to the child to make amends for their actions. This helped the child to reflect on their behaviours and enabled positive relationships to continue between the child and staff.

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

Missing-from-home incidents were managed well. When the child went missing from the home, staff took appropriate action and made efforts to locate them. They would inform the child’s parents and appropriate agencies, such as the police and social workers. Inspection report for children’s home: 2757606 3 When the child was located, staff would encourage them to return home, offer comfort and warmth, and show curiosity to understand the reasons why they left the home.

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

When the child’s social worker expressed concern regarding the level of supervision that the child was receiving, these issues were discussed during team meetings and staff supervisions to identify lessons learned. This reflective approach led to improvements in staff practice and enhanced the supervision arrangements for the child.

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

Staff carried out meaningful key-work sessions that addressed the child’s needs and risks. Key-work sessions included reasons for going missing from home, abiding by the law, challenging behaviours and healthy eating and lifestyles. These key-work sessions were beneficial and helped the child to think about the choices they make to keep themselves safe and develop self-awareness.

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

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding procedures. They recognise that they have a responsibility to report any concerns to leaders and managers or to external professionals, including the regulator. This understanding helps to keep children safe.

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

Safe recruitment processes are not robust. Employment gaps in staff’s work histories were not fully explored, potentially impacting the home’s safeguarding practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an effective registered manager, who is strongly supported by a committed and enthusiastic home manager. Together, they demonstrate a clear understanding of the child’s needs and worked well with the child’s professional network to ensure that these were met. Feedback from the child’s parents and social worker highlights that the child received consistently good care while living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The pre-admission processes for the child were thorough. Before the child moved into the home, leaders and managers assessed the child’s risks and needs carefully. They also considered the staff training that would be beneficial to support the child’s needs. This helped staff to provide good care to the child when they came to live at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. Supervision focuses on staff practice, training and professional development. However, discussions about the child’s risks, needs and progress were limited. This does not enable staff to reflect and improve on their practice and explore together what individual staff members could do to improve children’s outcomes. Staff also receive clinical supervision with an external therapist where they explore and reflect on their practice and experiences with the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held monthly and used effectively as a forum for reflection, learning and discussion around staff practice, the child’s needs and safeguarding. Managers appropriately challenge staff to strengthen practice, which encourages a culture of continuous development. Placement endings are thoughtfully explored, allowing the Inspection report for children’s home: 2757606 4 team to reflect on the impact and lessons learned. These approaches contribute positively to the development of staff practice, which improves outcomes for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2757606 5

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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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they obtain information from staff about their employment history. 31 July 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff reflect on their practice during supervisions, which prioritise the needs, risks and progress of the children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2757606 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: C/O Bliss Accounting Services, Unit 211 Waterhouse Business Centre, 2 Cromar Way, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 2QE

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Tamsin Lucas OBE

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Inspector

Amena Begum, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2757606 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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