Children's Home run by Prime Nurture Services Limited in Hertfordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2791109 1 Registered provider: Prime Nurture Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children's home

The home is privately run and provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2025.

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: 2791109 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/04/2025 Full Good 03/12/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2791109 3

p.2

Summary of findings

Children receive warm, nurturing care from staff who know them well and are committed to helping them make progress. Children benefit from positive relationships and good support with their health, education and emotional wellbeing. Children's moves are carefully planned. Managers are ambitious for children and provide effective oversight of staff practice. Staff are well supported and receive training that helps them meet children's individual needs. Safeguarding practice is generally effective and promotes children's welfare. However, some aspects of behaviour management responses to children's concerns and the review of the quality of care require improvement.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, three children were living at the home. Since the last inspection, two children moved in and one child move out as staff could not meet their changing needs. Two children took part in the inspection.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress and enjoy positive experiences. Staff know children well and provide activities that help them build their confidence. Children appear happy, relaxed and comfortable with staff. Warm relationships are seen throughout the home and are reflected in the way staff speak and write about the children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children move into the home in a thoughtful way. Managers carefully consider whether they can meet each child's needs before they move in. Staff help children to settle in and feel safe. Children have personalised plans that reflect their needs and identify clear goals for them. Staff regularly review children's progress and use rewards chosen by the children to encourage and celebrate their achievements.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals speak positively about the home and the difference staff make in children's lives. They describe staff as 'seeing children as individuals' and 'recognising their strengths'. This helps children to build trusting relationships and make sustained progress from their starting points.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides the children with a welcoming place to live. However, some areas require redecoration and minor repairs. This detracts from the otherwise homely environment and means that children do not consistently benefit from living in surroundings that reflect the quality of care they receive.

p.3

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

Children benefit from detailed plans that reflect their individual needs and vulnerabilities. These give staff clear guidance about how to keep children safe, reduce risks and help Inspection report for children's home: 2791109 4 children to manage their emotions. Staff know children well and understand what works best for each child when they become upset or anxious.

p.3

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

Staff respond with compassion and support to children who self-harm and show them care and understanding. Staff work closely with other professionals to reduce these behaviours and support children to make healthy choices.

p.4

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

No children have gone missing from the home for over a year. This is positive progress for one child. Staff also maintain clear plans for missing-from-home episodes. This shows a proactive approach.

p.4

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

Staff respond to incidents calmly and with care. Physical intervention is only ever used as a last resort and is reasonable and proportionate. Staff use familiar de-escalation strategies to help children feel safe and regain control of their emotions. Managers review incidents and identify any actions needed to make sure children continue to receive the right support.

p.4

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

Staff use consequences fairly and effectively to help children understand their behaviour and make positive choices. However, records do not always clearly distinguish between a consequence given by staff and a natural consequence. This limits the manager's ability to ensure that all consequences are used consistently.

p.4

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

Following a concern raised by a child about a member of staff, leaders and managers acted quickly to make sure the child was safe and the concern was appropriately investigated. However, leaders and managers did not seek the child's views during the investigation, give them feedback or record any learning from it. This left the child feeling worried, as they did not know how their concern would affect the relationship with the member of staff.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has high expectations of staff practice and is committed to helping children achieve positive outcomes. She has made several improvements since the last inspection. She has strengthened the way the home is run, supported the staff team and improved children's day-to-day experiences.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safe recruitment practice is followed, and all the necessary checks are completed before new staff begin work. Staff receive a wide range of training that helps them meet each child's individual needs. Staff receive regular supervision, and they say that they feel well supported through their induction. Regular meetings during induction help them to build confidence and develop in their roles.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are used well to share information, discuss practice and identify areas to improve. Staff speak positively about the leadership team and describe managers as supportive, visible and approachable. Managers know the children well and spend time with them every day, helping to build strong and trusting relationships. Inspection report for children's home: 2791109 5 The manager completes the six-month review of the home. The review reflects the continued development of the home but gives limited consideration to the views of children, their families and other professionals. It does not always provide the manager with the broadest understanding of the home's strengths and where they can continue to build on the positive progress already made. Inspection report for children's home: 2791109 6

p.4

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.6

Requirement Due date

The children's views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

p.6

Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children's care and welfare and their lives.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child's views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child's best interests when making decisions about the child's care and welfare;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child's views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)) 1 October 2026

p.6

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.6

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— 1 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2791109 7 the feedback and opinions of children about the children's home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it;

p.6

Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(b)(c))

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all maintenance issues are addressed promptly to provide children with a nurturing environment that meets their day-to-day needs. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.7 and 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control and discipline are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and consistent. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 46, paragraph 9.36)

p.7

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: 2791109 8

p.7

Children's home details

Registered provider: Prime Nurture Services Ltd

p.8

Children's home details

Registered provider address: Newstead House, Pelham Road, Nottingham NG5 1AP

p.8

Inspector

Andreia Alves da Silva, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2791109 9 regulates 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.

p.8

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 .

p.9

Inspector

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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9