Children's Home run by ABC Children Services Ltd in Richmond upon Thames

Inspection report for children’s home: 2843412 1 Registered provider: ABC Children Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home was registered with Ofsted in October 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s manager is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties or who may have special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living at the home.

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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 applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2843412 2

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Summary of findings

The home provides a safe, warm and nurturing environment where children are making good progress. Children were seen to be relaxed and comfortable in their home and with the staff, and said that they felt safe. Staff understand the children well and are attuned to their needs and personalities, maintaining a strong therapeutic and child- focused approach.

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Summary of findings

The manager is organised and motivated and has made positive changes to the home since being appointed. The responsible individual and senior management team maintained effective oversight of the home during the period of management change, ensuring that children continued to receive consistent care and support. Leaders and managers have recognised that some minor shortfalls arose during that period and have taken steps to address them. These relate to ensuring that documentation in the home is sufficiently detailed, such as the workforce development plan and suitability assessments for potential admissions, and that all elements of the missing-from-care reporting protocols are in place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care that is tailored to their specific needs, vulnerabilities and presenting behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The therapeutic approach of PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy) used by the staff is clearly embedded across the team. Children’s behaviours are well understood by staff, who recognise children’s underlying needs and respond using a trauma-informed approach. This approach is further strengthened by the addition of a therapeutic model, which is primarily focused on supporting the staff team. The Clinical Psychologist provides staff with reflective space to discuss children’s experiences and to agree strategies and behaviour management plans to support children to achieve their goals. This helps staff to offer therapeutically attuned care, providing children with emotional stability and a sense of safety while also strengthening staff resilience and reflective practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Through structured and spontaneous one-to-one discussions, staff take the time to address areas of concern sensitively with the children. This has enabled children to feel safe and to tackle behavioural issues that stem from past trauma. A child’s social worker said that they valued how staff ‘have worked in a trauma-informed way, particularly during periods of emotional distress. Staff have consistently sought to support [name of child] through calm, relational approaches, helping them to regulate and re-engage following difficult episodes’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2843412 3 Managers and staff work collaboratively with partner agencies and families to ensure that children receive coordinated and consistent support. They advocate strongly for children, working closely with social workers and other professionals involved in their care. They have worked proactively to secure an education placement for one child who

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

had been out of formal education for 3 years.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to participate in a wide range of activities that support their interests and social development, such as trips out to the local park, zoo, museums and a cat cafe. Staff and children are in the process of completing a garden design, including a small greenhouse for growing vegetables. They are also planning a trip to Paris this summer. Staff celebrate children’s achievements, and small acts of progress and positive behaviour are recognised and rewarded.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is comfortable, well decorated and furnished to a high standard. Children can personalise their bedrooms, and one child painted their bathroom, with support from staff. One child described the home as ‘nice and comfy’.

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

Children say that they feel safe living in the home. They know how to make a complaint and feel confident that adults will listen and respond to their concerns appropriately. Children’s voices are actively sought and considered in day-to-day care planning and decision-making.

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

Risk assessments and care plans are comprehensive, regularly updated and provide staff with clear guidance regarding children’s risks, vulnerabilities and support needs. Suitability or impact risk assessments are in place; however, these do not capture the skills or experience of the staff team when considering admissions to the home.

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

Staff provide reassurance and emotional support to children, while remaining curious, reflective and child-focused in their responses. Staff understand the nuances of children’s behaviours well. They are able to identify when children may be becoming overwhelmed or distressed and, in most situations, de-escalate incidents effectively before behaviours escalate further.

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

The ongoing therapeutic consultation provided through the home’s chosen model strengthens staff’s understanding of children’s emotional needs and supports the individualised behaviour risk management strategies that are in place.

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

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding procedures and practice. Staff contribute effectively to multi-agency meetings, including strategy and stability meetings, ensuring that information is shared with partners to inform any safeguarding actions.

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

Incident records and daily reporting systems are generally effective. Incident reports are child-centred and linked to follow-up actions, such as targeted key-work sessions to Inspection report for children’s home: 2843412 4 explore concerns and to seek to reduce risk-taking behaviour. Although there have been some minor inaccuracies, such as occasional missing dates, managers have identified these issues as occurring during a recent period of management change and actions are in place to address these.

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

Staff take appropriate action if children go missing from the home. However, profile forms aligned to the Philomena Protocol have not been updated for all children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the home was registered, there has been a change in the home’s management. Leaders have managed challenges effectively while maintaining consistent care for children. The home’s manager has applied to Ofsted to become the registered manager. The manager is an experienced, motivated, warm and child-focused practitioner who is passionate about improving outcomes for children. They are supported well by the responsible individual, who is a regular presence in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders maintain a clear vision for the home and are committed to developing staff practice and improving outcomes for children. Managers complete regular audits, management meetings take place consistently and independent regulation 44 visits contribute positively to quality assurance and service development. However, the home’s workforce development plan remains in draft and has not been updated to include all recent changes and staff qualifications.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff benefit from regular supervision. Supervision sessions provide staff with opportunities for reflection and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel well supported by the senior management team and wider organisation, particularly during the change in management. Staff are enrolled on relevant NVQ qualifications and complete mandatory and appropriate face-to-face training to support their professional development. Staff value the opportunities available for learning and progression, both in the home and the wider organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about the changes made by the manager, commenting that she has made the home more homely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly, creating space for staff to share their views and engage in child-focused discussions. Initiatives such as the ‘employee of the month’, recognising staff performance, have resulted in a highly motivated team of staff, who are committed to providing the best care to the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2843412 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home’s missing-from-care procedures have regard to police and local authority protocols for responding to missing persons incidents in the area in which the home is located. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.29)  The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce- related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should detail the necessary management and staffing structure and should be

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Recommendations

updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home’s manager. This should be included in an updated statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraphs 10.8, 10.10)

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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’.

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What does the children’s home need to do to improve?

Inspection report for children’s home: 2843412 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: ABC Children Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lower Ground Floor West, 17 Nottingham Street, London W1U 5EW

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Inspector

Amanda Burrows, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2843412 7 to 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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