Children's home run by Unity Residential Care Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2543081 1 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 three children who have experienced childhood instability, resulting in trauma and associated complex behaviours. The home is privately owned and forms part of a large social care organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced for the role.

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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: 1 February 2022

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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: 2543081 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/02/2022 Full Good 21/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2543081 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children are currently living at the home. Since the last inspection, no children have moved on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children build trusting relationships with staff. Staff know children well and understand their individual needs. Children are confident to tell staff how they are feeling. One child told inspectors that he could talk to staff about anything. This means that children feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to achieve academically, with a strong focus on their individual strengths and interests. For another child, the focus is very much on developing his vocational skills. Staff have supported him with full-time work and hope that this will develop into an apprenticeship. Another child is due to start a course in a smaller educational setting in the new year, which will meet his individual learning style. This means that children are investing in their education and employment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with children to address concerns that arise when children are unsupervised in the community. This work is of a good quality and captures the child’s voice. Staff use direct work sessions to build children’s self-confidence and understanding of risk. This means that children are making progress in learning how to keep themselves safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain positive relationships with those people who are important to them. This helps children to maintain and develop their family relationships, which continue to improve. Staff are successfully supporting these family plans by encouraging contact.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child is benefiting from staff supporting their independence plan. These experiences are preparing him for when he leaves the home. Staff are supporting him with his independence skills and have worked directly with him to develop his skills in cooking, budgeting and shopping. This ensures that children are well prepared for leaving the home and are more able to live independently.

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

Children told inspectors that they are happy living in the home. Inspectors observed positive relationships between the children and staff. For example, children appeared relaxed and happy with staff. As a result, children feel supported and valued in the home.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. When they have been absent from the home, the registered manager and staff responded promptly. Staff follow the missing-from-care protocols and keep detailed records. Staff work closely with the Inspection report for children’s home: 2543081 4 child and social worker to understand why they were absent from home and put in place additional measures.

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

Since the last inspection, there has been one complaint from one child about another. Staff offered mediation sessions with the children to address these issues. Though the children declined, staff still completed a follow up individual session, which helped children to understand the impact of their behaviour and learn from the incidents. This approach has ensured that children feel listened to, and there have been no repeat concerns.

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

Physical restraint has not been used since the last inspection. Staff use their relationships with children to defuse situations and provide reassurance to them; this approach has been far more effective. As a result, children’s ability to regulate their own feelings has improved.

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

The registered manager and staff have good working relationships with professionals, which ensures that safeguarding procedures are followed in the home. There has been one allegation, which the manager has appropriately addressed.

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

Children’s risk assessments are individualised and specific to their needs. Staff know the children well and are fully aware of their key risks. However, some risk assessments included conflicting information relating to one child’s unsupervised time. As a result, the plans provided to staff were not clear on the areas that this child could and could not visit.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably qualified and has significant experience and skills. He is supported by an experienced staff team, who speak highly of the guidance that they receive from the registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular supervisions. These are beneficial and productive, and support staff in developing their skills further. The registered manager is also well supported by senior managers, and receives regular supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good oversight of the home and has effective monitoring systems in place. He regularly addresses any actions raised during independent reviews, despite struggling to receive local authority records in a timely fashion. The registered manager utilises internal monitoring systems to ensure that the home continues to develop and that the children receive a high level of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that staff have the training needed to meet the needs of the children living in the home. When children have a specific diagnosis or identified needs, the registered manager has ensured that staff have completed the relevant training to equip them with the necessary skills to support these children. This helps staff to promote children’s welfare and support their progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2543081 5 Professionals are positive about the home and the support provided to children. A social worker said, ‘Staff are very professional, and we have open lines of communication.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Generally, management oversight is recorded well within the home. However, there were several incidents that did not have evidence of the registered manager completing debriefs with staff. It was also noted that when professionals did not provide local authority records at the registered manager’s request, there was no further escalation at this point. These records are required to inform the home’s plans for children and, without them, the home’s plans cannot be updated. Inspection report for children’s home: 2543081 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 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to management oversight of children’s risk assessments, ensuring that staff debriefs are completed after all incidents, and placing authorities are challenged when the registered manager has not received local authority documents. 17 February 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that when completing the review of premises under regulation 46, they consult with a wide range of professionals, including those who can provide any local soft intelligence that is relevant to the home and include this in the home’s safe area report. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: 2543081 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: Unity Residential Care Services Limited, 2 Lymevale Court, Lyme Drive, Parklands, Stoke-On-Trent ST4 6NW

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Inspectors

Mark Dickinson, Social Care Inspector Chanel Bryant, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2543081 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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