Children's home run by Unity Residential Care Services Limited in Newcastle-under-Lyme

Inspection report children's home: SC470413 1 SC470413 Registered provider: Unity Residential Care Services

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home can provide care and accommodation for up to two children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned by a private provider.

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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: 15 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young person is making impressive progress in regards to his emotional well-being.  There has been a significant reduction in the young person’s risk-taking Inspection report children's home: SC470413 2 behaviour.  Staff use creative and thoughtful strategies to manage the young person’s behaviour.  Staff successfully manage young people’s transitions into and out of the home  Staff practice is enhanced by their awareness of relevant research.  Staff work collaboratively with partner agencies to meet the needs of the young person.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home's areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young person is not engaging fully with education.  In some instances, risk assessments do not provide staff with clear direction on how to respond to risk-taking behaviours.  On one occasion, a young person was not given the opportunity to have an interview with someone independent of the home, when he returned from being missing from the home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 21/11/2016 Full Outstanding 16/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 06/10/2015 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC470413 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, 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.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff — help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment; help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(iv)(xiii)) 30/12/2017

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Recommendations

 Ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, staff arrange for the responsible local authority to provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Staff should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risk to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any risks on a day to day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Inspection report children's home: SC470413 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are successful at planning for young people’s transitions in and out of the home. For example, staff supported one young person to move on to foster care. This is an exceptional outcome for the young person. Partnership working by staff ensured that the move was seamless. The young person was able to have overnight stays and to visit her new placement several times prior to moving in. This helped the young person to prepare for her next steps.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The current young person has only resided at the home for a short period, yet he has already started to form positive relationships with staff. The young person is developing trusting relationships with staff. He talks to them when he is anxious or worried. Staff provide the young person with lots of opportunities to express himself. This includes one-to-one sessions and the use of a feelings diary. A social worker said, ‘I have been very impressed by staff and the care that he receives.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Calm and sensitive staff provide the young person with the reassurance and stability that he craves. Staff ensure that the young person receives lots of positive attention and that he is always at the centre of what they are doing. Cooking and baking are valued activities that staff and the young person complete together. The nurturing environment helps to promote the young person’s emotional welfare. This has led to significant improvements in his behaviour and a reduction in risk-taking behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the young person to maintain contact with his family. For example, video- calls supplement direct contact. This helps to manage the young person’s feelings of anxiety about being separated from his family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person is not currently accessing formal education. Although the young person is enrolled at a school in his placing authority, it is not realistic for him to attend. Staff have taken every possible step to identify suitable local provision. Staff have liaised regularly and assertively with the placing authority and other relevant services. In spite of this, factors outside the staff’s control mean that a suitable education placement has yet to be identified.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have worked with the young person’s existing school to provide informal education at home. As a result, a structured timetable is in place. However, staff have had mixed success in engaging the young person with this work. The young person is not currently accessing the education that he requires. Inspection report children's home: SC470413 5

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

Since coming to live at the home, the young person’s risk-taking behaviours have reduced dramatically. In particular, self-harming behaviours have ceased and have not been a feature of his recent behaviour. A social worker told the inspector, ‘There have been blips, however this has been nothing compared to what was previously happening. He is being kept safe . ’

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

The young person benefits from consistent rules and boundaries. As a result, he understands what staff expect of him. Although progress has been impressive, the young person is at the start of his journey. This means that the young person has caused some minor damage in the home and, at times, has not adhered to the rules of the home. In such instances, staff are measured in their response and are generally successful in de-escalating situations. When it is appropriate, staff utilise restorative practice. For example, the young person is due to repair a garden wall that he damaged. Consequently, staff support the young person to learn to take responsibility for his behaviour.

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

Staff try to be creative in their management of the young person’s behaviour. For example, the introduction of a music keyboard has been a successful tool in giving the young person time out when he is starting to struggle. The young person is developing strategies to manage his emotions more effectively.

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

There has only been one incident of the young person going missing from the home. Staff were swift in their response to this situation, searching the local area, maintaining contact with the young person via his phone and utilising the help of the young person’s parent. Consequently, the young person was located quickly, reducing the potential risk of harm. Although staff attempted to arrange an independent return interview, this did not take place. Notwithstanding this, staff have taken the time to understand why the young person went missing and to support the young person to understand the potential risks.

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

Staff continually assess and review risk. This means that staff have a good understanding of the young person’s vulnerabilities. However, in some instances, risk assessments do not provide staff with clear guidance on how best to manage potential risk-taking behaviours. Staff practice is not underpinned by robust risk assessments. A recommendation is raised to bring about improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has only recently come into post. The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. It is clear that the manager is still establishing herself within her new role. As a result, she has only just started to put her stamp on the home. Positively, the manager has already gained a good understanding of the home’s areas of strength as well as those aspects that she feels could be further improved. Inspection report children's home: SC470413 6 The manager’s appointment coincided with the arrival of a new deputy manager, one new member of staff and the admission of the current young person. Consequently, there have been significant changes in the last two months. Staff have been successful in ensuring that this period of change has not affected the care that the young person has received.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is using supervisions and team meetings to consolidate staff practice. For example, team meetings include workshops in which the team discusses research on a chosen topic related to the needs of the young person. This has included attachment theory and specific health issues. This ensures that staff have the knowledge and skills to the meet the needs of the young person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have been successful at developing links with key stakeholders, such as the police and local authority. This ensures that there is a collaborative approach to meeting the needs of the young person. The manager has demonstrated a willingness to be assertive with partner agencies. For example, the manager has advocated well for the young person in respect of ongoing care proceedings, to ensure that the young person’s views are heard and that his needs are being prioritised.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

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 children's home: SC470413 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Unity Residential Care Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 98 Lancaster Road, Newcastle under Lyme ST5 1DS

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Inspector

Paul Robinson, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC470413 8 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted Inspection report children's home: SC470413 9

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