Children's Home run by Jeeves Care Group Ltd in Hertfordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2794664 1 Registered provider: Jeeves Care Group Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to 4 children with social and emotional difficulties and children with learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since January 2026 and has applied to register with Ofsted.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2794664 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/04/2025 Full Good 21/01/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2794664 3

p.2

Summary of findings

Leaders and managers know the child well and work effectively with partner agencies to meet the child’s individual needs. Leaders and managers use staff’s skills and expertise to strengthen communication, promote the child’s voice and support progress in health and education. As a result, the child benefits from personalised care, improved engagement in learning and positive experiences.

p.3

Summary of findings

Some aspects of management oversight lack rigour. Ofsted has not been notified promptly of changes to management arrangements. Physical interventions involving the manager have not been subject to independent oversight. Some risk assessments do not provide sufficiently clear, individualised guidance for staff. In addition, aspects of the home environment require maintenance. However, these things do not significantly detract from the overall quality of care the child receives or their experiences living at the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, no children have moved into or out of the home. One child lives at the home and contributed to the inspection.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively seek and respond to the child’s wishes and feelings. They use their positive relationships with the child to understand their views and experiences, paying close attention to verbal communication, body language, behaviours and other non-verbal cues. Staff know the child well and use this knowledge to identify and respond to their preferences, feelings and needs. As a result, staff advocate effectively on the child’s behalf and ensure that their views inform care planning and day-to-day practice. This helps to ensure that support remains centred on the child and responsive to their individual needs.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers use staff’s skills and expertise to meet the child’s individual needs. One staff member has helped colleagues develop their communication with the child through their shared language and cultural understanding. As a result, staff understand the child better. Consequently, the child experiences less frustration and benefits from improved emotional wellbeing and stronger relationships with staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers work closely with health professionals to ensure that the child’s health needs are well understood and prioritised. They recognise the potential long-term implications of the child’s medication and take an active role in reviewing its effectiveness. As a result, professionals are better equipped to make informed decisions, helping to ensure that the child’s treatment remains responsive to their needs and supports their long-term health and wellbeing. Inspection report for children’s home: 2794664 4 Leaders and managers value education and take proactive steps to support the child’s engagement in learning. The manager has worked closely with the virtual school to make well-planned changes to ensure the child’s educational arrangements better fit their needs. This helped the child to successfully engage more positively in learning and make continued progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house benefits from thoughtful and personalised touches, including the child’s artwork and photos, which help to create a warm, welcoming environment. The child’s bedroom and sensory room reflect their individual interests and needs. This supports their sense of belonging, identity and emotional wellbeing within the home. However, some areas of the home require maintenance to ensure that the environment consistently reflects a good standard of care. For example, the garden contains overgrown stinging nettles, which restricts the child’s use of the outdoor space. In addition, the child’s bathroom shows signs of wear and tear, including staining to the flooring, damage to the doorframe and a missing shower door. These maintenance issues diminish the otherwise homely feel of the environment and do not demonstrate sufficient attention to providing the child with a consistently well-presented and comfortable living space.

p.4

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

Leaders, managers and staff understand their core safeguarding responsibilities. Complaints and allegations are rare. However, when these occur, the manager responds appropriately to any concerns and quickly shares any relevant information with safeguarding partner agencies. Any concerns in respect of staff practice are promptly addressed and referred to the local authority designated officer to ensure independent oversight. This demonstrates that leaders and managers act transparently, safeguard the child effectively and work in partnership with external agencies to ensure concerns are appropriately scrutinised.

p.4

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

The child has significant needs and is not always aware of the importance of maintaining their privacy and dignity. Leaders and managers have taken prompt and appropriate action when the child’s privacy was compromised while using the home’s garden. They liaised with relevant partner agencies and implemented additional measures to prevent a recurrence. As a result, the child’s privacy and safety have been better protected.

p.4

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

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the risks associated with the child. A range of comprehensive risk assessments are in place that identify known triggers and potential risks. While some assessments provide staff with clear guidance on how to respond, support the child and reduce identified risks, this is not consistent across all risk management documents. For example, the self-injurious behaviour management plan does not provide staff with specific guidance on how to respond should an incident occur. This increases the potential for inconsistent practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2794664 5 Staff rarely use physical intervention and only use it when necessary. When used, interventions have been appropriate and proportionate. However, on one occasion when the manager was involved with a physical intervention, there was no independent oversight by a senior manager and staff involved did not receive an independent debrief.

p.4

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

As a result, opportunities for objective scrutiny, reflection and learning following the incident were missed.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This is the manager’s first role as manager in a residential care home. She is undertaking her level 5 diploma and is supported by the responsible individual.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has, since taking up post, improved oversight and monitoring systems. She carries out monthly evaluations of key aspects of the child’s care. This enables her to identify patterns, trends and areas for development. Learning from these reviews is embedded into the child’s care planning and shared with partner agencies to support coordinated decision-making. This strengthens professionals’ understanding of the child’s progress and helps to ensure that support and interventions remain responsive to their changing needs.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they feel supported in their roles and speak positively about their experience of working within the service. They enjoy coming to work and feel valued as members of the team. Staff have been given the opportunity to provide anonymous feedback, creating a safe and open environment in which they can share their views and suggestions. The feedback received has been carefully considered by the manager, resulting in the development of an action plan to address identified areas for improvement. This demonstrates a commitment to listening to staff, promoting continuous improvement and implementing changes that enhance staff wellbeing, support effective practice and respond to other suggestions raised by the team.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager supports staff to develop both personally and professionally, with clear opportunities for career progression. The manager has been supported to build her skills and successfully transition into her leadership role. In addition, another member of staff has taken on wider responsibilities, providing support across both homes alongside the management team. Leaders are committed to recognising individual strengths, nurturing talent and creating meaningful development opportunities. This investment in people promotes staff retention, strengthens the workforce and ensures that staff skills and expertise are used effectively to achieve positive outcomes for the child.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has completed a quality-of-care review, which, while a reflective evaluation of the service, does not incorporate the views of the child, family members or professionals. This is a missed opportunity to capture the experiences of those involved in the child’s care or provide a comprehensive evaluation of the impact of the service. Inspection report for children’s home: 2794664 6 This limits the provider’s ability to effectively identify areas for development and drive continuous improvement.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered person did not notify Ofsted of changes to the home’s management arrangements within an appropriate timeframe. This reduces Ofsted’s ability to exercise effective regulatory oversight. Inspection report for children’s home: 2794664 7

p.6

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.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

p.7

Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(c)(f))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure the home is maintained to a good standard and that, while complying with relevant health and safety legislation (alarms, food hygiene etc.), homes should seek, as far as possible, to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression.

p.7

Requirement Due date

This requirement has been reinstated. 03 Aug 2026

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

p.7

Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

p.7

Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

p.7

Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it;

p.7

Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b) (5)) 03 Aug 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2794664 8 In particular, seek children’s feedback and professional and local authority feedback to inform and support the quality of care review.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must give notice in writing to HMCI, as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so, if any of the following events take place or are expected by the registered person to take place—

p.8

Requirement Due date

a person other than the registered person carries on or manages the children’s home;

p.8

Requirement Due date

a person ceases to carry on or manage the home. (Regulation 49 (a)(b)) 03 Aug 2026

p.8

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’)—

p.8

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

p.8

Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

p.8

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 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

p.8

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure independent management oversight is undertaken following any physical intervention. 03 Aug 2026

p.8

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: 2794664 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Jeeves Care Group Ltd

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 7-8 Portmill Lane, Hitchin SG5 1DJ

p.9

Inspector

Sarah Cooper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2794664 10 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.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10