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

Inspection report for 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 is 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 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: good

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good

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/06/2022 Full Good 11/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/10/2021 Full Inadequate 27/08/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC473699 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care from dedicated staff. Children are provided with opportunities to expand their life experiences in a positive way. Staff support children to see their families, try new activities, and go on holiday. Children appreciate living in a stable and nurturing home where they are cared about.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a large property that is decorated to a good standard. The home feels very much like a family home. There is a large garden at the back of the home where children and staff spend lots of time playing games and doing physical activities. The increased physical activity promotes a healthier lifestyle for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spend quality time with children. This has enabled good relationships to form between them. Staff focus on open and honest communication with the children so that worries can be shared and worked through. Staff also work to promote children’s relationships with families and various external agencies. Having a collaborative approach with all involved in the child’s life, allows the child’s care plan to be progressed, and positive outcomes are achieved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have individual one-to-one time with staff. These sessions cover a variety of topics. Children are encouraged to speak about situations and how they would respond in different scenarios. Staff explore delicate issues very sensitively with the children. Children learn that talking greatly helps to resolve worries. They develop resilience and coping strategies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children access some form of education each day. Where there have been some issues in securing full-time education, staff have continually advocated for children to have their educational needs met. When children are not accessing education, the staff seek to find supportive ways to provide learning opportunities. However, children’s engagement in this type of learning is limited.

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

Staff know children’s vulnerabilities and potential risks. Risk assessments are in place, which are detailed and contain sufficient information. This enables staff to respond to children’s needs and keep them safe.

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

Staff support the children to take measured risks as part of getting older. Children work on a one-to-one basis with staff and explore potential risk and worries. Having this approach helps children to manage risk and develops their ability to judge risky situations and gain skills to manage them.

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

Incidents have reduced over time. This is due to staff pre-empting any escalations in behaviour through diversion techniques. When incidents do occur, staff effectively manage the situation and ensure that children are safeguarded and remain Inspection report for children’s home: SC473699 4 protected. Physical interventions are only used as a last resort. There is thorough management oversight of incidents, and any learning is identified. Because staff manage behaviours in a positive way, the home remains calm, and children feel safe and protected.

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

Children have access to electronic devices and enjoy using the internet each day. This keeps them occupied and allows them to remain in contact with their family and friends. There are necessary safeguards in place and staff check children’s phones daily. Children can therefore have fun and be safe while online.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a dedicated manager who is a strong advocate for the children in her care. Children seek the manager out to chat with her and they value her thoughts and responses. One child was able to highlight that the manager ‘wants me to get the support I need’. It is recognised by children that the manager is there for them and, because of this, they hold her in high regard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff team meetings are used to promote learning for the staff team. Staff value the time that they spend together. A key topic is always explored, with the emphasis on staff reflecting on practice and learning ‘best practice’ approaches for the children. A member of staff commented that team meetings are considered ‘a time of reflection and acknowledge achievements’. Allocating time for team meetings assists the staff to develop their skills, builds team relationships and helps staff to feel valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are very positive about leaders and described them as ‘very supportive’ and ‘approachable’. They spoke about the positive influence that leaders have had on developing the staff team and how this has contributed to better outcomes for children. Staff feel listened to. They can make suggestions about how to support the children and about improving the home. Team working contributes to a positive environment for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a good staff induction process in place. Staff follow the company policies alongside working in their team. Staff are given time to gain essential knowledge and key skills needed for their role. Supervision meetings with staff do not always take place in line with the home’s policy, and when staff have completed their probation it is not always reviewed and signed off. Inspection report for children’s home: SC473699 5

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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 registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience;

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to the supervision of staff taking place in line with the home’s policy, and ensuring that when staff have completed their probation it is reviewed and signed off. 26 July 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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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: SC473699 6

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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

Lizette Watts, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC473699 7 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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