Children's Home run by Unique Care Homes Support Limited in Lincolnshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC473699 1 SC473699 Registered provider: Unique Care Homes Support Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is one of several homes owned by a large provider. The home is registered to provide care for up to six children who may have social and emotional difficulties and adverse childhood experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced and has recently registered with Ofsted.

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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 requires improvement to be 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 January 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC473699 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/10/2021 Full Inadequate 27/08/2019 Full Outstanding 16/10/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC473699 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress and are happy in the home. A nurturing and supportive culture means that children have built trusting and positive relationships with staff. This has helped children to feel listened to and cared for. In turn, this has led to improved communication and better understanding of children’s emotional needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most of the children have education placements that are suitable to their individual needs. Staff have supported and advocated for children to have appropriate educational provisions. Attainment and attendance have improved and communication between the home and school is positive. One child, who is not in school, does not have a clear plan in place to maintain learning and provide structure to their day. Staff are looking at alternative education provisions and online learning to support this child’s education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain contact with people who are important to them and in developing friendship groups away from the home. Staff work closely with families to develop and strengthen relationships, and this helps with providing consistent and predictable care. Children have been supported to re-establish links with previous carers and friends, which has been positive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to participate in activities in the home and community, and this has led to children developing new hobbies and interests. One child is now attending army cadets and has an aspiration to join the army as a career. Children have opportunities to take part in different activities, such as mountain climbing, which helps to develop social skills, teamwork and self-confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met. Where necessary, external health professionals have been contacted to provide additional support and training for staff. Some children choose to smoke or vape, and staff have done work with the children to educate them of the risks to their health. The manager has reviewed the administration of medication systems and has provided additional training and guidance following some medication errors .

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Peer relationships have not always been positive and have led to complaints and conflict in the home. Staff have carried out targeted direct work and mediation between the children, and complaints have been well managed. Children have developed more awareness of how their behaviour impacts on others and, as a result, relationships have started to improve. Inspection report children’s home: SC473699 4

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improvement to be good

When there have been allegations made against staff, the manager has managed these well. The manager has worked with external professionals in carrying out investigations into the allegations. Not all staff are fully aware of the safeguarding policies in place regarding reporting allegations to the on-call managers, or the whistle-blowing policy. This has the potential to cause harm to children if there are delays in the reporting of concerns.

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improvement to be good

Agency staff have been used to cover shifts when there have been insufficient core staff available. The system in place for carrying out checks and the verification of agency staff’s identities, particularly at weekends, is weak and means that staff have not always completed these checks prior to agency staff working at the home. This has the potential to allow unsuitable people to work with children. The induction process for agency staff is not consistently completed. This means that staff may not have a clear understanding of the children that they are working with or how best to support them.

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improvement to be good

The management of incidents at the home has improved. Staff have developed a better understanding of children’s behaviour and are more confident in their roles. Staff know and understand the children well and have positive relationships with them. As a result, incidents have reduced, and children have been supported to develop more effective strategies for managing their emotions.

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improvement to be good

Children rarely go missing from the home. When this has occurred, the manager has worked within a multi-disciplinary team, and has sought additional specialist guidance to inform and develop safety plans. As a result, additional support strategies have been put in place and children are safer. This has led to a reduction in missing episodes, and concerns about peer relationships in the community have subsided.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are individual to the child and are clear and detailed. They are regularly reviewed and updated. Children also have missing-from-care plans and plans to guard against exploitation, which contain additional support strategies. Information about children is documented in several risk assessments and plans, which can be confusing and could mean that information is missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is newly registered with Ofsted and is being well supported by the senior management team. They have benefitted from regular mentoring, supervision and management training to further develop skills and knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has implemented and role models a caring, empathetic and nurturing approach, which has become embedded in the home. This has also supported children in being able to form positive, trusting relationships with staff. Inspection report children’s home: SC473699 5 Consequently, children are becoming more settled and they feel safer in the home as their anxieties are reduced due to the consistent care being provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has high expectations and aspirations for the home, the children and the staff team. There is a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home, and the manager has a clear plan of how they want the home and team to develop. New management monitoring systems are supporting improvements and development throughout the home, and there is clear management oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported through supervisions and training. They are provided with progression and development opportunities and, as a result, are more aware of their responsibilities in providing safe and nurturing care to children. Staff are positive about the home and the changes the manager has made. They can see the impact this has had on children and the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has built good relationships with other professionals that are external to the home. This means that communication and multi-agency working has improved and there is confidence from schools and social workers in the care and support that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are provided with a safe and homely environment. They have personalised bedrooms, and they can put their views forward in making improvements. An example of this is the garden area, which has been renovated with additional lighting and is now well utilised by the children. There are photographs throughout the home of the children. This contributes to the homely feel that has been created throughout and supports children to feel a sense of belonging. Inspection report children’s home: SC473699 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 that staff—

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

and familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(v)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to staff understanding the child protection policies, particularly in relation to the reporting of allegations and whistle-blowing. This also relates to the system in place for identification and verification of agency staff prior to working at the home. 1 Sep 2022

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Recommendations

 The manager should ensure when children are excluded from school that an interim plan is in place to support children to remain engaged in suitable structured activities and supported to sustain their confidence in education. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards 2015,’ page 28, paragraph 5.15) Inspection report children’s home: SC473699 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 children’s home: SC473699 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Unique Care Homes Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2nd Floor Maybrook House, Queensway, Halesowen, Worcestershire B63 4AH

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Inspector

Sarah Orriss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC473699 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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