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 Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to two children with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is yet to be registered with Ofsted.

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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.

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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: 26 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC470413 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 24/06/2019 Full Good 16/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/07/2018 Full Inadequate Inspection report children's home: SC470413 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well presented, welcoming and is maintained to a good standard. This is a home that children can feel comfortable and at home in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to build positive relationships with children. Staff have made a coordinated effort to understand the full needs of the child who has moved into the home most recently. This has included working with previous placements and health and clinical teams. This has improved the understanding of the child’s needs and presenting behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care and make progress from their starting points. For example, children who have struggled with education now have good attendance. The manager has been an advocate in ensuring that children’s educational needs are met. As a result, children are achieving and barriers to learning have been reduced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to pursue their interests. Children engage in a range of activities such as playing golf and football, visiting the local zoo and helping to build the home’s vegetable garden. Staff are committed to the children and work hard to ensure that they have a range of experiences and opportunities to develop their interests. In addition, staff make children daily timetables using pictures to help explain routines and activities. This child-centred approach ensures that children feel involved in their care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children develop independence skills. This involves a structured and individualised programme. Staff have supported one child to learn how to cook, do their own washing and to set up a bank account. This helps children to develop a better understanding of the skills they need for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of children maintaining contact with family and friends. Staff support the children when visiting people who are important to them in addition send weekly care summaries to parents. This enables parents to still feel involved in the everyday care of their children.

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

The staff have good knowledge and understanding of children’s vulnerabilities, risks and needs. Staff ensure that risk assessments are updated regularly, and these are followed by staff. In addition, children are involved in training to develop their understanding around risks. For example, one child completed fire safety training. This build’s children’s awareness of risks.

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

Children’s known risks when they move into the home are not always considered in written documents. For example, one impact assessment failed to consider factors in Inspection report children's home: SC470413 4 the local area that may affect the child’s placement, and a child’s previous risk-taking behaviours. Although this has not had a direct impact on the quality of care provided to children, it may compromise safety in the future.

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

Incidents of children going missing from care are responded to appropriately by staff. Timely information-sharing with police and the placing authority has ensured that procedures are followed to safeguard the children in the community. Children receive a return home interview after being missing. This ensures that children receive appropriate support and develops staff’s understanding of future risks.

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

Staff physically intervene when necessary to keep children and staff safe. Staff ensure that children have debriefing sessions following incidents in a way that suits their communication needs. As a result, children understand why interventions are used by staff, and incidents are low in number.

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

Children’s positive behaviour is recognised and rewarded by staff. Children have individualised reward charts and staff use frequent praise. Inappropriate behaviours are discussed and, when necessary, the children receive appropriate sanctions. The home follows a restorative approach to respond to negative behaviours and will undertake additional key-working sessions. This motivates the children to understand behaviours and make positive informed choices in the future.

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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 or additional support is needed, for example, when changing the medication for a child or seeking medical advice when a child refuses medication. This ensures the health needs of children are met.

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

Children live in a physically safe environment. Staff carry out regular health and safety checks to ensure the safety of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, a new manager has been appointed. The manager has applied to be registered with Ofsted. The manager is committed to developing good practice in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring of the home is effective. When there have been concerns about staff practice, investigation by the manager has been swift and action has been taken to improve the quality of care. As a result, children have been safeguarded effectively and there has been appropriate scrutiny of practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they enjoy working at the home and feel supported and valued. Staff receive regular supervision and attend monthly team meetings. This encourages sharing of information and supports consistency of practice. In addition, the manager completes monthly themed policy workshops. This gives staff greater opportunity to learn from each other and promotes an open culture in the home. Inspection report children's home: SC470413 5 All staff have completed mandatory training. However, the manager has not ensured that staff have undergone all the necessary training specific to the needs of the children. For example, not all staff have completed county lines and alcohol misuse training. This may have an impact on the quality of care children receive and does not support professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although staff are knowledgeable about the children’s care needs, the manager has not always ensured that children’s case records contain up-to-date and accurate information. As a result, staff do not always have the information they need to undertake their roles effectively. Inspection report children's home: SC470413 6

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that the children’s risk assessments completed prior to children moving into home consider all risks related to the child. 27 October 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that all staff complete child-specific training. 27 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which— 27 October 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC470413 7 include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the need for an up-to-date care plan to be in place for each child.

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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: SC470413 8

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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: 2 Lymevale Court, Lyme Drive, Parklands, Stoke- on-Trent ST4 6NW

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Inspector

Sophie Hills, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC470413 9 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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