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

Inspection report children’s home: SC469761 1 SC469761 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 is registered to provide care for up to three children who present complex behaviours because of their early childhood experiences. The home is operated by a private provider.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since May 2018 and was registered by Ofsted in July 2018. She holds a level 3 qualification and is undertaking her level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 20 to 21 November 2018

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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: 28 February 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC469761 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2018 Full Good 01/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 12/07/2016 Full Good 23/02/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC469761 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite facing significant challenges, children’s self-belief and confidence improves significantly. Consequently, they make excellent progress socially and emotionally. Research and a clear understanding of attachment theory underpin staff practice. Staff are extremely positive about the children who live in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make sure that children’s views are central to the formulation of their care plans. Staff work closely with children to help them to understand their specific targets and the support available to achieve them. This integrated approach to meeting children’s needs means that children make sustained progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a wide and varied range of social, leisure and educational activities. Staff continually encourage children to try new things and to make the most of the opportunities and facilities in the local community. This helps children to develop new hobbies and interests, grow in confidence and build on their social skills. One child is excelling in athletics and another child is very proud to have been chosen for the football team after nine months of training. Staff take pride in, and celebrate, children’s achievements. Children’s self-esteem improves as a result.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in encouraging children to attend school. When necessary, the manager and staff escalate issues to ensure that children have every opportunity to reach their potential. This approach helps to support children’s learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is safe and very well maintained. Staff regularly carry out health and safety checks, and quickly report any concerns. This creates a warm, welcoming and comfortable home for children. The home is decorated with photographs of children undertaking fun activities with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are creative in how they gain children’s views about things that are important to them. This includes using individual key-work sessions and children’s meetings. Each child receives personal written feedback from the registered manager in respect of any requests they have made and their achievements in the past month. As a result, children feel that their views are valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from spending time with their families when this is appropriate. Staff recognise how important these relationships are to children. Social workers have confidence in the manager and staff to make appropriate arrangements for children to see their families. A grandmother said that her grandchild ‘receives the best possible care’ and she feels involved in his care.

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

Managers have an excellent knowledge and understanding of child protection thresholds and referral processes. Safeguarding policies are clear and succinct. This ensures that Inspection report children’s home: SC469761 4 staff understand their own responsibilities for protecting children. The registered manager works in partnership with the designated officer for the local authority. This means that any allegations of abuse or harm are quickly investigated. This good practice promotes children’s safety. A social worker told the inspector, ‘The complaint was taken seriously, and the child felt she was really listened to.’

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

Staff use physical restraint only as a last resort, to prevent an immediate risk of significant harm. Staff place emphasis on verbal de-escalation, and this approach further enhances children’s feeling of safety and security. The manager undertakes an extremely thorough evaluation of all incidents and uses this to identify any patterns and, ultimately, improve children’s experiences.

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

When children go missing, staff are responsive. For example, staff will follow children to encourage them to return. The manager and staff use key-work to try to understand why children may feel the need to run away from the home. Staff identify creative ways to reduce the risk of children going missing. One child has a ‘run box’, which she uses whenever she feels the need to run off. This approach has been effective and, as a result, she has not gone missing from the home for over five months.

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

Staff understand the risks that children face. Highly effective, proactive planning identifies potential risks and ensures that staff manage these very effectively, both inside and outside of the home. Staff set clear and consistent boundaries. Staff help children to identify triggers that make them feel angry or upset and develop techniques that they can use when they feel like this. Risk assessments also provide clear guidance for staff on how they should support children.

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

Staff support children to learn about different cultures and religions. This includes activities such as making lanterns to celebrate Diwali and trying new foods. Children are also supported to learn about their own heritage and culture. For one child this has been particularly effective, and she has developed a positive view of herself as a result. She now enjoys sharing her culture with others and likes to cook for the staff and other children in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager keeps children at the heart of all that she does. She is inspirational and ambitious for children and ensures that this personal and professional ethos is cascaded throughout the entire staff team. She has high expectations from staff. However, because of professional challenge from the manager, several staff made the decision to leave. The registered manager understands the impact that a changing staff team has on children. She has undertaken a piece of reflective work around this, and a targeted recruitment approach has resulted in new staff being appointed who have the necessary skills and emotional intelligence to meet the needs of children who have experienced trauma.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager understands children’s needs exceptionally well and constantly scrutinises their progress. Her actions have a significant, and positive influence on the Inspection report children’s home: SC469761 5 progress that children make and the support that they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager monitors effectively the service and the quality of care that children receive. She uses this information to determine patterns and trends across the service and evaluates these to identify areas for improvement. Excellent consultation with children, their families and other agencies further supports this process. The statement of purpose accurately reflects the services offered by the home and is clear about the support offered to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are very positive about the support they receive from the registered manager. Supervision sessions are regular and of high quality. They help staff to generate ideas and reflect on their practice. New staff are appropriately vetted and are supported through a clear, effective induction process. This ensures that children receive high- quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff either hold the required level 3 diploma or are currently working to achieve this. Plans are in place to ensure that they complete this within the required timescales. Staff complete child-specific training that informs their practice and meets children’s individual and diverse needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from having a registered manager who constantly strives to improve their lives.

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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: SC469761 6

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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

Annemarie Parker, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC469761 7 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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