Children's Home run by 5ab Care Ltd in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2830600 1 Registered provider: 5ab Care Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns the home. It is registered to provide care for up to 5 children with learning disabilities or who may have experienced social and emotional difficulties. At the time of inspection, 3 children were living in the home, and they contributed to the inspection. One child has moved out since the last inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home opened in May 2025. The manager has been in post since May 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: 17 September 2025

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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: 2830600 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/09/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2830600 3

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Summary of findings

Children are happy, settled and safe. They experience well-planned moves into the home. Staff understand children well and create nurturing, reliable relationships. Safeguarding practice is effective in managing and reducing risks for children. Multi- agency working is collaborative and is aiding steady progress for children. The home is well managed, and the staff care about children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel happy and settled in their home. The home is welcoming and cosy. Staff support children to personalise their bedrooms. One child has a pet hamster. The garden is large and well maintained, with a trampoline and swing set that the children enjoy. Staff have supported children to plant vegetables and build bird boxes, adding to the homely feel. One child said, ‘It’s incredible; it’s a great place to live.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves into the home are well planned. The manager considers whether the staff have the skills to meet children’s needs. The views of children already living in the home are also considered. This ensures that moves into the home are smooth and successful. One child moved out of the home sooner than expected; however, this was in line with the child’s wishes. Staff stayed in touch with them after they moved, which supported a positive ending.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making steady progress from their starting points. One child was not enrolled in school, but since living in the home, is now attending school every day. Another child has reduced how often they rely on pastoral support. Children are supported to develop their independence. As a result, one child is now travelling to college independently. In addition, children are supported to pursue their individual interests, such as learning to ride a bike and attending extracurricular activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff advocate for children to get the help they need. For one child, this has resulted in a well-planned transition to secondary school. Staff identify specialist support quickly. Children are benefiting from access to an in-house therapist.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well. They have a good understanding of their needs and the strategies that work best to help them when they are finding things difficult. Staff learn about children’s preferences, likes and dislikes. This helps them to provide consistent and predictable care for children. This makes children feel safe and understood and helps them build trusting relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children understand how and why decisions are made. Staff present important information in creative and child-friendly ways. For example, using newsletters and pictures. This makes information accessible and helpful for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2830600 4

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

Children know how to make a complaint. Complaints are taken seriously and children are supported to raise any concerns. Outcomes of complaints are discussed with children, and staff check their understanding. Staff use restorative approaches and validate children’s feelings. This makes children feel heard and valued.

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

Children’s achievements are frequently recognised and rewarded. This promotes children’s positive behaviour.

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

Staff use restraint proportionately and record incidents well; children’s views are clear, and staff reflections are curious. Management oversight is robust and any training or learning is promptly identified. Together, these measures have improved understanding of the factors impacting one child. This has enabled staff to identify more effective strategies to support them when they are upset. As a result, there has been a marked reduction in the use of physical interventions for this child.

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

When children are missing from home, staff maintain contact with them and try to support them to return home safely. Staff look for children and use their knowledge of their important people and known places to help find them safely. Multi-agency working around missing-from-home incidents is effective. Information is shared promptly with relevant agencies, and decision-making is timely and decisive. Children are well supported when they return home. Staff and leaders show curiosity about what has happened while the children have been missing, which informs future safety planning.

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

Allegations are taken seriously. Leaders respond to allegations quickly and share information appropriately with relevant agencies. They take decisive measures to safeguard children and staff while investigations are conducted. Investigations are thorough and include the views of children, staff and professionals. Social workers are involved effectively in independently speaking with children. Children receive feedback about what leaders did with the information they shared, as well as the outcome.

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

Staff generally have the skills to manage risks of self-harm, and most incidents are responded to effectively. However, on one occasion, a child self-injured and staff did not become aware until a day later. Staff did not speak with the child once they knew, preventing them from gaining insight into the child’s feelings and learning from this incident.

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

Consequences are rarely used and are usually restorative. Children are always spoken to about any consequences to ensure they understand them. On one occasion, a child was given a consequence for breaking an item that they then used to harm themselves. This does not align with the home’s usual trauma-informed practice and was insensitive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2830600 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff are aspirational for children. Children’s experiences are considered when decisions are made about the home. The manager promotes a culture of learning in the home. Staffing is consistent and agency staff are not used. This creates a high degree of stability and familiarity for children. The manager has good working relationships with external agencies. This is supporting progress for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders use oversight tools effectively to identify areas of development and track progress for children. Leaders identified that the independent person’s reports were often delayed and, therefore, ineffective in supporting oversight of the home. They have taken appropriate action to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Mandatory training is clear and is promptly completed by all staff. Specialist training is appropriately identified in line with the specific needs of children. The manager is aware of all instances where training and qualifications are outstanding or delayed. This is being monitored and reviewed to ensure it does not impact on the care and experiences of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are supportive and reflective. They offer staff protected time to thoughtfully explore children’s progress and risks and plan in line with children’s wishes and feelings. A recent team meeting focused on arranging holidays for all the children to their preferred destinations with their preferred adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions take place regularly and are supportive. Supervisors appropriately identify any issues relating to practice and ways to improve care for children. Staff and leaders are challenged effectively in supervision. Discussions about the best way forward for children are welcomed. Feedback from staff is exclusively positive, with staff commenting on the supportive culture and approachability of managers as key strengths. One staff member said, ‘Everybody shares the same vision for the children to be settled, happy, safe, cared for and making progress.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders recognise the emotional impact of the role on staff. The manager offers opportunities for staff reflection and supports them after incidents they have found difficult. Staff have access to other support systems such as the in-house therapist. This is building resilience among staff, which enables continuity of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is evidence of research-based practice starting to be embedded in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2830600 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are always spoken with after they self-injure to understand their feelings. This should be used to support staff to understand how to reduce the risk of future incidents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)  The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address children’s behaviour are restorative in nature and in line with the home’s therapeutic approach. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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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: 2830600 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Devonshire Business Centre, Unit 27 Works Road, Letchworth Garden City, Hertfordshire SG6 1GJ

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Inspectors

Kim Morgan, Social Care Inspector Jenny Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2830600 8 and inspects 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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