Children's home run by Utopia Children’s Services Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 1256639 1 Registered provider: Utopia Children’s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to four children who experience social and/or emotional difficulties. On the day of the inspection, four children were living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The register manager resigned on 12 June 2023. One of the directors’ of the company is now managing the home. They have been the registered manager at this home previously and they intend to submit an application to register.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1256639 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/06/2022 Full Good 31/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/01/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 26/06/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1256639 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All four children have made good progress from their starting points in all areas of their lives. Staff have a strong desire for children to achieve their full potential. Staff liaise effectively with education providers and the local authority to ensure that children have the best opportunity to do well and achieve. A child’s social worker commented that moving to the home has been a positive experience in their child’s life. A parent said that their child has come on so much since they moved into the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are thriving and have formed strong relationships with staff. Staff take time to listen to the children and have therefore developed a good understanding of each child’s needs and wishes. This positively influences how staff care for each child. One child is moving back to live with their loved one. Staff are supporting the child and their parent to develop the skills required for the child to return home with their family and give them the best chance of success.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming and meets children’s needs. An extensive garden area is used regularly by children to enjoy barbeques, sports and recreational activities. Children’s bedrooms are personalised and reflect their likes and interests. The home is maintained to a good standard. Some parts of the home’s decor and style have been chosen by the children. There is an abundance of photos of children’s families and friends displayed throughout the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to improve their health and well-being. Staff liaised with an occupational therapist so that one child could receive an in-depth sensory assessment. The outcome informed staff practice and increased their knowledge to enable them to best support the child’s needs. Another child has been supported by sensitive staff to lose a considerable amount of weight. This has significantly improved the child’s physical health and well-being.

p.3

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

The children say that they feel safe living in their home and trust the staff to protect them and keep them safe. The children feel that their concerns and worries are listened to by caring staff who hear their fears and compassionately respond to them. Staff discuss important topics with children, on a one-to-one basis, and take time to ask how they are feeling when they are upset or frustrated. Staff understand certain behaviours in individual children that identify when they need support to manage their emotions safely and to prevent situations escalating to a point where the child could be at risk.

p.3

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

Staff know the children’s individual vulnerabilities and have a unique understanding of the risks associated with each of them. Risk assessments are thoroughly recorded and regularly reviewed. This ensures that information is up to date and clearly sets Inspection report for children’s home: 1256639 4 out exactly what action staff need to take to address the current risks and help keep children safe.

p.3

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

There have been four incidents where one child has been restrained. Management oversight of the use of restraint is robust. Learning from these incidents and subsequent changes to practice have positively reduced the number of incidents that occur. For example, staff initiated a health review for one child resulting in a review in their medication. The changes made from this review is having a positive impact on the child. Since this time restraints have ceased.

p.4

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

Staff proactively support children to take age-appropriate risks. Staff are very flexible in their approach and adapt their practice to enable children to safely fulfil their potential and grow, for example by extending set curfew times to enable children to attend various recreational activities.

p.4

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

Proactive safeguarding practices by competent staff have enabled children to develop a strong sense of safety and maintain their identity. There has been no occasion when any child has gone missing. Children are encouraged to spend meaningful time with their friends and family in the community without any unnecessary restrictions. This supports children to flourish in their interests and hobbies.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a passionate and experienced manager. The child is at the heart of every decision made and is included in many aspects of the home’s development. The home is staffed by a reliable and consistent team of staff who work well together to meet the needs of the children and keep them safe. Staff receive regular and effective supervision that focuses on the child’s progression and experiences. Staff say that they are supported to develop their skills and have opportunities to progress.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the importance of forming positive relationships with external agencies and the benefit this can have on children’s lives. The leaders and the manager have strongly advocated on behalf of children to ensure that children’s voices are heard and their wishes are respected. The manager has been successful in their promotion of children’s right to have a say in the support they receive. This has directly led to positive changes to the care of all four children and has resulted in the children experiencing the outcomes they desired. A social worker commented that staff understand children’s needs and are good advocates for them.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are happy, feel valued and enjoy working at the home. Lots of fun and laughter was observed between staff and children during the inspection. Staff speak with genuine compassion and pride about how children have grown in confidence and the positive difference they have helped make to children’s lives.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staffing arrangements are robust. The home is sufficiently resourced to meet the needs of the children. Safer recruitment practices are followed. Staff are suitability Inspection report for children’s home: 1256639 5 vetted to ensure that they can deliver good-quality, safe care to the children they support.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from the children and professionals about the manager and the home is good. Placing social workers speak positively about the good communication between themselves and the manager and praise the progress their children are making. Inspection report for children’s home: 1256639 6

p.5

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: 1256639 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Utopia Children’s Services Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 9, Wheatstone Court, Waterwells Business Park, Davy Way, Gloucester GL2 2AQ

p.7

Inspectors

Gary Turney, Social Care Inspector Nicola Lownds, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1256639 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.

p.7

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8