Children's home run by Aden Homes Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2850374 1 Registered provider: Aden Homes Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned and provides care for up to 3 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, no children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in August 2025.

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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 appliable Inspection report for children’s home: 2850374 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have lived at the home since it opened. One child moved on to a new home closer to their family, as they struggled to settle in the area. Another child arrived from an unregistered provider. Some progress was made before the registered manager decided to end the placement for everyone’s safety. Following this, the placing authority made an application to the court for a secure order.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Following children’s moves, reflective meetings were held, allowing staff to feedback on observations and ask questions. The registered manager offered words of encouragement alongside an action plan to drive continuous improvements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager wrote to one child who moved on from the home to offer them encouragement and hope for the future in a nurturing way. The manager provided photos to the social worker to ensure that the child had some positive memories from their time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child progressed in their education while living at the home. A tutor frequently visited the child at the home to ensure that they continued studying their core subjects. Due to one child arriving during school holidays, plans were put in place for a meeting to take place with the virtual school as soon as the school term restarted. This demonstrates staff’s commitment to children’s educational success and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff team demonstrated a thorough understanding of one child’s cultural needs. The child was supported in having their hair braided, and the registered manager worked with the hairdressing salon to help reduce anxiety and allow the appointment to be successful. Staff cooked specific foods the child requested, which enabled their identity needs to be met in a holistic way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of family relationships and encouraged both children to maintain connections with their families. Staff regularly updated the children’s parents and arranged for family visits at the home. One parent celebrated Christmas at the home with their child, and staff provided support with travel due to the festive season. The same parent spent time at the home to celebrate their child’s birthday, and staff arranged balloons, a cake and presents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from a social worker is positive. They said, ‘I have no concerns about the home; they made my child feel extremely welcome on arrival at Christmas time, especially as it was late in the evening.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is modern and well maintained. Any damage to the home is quickly repaired, and furniture is replaced. Inspection report for children’s home: 2850374 3

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

Staff de-escalate some incidents by using appropriate strategies, clear boundaries, reassurance, and allowing children time and space to settle. Good-quality behaviour support plans identify known triggers in different situations and environments.

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

Safeguarding concerns are reported to the appropriate agencies and are fully investigated by the manager and responsible individual. Investigation reports are provided to the relevant professionals, and appropriate actions are swiftly taken as a result.

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

Appropriate controls on the Wi-Fi and the smart television are in place. The registered manager works with children’s parents and placing authorities to ensure that children stay safe online.

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

Consequences focus on a restorative approach and are well considered by the manager. A system for rewards is well designed. However, some additional rewards have not been well considered or applied in a consistent way. This led to one child receiving mixed messages.

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

Several restraints have taken place with children. These were appropriate and well managed with evidence of debriefs with children and staff as well as the manager’s comments and liaison with the placing authority. When one child’s behaviours escalated, additional staff were provided by the placing authority to ensure everyone’s safety. Some restraint records do not clearly state the length of the hold, meaning that the incident is difficult to understand.

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

Safer recruitment checks on staff are adequate. However, the records are not well organised, preventing the checks from being quickly understood.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is working towards a level 5 qualification. The experience, skills and confidence of the manager are developing with the support of the responsible individual, who recently joined the organisation. The registered manager is eager to learn and is working diligently to develop the home and staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff demonstrate a deep resilience regardless of how challenging the situation or circumstances are. The staff team demonstrates commitment. Staff know the children well, and positive working relationships between the staff are evident. The manager and other senior staff foster a culture of high aspiration and positivity, which empowers staff to navigate through challenging times.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they feel valued and express high levels of job satisfaction. Regular welfare checks take place with staff when they have been involved in significant incidents. This has contributed to a stable staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2850374 4 Staff benefit from regular reflective team meetings during which children are discussed in detail. Frequent supervision sessions include individual clinical supervision to help staff review and develop their childcare practice. The staff said that they value supervision and find it highly supportive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from good-quality comprehensive training. New staff members benefit from core training modules delivered both online and face to face. Additional training modules, such as behaviour that challenges, cultural competence and trauma-informed practice, are offered. However, specific training linked to children’s needs is not provided. The training matrix is difficult to understand and fails to support the registered manager in tracking staff’s training in a comprehensive manner. Inspection report for children’s home: 2850374 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand the system for rewarding and celebrating positive behaviours and recognising when children have handled situations well. In particular, rewards should be well considered and understood by the staff team, including the registered manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.39)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and they should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. In particular, ensure that training is specific to children who move into the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on

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Recommendations

record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. This specifically relates to ensuring that records relating to training, restraint and recruitment are well organised in one system. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2850374 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 211, 2 Cromar Way, Chelmsford, Essex CM1 2QE

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Inspector

Emily Stevens, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2850374 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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