Children's Home run by Unity Residential Care Services Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC447645 1 SC447645

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Unity Residential Care Services Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider runs this home. The home provides care and accommodation for up to four children who have experienced childhood instability that results in trauma and associated complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager was registered by Ofsted in October 2020.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was undertaken in response to information received by Ofsted which raised concerns about the safety of children and the ability of staff to manage children’s complex behaviours.

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This monitoring visit

On the day of the visit, two children were missing from the home. The inspector found significant shortfalls in the protection of children and in the leadership and management of the home.

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This monitoring visit

As a result of this visit, Ofsted has issued compliance notices under regulation 12 (the protection of children standard) and regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard) and has imposed an urgent variation to the conditions of registration. The home is now registered for one child.

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This monitoring visit

The home previously received a monitoring visit in July 2020 because of concerns about the ability of staff to safeguard children. As a result of this visit, Ofsted issued compliance notices under regulation 12 and 13 and a notice of restriction in accommodation which meant no further children could move into the home

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This monitoring visit

In August 2020, a monitoring visit took place and Ofsted judged that the compliance notices were met. At a further monitoring visit on the 13 October 2020, Ofsted found Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC447645 2 that managers had made good progress in addressing the shortfalls in practice and the notice restricting accommodation lapsed on 18 October 2020.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have admitted a child to the home without fully considering their compatibility with the children living in the home. This demonstrates that managers have failed to develop and/or implement a comprehensive strategy for how to manage both the needs of the individual child and their impact on the children who already live in the home. This poor quality of leadership and the absence of comprehensive risk analysis have resulted in children not being safeguarded effectively, and this has had a negative impact on their experiences.

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This monitoring visit

Since 2 December 2020, children have been missing from the home together on five occasions. There have also been instances of children going missing more than once in the same day. The registered manager and staff do not take the necessary steps to manage the risks associated with this behaviour. Risk assessments and behaviour management plans do not give staff clear strategies on managing the risk of children going missing together.

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This monitoring visit

Risk assessments are not routinely of a good quality. For example, some assessments lack essential details and are not up to date. Key information was missing from one child’s risk assessment. The omissions were significant as they were in regard to the risk of self-harm from burning herself with hair straighteners and from attempting to drink bleach. In addition, staff have not been given guidance on how to manage the previously identified risk of this child swallowing batteries. A child is already identified as being at risk of walking towards train tracks and threatening to jump in front of trains. Staff were only given guidance on how to manage this risk after an incident of this nature occurred. Staff do not review strategies for managing children’s behaviours when the strategies are ineffective. As a result, children’s behaviours escalate in frequency and severity.

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This monitoring visit

Staff fail to act to remove children from high risk situations. Staff did not intervene to prevent a child from walking onto train tracks. On two occasions, children barricaded themselves in their rooms and planned to go missing together. On one further occasion, a child self-harmed after barricading themselves in their room. At the time of this monitoring visit, managers had not acted to address these risks.

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This monitoring visit

There are insufficient appropriately trained and skilled staff working in the home. Although the home is fully staffed, four of the eight staff began working at the home within the last three months and have not previously worked in residential care. Two staff who had significant experience have transferred to other homes in the company at short notice, and within 11 days of one another. This means that the home does not have enough experienced staff to guide and support more recently appointed staff in how to manage children’s complex behaviours.

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This monitoring visit

Managers do not have effective systems in place to ensure that staff understand children’s needs and how to meet them. Managers do not consistently update risk assessments with strategies for responding to children going missing. Staff do not Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC447645 3 always confirm that they have read children’s behaviour management plans and risk assessments. Other identified systems for communicating with staff are ineffective. For example, at the time of the monitoring visit, a communication book used by managers to update staff had no entries for two weeks. This means that managers do not ensure that staff have the most up-to-date information about effective strategies for managing children’s complex behaviours.

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This monitoring visit

Managers do not ensure that information on documents is correct. For example, an impact risk assessment completed by the area manager was presented as being completed by the registered manager. This does not ensure a clear audit trail of decision-making.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 29/10/2019 Full Good 19/02/2019 Full Good 10/01/2018 Full Good 22/03/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC447645 4

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(iv)) 24/01/2021

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Requirement Due date

*The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(h)) 24/01/2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC447645 5 *These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards p 62 Para 14.4)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Unity Residential Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Belvoir Farmhouse, Woolsthorpe Road, Redmile, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire NG13 0GN

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Inspector

Karen Gillingwater, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC447645 6 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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