Children's home run by Hygge Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2503076 1 Registered provider: Hygge 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 company. It provides care for up to three children who have experienced childhood trauma, with a view to them moving on to a foster home. At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home. All children were spoken with during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

A suitably qualified and experienced manager is in post.

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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: 5 November 2024

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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: 2503076 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/11/2024 Full Good 02/10/2023 Full Good 06/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2503076 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a welcoming place for children to spend time in and has a family atmosphere. Children’s belongings fill the home, and their photos and achievements are on display. Books and games are easily accessible, helping to create a nurturing environment. Children personalise their bedrooms, which reflect their interests and tastes. This allows children 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 are making good progress from their individual starting points. All children are growing in confidence and are developing key independence skills that will help them in later life. Family members recognise the progress their children are making. One family member described their child as now being a lot calmer, saying, ‘He doesn’t have as many violent outbursts, and is much calmer than he ever was.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although children are making good progress in many areas of their lives, they do not always receive support to address areas of need identified in their plans. Because of this, opportunities to further support children’s progress are being missed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive relationships with staff, who, they feel, help them. One child said: ‘They help me when I am sad, and I really like that.’

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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. Staff have a therapeutic and nurturing approach towards children. Staff are supported by the home’s clinical psychologist to understand children’s behaviours. As a result, children receive care from staff who are knowledgeable.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The therapeutic approach to caring for children is embedded and recognised by other professionals. One said: ‘The staff have done everything in their power. They have met the children’s emotional and mental health needs, they have gone above and beyond. The children have made huge progress in that placement.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is treated as a priority. Strong partnership working underpins the educational progress children are making. All children attend school full time, have excellent attendance and are achieving good grades.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s important relationships are promoted. The manager and staff build positive relationships with children’s family members, which supports children to feel safe and to settle in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family members speak highly of the manager. One said: ‘He is the best…Owen always updates me… He is really good.’ Another said: ‘[name of manager] works very closely with me, he is one of the best ones I have ever known.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2503076 4

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

Children feel safe living in the home. Staff have a good understanding of the risks to children and how to keep them safe. As a result, safeguarding incidents in the home are rare.

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

Because children feel safe and enjoy positive relationships with staff, they rarely go missing. Since the last inspection, there has only been one incident of two children going missing. Staff worked well with partner agencies to ensure that the children were safely returned to the home. Errors in staff practice were identified from this incident. The manager was quick to identify learning from this incident, and strategies were put in place to prevent a reoccurrence of those issues.

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

Staff physically intervene when children show behaviours that place themselves or others at risk of harm. Staff understand why children behave that way and provide good support to children afterwards. Incidents of physical intervention have significantly reduced since the last inspection, and there have been no incidents of children being held to keep them or others safe since August 2025. However, following such incidents, debriefs with staff do not routinely occur within regulatory timescales, and staff are not spoken with individually. This delays resolution for children and undermines important safeguards.

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

Allegations have been responded to appropriately by the manager. Investigations have been undertaken, and outcomes are recorded in the children’s files. However, children are not always informed in writing of the outcomes to support their understanding of action taken and decisions reached.

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

There is strong oversight of the administration of medication. When errors occur, they are identified quickly, and appropriate action has been taken to ensure that children are safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is child focused and ambitious for the children in his care. He has robust oversight of all aspects of children’s care, which he uses to make improvements and to support children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works in close partnership with other agencies and will challenge other professionals if children are not receiving the support they require.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External professionals speak highly of the manager, highlighting strong communication, good partnership working, advocacy, and a focus on children as being particular strengths. One professional said: ‘His commitment to the children is exceptional. It is such a pleasure working with him and his team, they are so thoughtful… Their working together, their advocacy and care for the children is brilliant. I’ve got nothing but praise for their care, it is exceptional care.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2503076 5 The manager ensures that staff are supported through regular supervision sessions, team meetings and training relevant to the children they care for. This ensures that children are cared for by staff who are reflective, knowledgeable and confident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported; they enjoy their work and are motivated to provide excellent care. They speak highly of the manager. One member of staff said: ‘It all runs really smoothly, and I think that is down to Owen, how thorough and supportive he is.’ Another said: ‘The home is a fantastic place to work and I’m proud to be part of the team… The manager always includes his staff in decisions that affect the house and is always open for opinions. He is very supportive, and I feel I can approach him with any problems, be it professional or personal. He is a great role model to his staff and will work in the house when needed and to show others the standard to which the children deserve.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2503076 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

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (2) (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person speaking to all staff involved within 48 hours of the use of a measure, and ensuring that staff are spoken to separately. 23 December 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children receive care that meets each child’s needs and promotes their welfare, taking into account the child’s assessed needs, Inspection report for children’s home: 2503076 7 previous experiences and any relevant plans. This specifically relates to ensuring that staff support children to address their identified needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2)  The registered provider should ensure that the outcomes of investigations into children’s allegations are provided to children in writing. This will support children to understand that their views have been listened to and how they have been acted upon. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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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: 2503076 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Grosvenor House, 11 St Paul’s Square, Birmingham, West Midlands B3 1RB

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Inspector

John Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2503076 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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