Children's Home run by Absolute Children’s Services Ltd in North Lincolnshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2696593 1 Registered provider: Absolute Childrens Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by a private organisation. It provides care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 4 children were living in the home. The inspector spoke with all the children.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection, no children have moved into or out of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2696593 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/07/2025 Full Outstanding 21/05/2024 Full Good 25/04/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2696593 3

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Summary of findings

Children are making exceptional, sustained progress because of the high-quality care that they receive. Staff form loving relationships with children and know them well. Staff use their relationships with children to help them to stay safe and overcome conflicts in a restorative way.

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Summary of findings

Children are involved in key decisions in their lives, and they contribute to plans about how they are cared for. The registered manager leads the home, advocating for children and ensuring that staff work together effectively to support the children.

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Summary of findings

Therapeutic approaches are embedded in the care that children receive. This helps children to build confidence, develop self-regulation skills and make sense of their past experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Relationships are the cornerstone of the high-quality care that children receive and contribute to the sustained progress they make. Children feel loved by staff and describe the home as their own, with the people in it feeling like family. Children and staff spend considerable time together throughout the day and eat meals together daily, which fosters their connections. Staff help children to navigate the challenges of living together by using restorative approaches to overcome conflict. Children recognise the value of resolving differences in a calm and supportive way and have developed greater maturity in managing difficult conversations with one another.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children make excellent progress in education. Children who previously did not attend school have good attendance and are taking examinations. Children understand the importance of education, and the expectations around attendance at school are clear. There is regular communication from staff to education professionals. The manager has advocated for updates to education plans for children to support their future goals. There is effective co-working with education professionals and the therapy team for one child, which has supported consistent responses across different settings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff have meaningful conversations with children that assist in supporting their identity. Staff nurture children, which helps them see themselves as individuals and develop the confidence to express themselves. Staff promote time with people who are important to children and help them to understand when family relationships are difficult. Children have meaningful conversations about healthy relationships and discussions about sexuality. One child who previously struggled with their confidence said that the staff ‘made me realise I am amazing’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children benefit from receiving well-planned, highly individualised care that meets their needs effectively. The care is therapeutically informed, which provides children with Inspection report for children’s home: 2696593 4 stability and consistency. Children have lived in the home for significant lengths of time and feel that they will only move in a planned way. One child is preparing to move out of the home and has been involved in decision-making about their move and recognises that staff have helped to prepare them for semi-independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff foster a culture of high aspiration and positivity that leads to changes and improvements in children’s lives. Children’s inclusion in community life is impressive. They enjoy an extensive range of well-considered activities and experiences aligned to their interests, including holidays. One child attends a drama club, and staff say they are excited about seeing their next performance. Children describe living in the home positively. The home is filled with laughter and fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children benefit from living in a comfortable, spacious and well-maintained home that is personalised with photos displayed throughout. Children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms and to help keep the home clean, which helps them develop a sense of pride in their environment. Staff support children to develop the skills and understanding they need to maintain a clean home.

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

Children are safe and can identify staff whom they trust. The stable atmosphere and consistent routines create a strong sense of safety, meaning that incidents of risky behaviour are rare. When risks are identified, staff respond proactively to help keep children safe. Behaviour support plans are created and reviewed by staff and children. As a result, children feel that staff help them in the ‘best way’ and are confident that staff will respond quickly if they require help. Children have individual ways of signalling when they require support from staff, informed by the work undertaken with them by therapists. As a result of the therapeutic support and care they receive, one child is now able to manage difficult feelings without self-harming or damaging belongings.

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

Children who have previously gone missing have developed skills for spending time in the community safely. One child spoke about their journey and said, ‘Staff give us freedom, but we do work before.’ As a result, children can access time in the community safely and do not go missing. Staff know how to respond if children go missing from home, and plans are clear to guide them.

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

Online safety work is carried out regularly with children, and staff follow plans to help children stay safe online. Children are aware of risks online and undertake comprehensive work with staff to help increase their understanding of how to stay safe. Most children will tell staff if they have seen something concerning online. Staff have identified ongoing risks online for one child and have worked through a multi-agency safeguarding approach to implement measures to keep the child safe. Children allow staff to check their mobile phones daily and have discussions with staff about their online activity.

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

The response of staff and managers to significant and concerning incidents is excellent. The primary focus is always the safety and wellbeing of children. Following incidents, the Inspection report for children’s home: 2696593 5 managers undertake detailed debriefs with staff and children to understand the underlying cause. Therapists undertake further debriefs with staff and discuss incidents during group supervision to enhance the reflection and learning from a therapeutic stance.

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

Staff are vigilant to changes in children’s behaviour and mood. When such changes become apparent, staff take immediate action as they understand children’s vulnerabilities well. Recent training from the therapist has helped staff to intervene earlier with children and prevent situations from escalating. Staff are aware of the changing risks and associated levels of supervision for children. Although these plans are well understood by staff, they can sometimes be difficult to read and contain outdated information. The manager has already taken steps to address these issues and improve the clarity of the written plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff are led by a dedicated manager. Children describe the manager as somebody who ‘genuinely cares’ and ‘treats you like their own’. One child described the manager as being ‘on another level’ because of the commitment that they show to them. Children enjoy spending time with the manager, who models a relational approach to care. Children feel confident to tell the manager when they are unhappy about aspects of their care. They trust that any concerns they raise will be thoroughly investigated and that action will be taken.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has excellent oversight of the home and knows the children well. The manager’s oversight means they respond quickly to meet children’s changing needs. The prompt changes to plans mean that children stay safe and continue to make progress. Children trust that the manager will advocate for them and know that they have high aspirations for their future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has created a supportive environment for children to thrive. The expectations of staff and children are high, and the manager is described as ‘firm but fair’. When incidents occur in the home, the manager has thorough oversight and adopts a learning-from-practice approach. Following incidents, the manager works closely with the therapy lead for the home to ensure that children and staff are supported effectively. If consequences are used, they are meaningful to the children and supported by conversations to help keep children safe or positively change their behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel well supported by the manager. They benefit from regular supervision, team meetings, and group supervision with the therapist. The therapist regularly shares research and delivers training to the staff team to develop the carers’ therapeutic approach. This learning is implemented into practice and has helped to prevent incidents in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff supervision sessions are meaningful. The manager uses a reflective model to consider staff’s relationships and any barriers to engagement with each child individually. Inspection report for children’s home: 2696593 6 Supervision sessions include discussions about potential safeguarding scenarios, which help assure the manager about staff’s knowledge. Inspection report for children’s home: 2696593 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Risk assessments should be clear and contain consistent information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘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: 2696593 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Absolute Childrens Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 98 Grove Street, Leek ST13 8DU

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Inspector

Ali Owens, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2696593 9 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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