Children's Home run by Unity Residential Care Services Limited in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report for children’s home: SC426318 1 SC426318 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 is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and presenting complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager was registered with Ofsted in October 2020. The manager has a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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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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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC426318 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/01/2020 Full Outstanding 22/01/2019 Full Outstanding 08/01/2018 Full Good 27/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC426318 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, in January 2020, one child has left the home and one child has moved in. At the time of this inspection, two children lived at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to develop a sense of belonging. Children help to personalise the home and their personal space. The home is decorated to a good standard. One child’s bedroom is decorated with memorabilia from his favourite football team and framed pictures hang on his wall. Pictures of children and artwork made by them are dotted around the home. This allows children to take a sense of pride in their home and helps their well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children build trusted and secure relationships with staff. They receive good levels of support from a consistent and committed team. Children informed the inspector that they have trusted adults who they can speak to if they feel worried or upset.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported and encouraged by the staff to engage in leisure activities and this enables them to improve their self-esteem while having fun. One child is part of the organisation’s football team. And the inspector observed staff playing together with one young child, building with construction bricks on a play mat.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are ambitious for children and support them to meet their education targets. They encourage children to attend education, using incentives and praise. Certificates of achievements are on display throughout the home, showing pride in children’s achievements. Staff regularly consult with teachers and provide children with the tools they need to engage in their learning. Due to this, children’s education attendance has improved to over 95% for the most recent school term. Because of this supportive approach, both children are making good progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with good support to help them to develop their independence skills. Staff teach children life skills that will prepare them for when they leave the home. This promotes their confidence and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to maintain positive relationships with people who are most important to them. Staff have adapted to the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic by using video technology when required. One parent said, ‘The manager is great and she really understands our family’s needs.’

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

Staff keep children safe. They regularly review risk assessments and adapt their approach as situations change, to reduce risks to children’s safety. Risk assessments are complemented with individual behaviour support plans for each child. One social worker said, ‘The staff know [name of child] extremely well and understand how to Inspection report for children’s home: SC426318 4 respond to his needs appropriately.’ Staff understand children’s needs and are clear about how to respond and protect them.

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

Staff de-escalate incidents well, which means the need to physically intervene to keep children and others safe has reduced. The manager reviews the staff’s handling of challenging incidents to continually improve practice. Reflective debriefs are completed with staff members involved. This helps staff to reflect on incidents to continually improve their practice.

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

Staff ensure that the home environment is safe for children to live in. A range of health and safety checks are carried out to assess whether there are any hazards which could pose risks to children. Children take part in regular fire drills to ensure that they know how to safely evacuate the home in case of such an emergency.

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

For the most part, children receive help and support to manage their behaviour and feelings safely. Children benefit from spending individual time with their key workers. For example, when there was an issue around internet safety, staff responded with clear boundaries about what was acceptable behaviour. Prompt responses to issues of concern promote children’s well-being and sense of security. However, staff fail to educate children around equality and diversity. For example, when one child used inappropriate and derogatory language in the community, staff did not address this fully. This was a missed opportunity to promote the anti-discriminatory practice set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A suitably qualified registered manager leads a consistent staff team. The manager keeps children at the heart of all that she does. The manager is ambitious for the children to thrive and has high expectations for the home overall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight and monitoring processes are effective and ensure that good standards are maintained. The registered manager has a good insight into the home’s strengths and areas for development. For example, when reviewing reports, the registered manager highlighted a shortfall in staff’s recording. This led to additional reporting and recording training being provided to the team. This good oversight and prompt action to address shortfalls means that the manager is able to continually drive improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff hold the required level 3 diploma qualification. A small number are either currently working to achieve this or there are plans to enrol them on a training programme. Plans are in place to ensure that staff complete this within the required timescales. New staff are enrolled on a new eight-week induction programme that runs alongside the probationary induction workbook. This prepares staff well and enables them to have a better insight into the role. Good training informs staff practice and meets children’s individual and diverse needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff have developed positive relationships with children’s families and professionals to ensure that children’s needs are met. One Inspection report for children’s home: SC426318 5 parent said, ‘The home is great; everything is very transparent and positive.’ This partnership working results in the children receiving good-quality care to meet their individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision records are regular and of good quality. The sessions help staff with their development and with maintaining good practice. The registered manager uses team meetings as an added form of development for staff. For example, staff take part in teamwork exercises to find their parenting styles. From this, teams are adapted to have a more effective working partnership when caring for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, two new members of staff have started working in the home. Relevant checks are undertaken and staff are assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. However, when gaps are highlighted in these checks, managers have not shown professional curiosity to follow these up thoroughly to seek clarity. This has the potential to result in staff working in the home who are not suitable to do so. Inspection report for children’s home: SC426318 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they maintain good employment practice and that recruitment records are clear and managed effectively. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that they lead the team to deliver the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose. This specifically relates to staff understanding the anti-discriminatory ethos when communicating with children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)

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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: SC426318 7

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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

Kev Brammer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC426318 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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