Children's Home run by United Children's Services Limited in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC488961 1 SC488961 Registered provider: United Children’s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is privately owned and provides care for up to five children with emotional, behavioural and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since January 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 1 December 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: 11 November 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC488961 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/11/2019 Full Good 10/05/2018 Full Good 29/01/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/05/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC488961 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care and support from staff. This means they make good progress in all areas of their development. The children feel listened to and supported well by staff. Monthly meetings for children encourage them to share thoughts and ideas for their home. This recently resulted in a new cinema room being set up, which the children enjoy using for movie nights.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and feel safe. They have positive relationships with staff who they trust. Children enjoy spending quality time at home with staff, which strengthens those relationships. Staff know the children well. They understand how their previous experiences have affected their emotional well-being. This means children feel valued and have a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education attendance and engagement is promoted. Some children have had poor educational experiences and not attended education. The staff work hard to support reintegration into school or college, without delay. The staff team advocates to maintain education placements for children. They challenge barriers to education. The manager works closely with placing local authorities and schools to promote education. For example, one child’s attendance has risen from 48% to 98%. Another child has secured herself a part-time job which she enjoys. This is good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are physically healthy. Where appropriate, older children are supported to make their own health appointments. This helps support them in developing independence skills. One child has a fear of attending health appointments. Staff work at his pace to enable him to overcome his anxiety. The home’s therapist listens to the children and provides a more specialist service for their emotional health when needed. However, the home’s current statement of purpose does not accurately describe the preferred model of therapeutic support available to children. This could be misleading.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have good life experiences. One child enjoyed an overnight stay in London, another experienced an overnight camping trip. Children have opportunities to try new activities, for example they have tried horse riding, boxing and go-karting. These experiences help build confidence and provide social opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to keep in touch with people who are important to them. Staff provide supervision and transport for family time. Positive family relationships have progressed for three children who now spend regular time with family and can arrange this independently. Staff understand how complex family relationships can be for some children to understand. This is sensitively considered when any discussions around family dynamics take place. One parent sent a bouquet of flowers to the home last month to show her appreciation for the support of staff. Inspection report for children's home: SC488961 4

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

Staff are committed to ensuring that children learn how to keep themselves safe. The children have regular key-work sessions about safety in the community, online safety and the risks and opportunities with social media. Incidents of going missing for one child have decreased significantly, which indicates the effectiveness of this work. Staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities well and know how to report concerns. They work closely with a range of professionals to inform risk assessments and behaviour management plans. These assist the staff in keeping children safe.

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

Incidents of challenging behaviour are low, as is the use of physical intervention. When this does occur, both children and staff are debriefed and supported effectively. The manager turns such incidents into learning opportunities by thoroughly evaluating incidents to identify the underlying causes and triggers.

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

The staff team is diverse mix, their skills complement each other well. They implement strategies with the children that promote good behaviour. The team is stable and has developed good working relationships that enable effective teamwork. This safeguards children.

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

Older children have their own smartphones and access to the internet. Staff have a good understanding of keeping children safe online. The manager can restrict access to the internet, if required, and can monitor the children’s online use to ensure their safety.

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

Safe recruitment of staff helps to protect children from unsuitable adults. The manager and leaders prioritise recruiting the right people to work with the children. However, on one occasion, the recruitment of a member of staff was not as rigorous as it should have been. Managers recognised this and rectified the issue immediately. The manager and leaders are using creative incentives to retain good staff. They understand how important this is for children to have consistent and predictable care from adults they know well and trust.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been changes in the management team and staffing since the last inspection. The staff value the support they receive from the manager. They feel listened to. The manager has developed positive relationships with the children. She spends time with each child to discuss their views and opinions. The manager is passionate about the children’s welfare and is ambitious for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the children’s care plans. On most occasions, she challenges placing authorities when standards are not met. However, one child’s care plan has drifted significantly. The manager and leaders did not recognise this or escalate their concerns to the placing authority with rigour. Inspection report for children's home: SC488961 5 The manager is improving the home and has introduced some good changes. She has recently improved the physical layout of the home, providing better living spaces, with an additional lounge area and personalised children’s bedrooms. This has created a welcoming environment for everyone. Outside, she has introduced a separate space for private meetings, therapy and training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work in partnership with other agencies. Overall, feedback from involved professionals is excellent. They praise the effective communication and how well children are supported by the manager and staff. One social worker said, ‘The child never wants to leave.’ This is indicative of how settled children are at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with a comprehensive package of training. Most of the team are qualified. New starters are quickly on track to becoming qualified, following successful completion of their probation. The manager provides regular supervision to the staff team, with the support of a senior residential care worker. A newly appointed deputy manager is starting in December 2021 which will further strengthen the team. Inspection report for children's home: SC488961 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

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (5))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the home’s therapist and the preferred model of therapeutic intervention being set out in the statement of purpose. 16 December

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring there is no drift in children’s care planning. 16 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the recruitment process of the home’s therapist. 16 December Inspection report for children's home: SC488961 7

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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 for children's home: SC488961 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: United Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Old Coach House, Drinsey Nook, Lincoln, LN1 2JJ

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Inspectors

Catherine Honey, Social Care Inspector Rachael Sprigg, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC488961 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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