Children's Home run by Unique Care Group Ltd in Shropshire

Inspection report children's home: 2595128 1 Registered provider: Unique Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home provides residential care for up to four children with learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home has a registered manager who is working toward her level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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

Date of last inspection: Not previously inspected

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: Not applicable Inspection report children's home: 2595128 2

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have excellent relationships with staff. Staff’s approach to care is consistent and nurturing. The supportive environment of the home has enabled children to explore emerging identity needs and to develop self-confidence and self-esteem. The house is welcoming, comfortable and maintained to a high standard.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children access education and are making good progress. Children attend education full time and are working towards appropriate qualifications. Staff understand the importance of education. The manager advocates for the children and successfully challenged the local authority to ensure that a child’s education, health and care plan was completed. This ensures that children receive the best possible learning support.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to take part in a variety of activities, including spending time with the home’s animals, enjoying afternoon teas, skating with staff and visiting sensory-play centres. The staff in the home are passionate about seeing children learn new skills, develop their interests and make happy memories. Activities encourage children to have fun and build relationships.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to see family members. Staff facilitate arrangements flexibly and provide transport and activities. Staff also enable and empower children to make decisions about these arrangements. This ensures that children feel fully involved in their care planning. For example, staff made picture cards for a child so that he could communicate when he wanted to see his family.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Clinical support is used to develop an understanding of children’s needs. Information from assessments helps to inform and evaluate care. Children are supported by staff to develop their independence skills at a pace that suits them. For example, children will brush their teeth at night with staff guidance to learn about oral hygiene. This supports children to develop independence skills.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children moving to the home are very well supported. Children and family members are provided with the opportunity to visit the home, and staff send welcoming letters before arrival. This helps to reduce any anxieties and promotes new relationships. In addition, staff play an active role in supporting children who are moving to new services. Children move on with the benefit of their experience at the home.

p.2

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

The staff have an excellent knowledge and understanding of the children’s vulnerabilities, risks and needs. Highly detailed care plans, combined with staff vigilance, ensure that children are kept safe. Carefully assessed staffing levels ensure that children receive appropriate support in the home. Inspection report children's home: 2595128 3 Incidents within the home are rare. Key-working sessions and ‘social stories’ are used to educate children effectively about risks and to encourage good choices. In addition, the home organises workshops for the children, led by the police. This means that children have an improved awareness of dangers and provides them with tools to make better decisions.

p.2

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

Staff use incentives effectively. The home’s reward structure is individualised and also links with children’s care plans. The reward system is effective in reinforcing positive behaviour. Consequences in the home are appropriate; however, they are not all monitored by the manager. This creates a missed opportunity to review staff practice.

p.3

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

When concerns have been raised about the behaviour of staff, swift action has been taken by managers to address the concerns. However, on one occasion, although investigation activity took place, the manager could not provide evidence that the child was provided with a formal outcome in response to the concern. This makes it difficult to understand whether the child was aware or satisfied with the process.

p.3

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

Medication is safely stored and administered. Staff consult with health professionals when changes are required, for example changing the dose of medication and the type. This action from staff improves well-being for children.

p.3

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

Children live in safe, well-maintained accommodation. Regular health and safety checks take place. In addition, staff have created a picture sheet to explain what to do in the event of a fire. This helps the children to become familiar with the procedure should an emergency occur.

p.3

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

The registered manager ensures that staff who are recruited to work in the home are subject to all the necessary checks. This helps to ensure that staff who work at the home are safe to do so.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a suitably qualified manager in post who has been registered with Ofsted since June 2020. Staff speak highly of the leadership in the home. Managers understand children’s needs exceptionally well and drive for positive outcomes for children.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff group in the home is stable, which means that the children benefit from consistency. Managers provided examples of staff being flexible with their working patterns, to meet the children’s needs. This ensures that children receive high- quality care.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff engage in a comprehensive induction and a bespoke training programme. Staff receive an individualised development plan which is monitored during regular supervision sessions. This encourages staff to develop their learning. Regular team meetings take place to enable staff to reflect on their practice and share ideas. This supports the continuous development and improvement of the home. Inspection report children's home: 2595128 4 There are well-established working relationships with a range of external professionals to enhance the care provided. The management team work closely with social workers, education and health professionals and safeguarding agencies. Feedback received highlights highly effective communication, as well as committed and nurturing care. One professional said that the home is ‘out of this world’.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Admission processes are thorough. Managers challenge placing authorities effectively when any information about a child is not clear. However, one child’s case file does not contain all the required information. As a result, staff do not always have the information they need to provide children with coordinated care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a location risk assessment; however, it does not fully consider the risk of the adjacent school. For example, there is the potential for students and children to interact and mix between both the home and the school. This is potentially a missed opportunity to reduce risk. Inspection report children's home: 2595128 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

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. (Regulation 7 (1)(c))

p.5

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the provider ensuring that children understand the steps taken to investigate and respond to complaints made against care staff. 27 October 2021

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered manager must ensure that—

p.5

Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes;

p.5

Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation (35) (3)(a)(vii))

p.5

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that consequences given to children are monitored. 27 October 2021

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

p.5

Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

p.5

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the need for a child’s up-to-date care plan to be in place. 27 October 2021 Inspection report children's home: 2595128 6

p.5

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the review of the location includes the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

p.6

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 children's home: 2595128 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Unique Care Group Limited

p.7

Inspector

Sophie Hills, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2595128 8 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.

p.7

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 . 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.8

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8