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

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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 therapeutic care for up to 4 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, 3 children were living at the home. The inspector spoke to the children as part of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2026 and was present for the duration of the 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

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

17/03/2025 Full Good 07/03/2024 Full Good 01/03/2023 Full Outstanding 01/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2508525 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff maintain clear and consistent boundaries, helping children to feel safe. They understand the importance of consistency and predictability in building children’s trust and emotional security. Staff pay close attention to each child’s developmental needs, enabling them to provide care that is attuned and responsive. They speak positively about the children and advocate strongly for them, promoting a growing sense of worth and value by recognising what is important to each child and prioritising this in their daily practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is championed by staff, and as a result, all children are making progress. The way in which children learn is reflected upon by staff and they share this knowledge with professionals to enable children to receive bespoke packages, encouraging greater engagement. Staff actively attend school community events, such as sports day and social gatherings, to further strengthen children’s feelings of value and belonging. One child has attended a formal course and celebrated achieving a qualification.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s emotional health is supported by therapists being in the home. Through a flexible approach and consistency in relationships, children are starting to recognise their feelings, leading to increased resilience and development of coping mechanisms.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Time with family is supported by staff, and the relationships are further nurtured by therapeutic outreach. Children are beginning to understand complex relationships and how to remain focused on their own responses when they cannot control others, leading to development of a sense of self. Children are making connections with the wider world through a variety of social opportunities, such as going to the gym and local parks regularly, to be able to identify and build positive, strong networks for now and into their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is generally warm and inviting. Staff proudly display photos of people important to the children in the living areas. There are plenty of spaces for children to play and move, with access to a gym area, swing and large garden, where they can ride their scooters. However, there are physical barriers in place to protect the TV, which are not reviewed regularly. This does not support children to develop pro-social strategies and undermines the overall homeliness of the environment.

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

When children go missing, staff are active in checking their wellbeing and whereabouts, showing them that they are cared for. Leaders and managers consider trends and evaluate these to understand the reasons why children go missing. This allows for greater contextual safeguarding oversight, alongside strong work with partner agencies. Inspection report for children’s home: 2508525 4 Staff spend regular time with children talking about targeted areas for their safety and wellbeing. This helps children to develop trust in staff and be increasingly open and honest with them. Where children are known to be using drugs, this is explored with them to inform them about the effects of drug use and to reflect on the reasons why the child may be feeling the need to use them.

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

Where children have needed to be held, the reason for this has been consistently recorded and is proportionate to children’s vulnerability and needs at that time. Children are spoken to in a way which shows that staff have a strong awareness of the child’s developmental stage and allows children to talk about or explore coping mechanisms, tolerance of others and compromise. Children’s feelings are named by staff, allowing them to begin to experience co-regulation and develop greater insight into the link between their feelings and actions.

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

External advocacy is available to children. This is actively used and promoted by staff, ensuring that children’s voices are captured and responded to. Children and staff come together regularly to ensure that children’s requests are noted by staff and outcomes are fed back to them in a pictorial, celebratory format, making them feel valued and invested in their home. Where practice falls short or children report worries, leaders and managers take action to ensure that children feel safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by the manager and have said that she is ‘nurturing and caring’. Staff feel actively encouraged to contribute to the development of the home and say that they feel listened to, contributing to a feeling of the home being ‘a nice place to work’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager maintains good oversight of the home. They are creative and have a vision for the home which is aspirational. She prioritises connection and reflection within the staff group through regular protected time and impromptu discussions. Staff say that they feel valued and happy and this supports them to keep children safe through a sense of being part of a team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager feels well supported by the leadership team. Systems to support communication are strong and robust and there is an open culture which encourages and promotes learning and development. Training supports staff understanding of children’s needs, with a comprehensive induction leading to staff feeling confident in children’s care needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff’s recording of their time with children is not yet consistent in quality and format. Language is not consistently factual and lacks sufficient reflection and care. This does not demonstrate that staff understand the key role they have in writing children’s histories in a manner which will allow them to understand their life story as they develop. Inspection report for children’s home: 2508525 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential;

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular that records are factual and consistent, showing understanding of a child’s experiences.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the children's home provides a nurturing, supportive and homely environment that meets the needs of the children. The children’s home should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to The Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children’s home: 2508525 6

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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 7

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Bethany Sutherland

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Inspector

Rebecca Barker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2508525 8 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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