Children's Home run by United Children's Services Limited in Nottinghamshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC488961 1 SC488961 Registered provider: United Children’s 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 owned by a private company. It provides care for up to five children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since February 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 29 November 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC488961 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/11/2022 Full Good 16/11/2021 Full Good 11/11/2019 Full Good 10/05/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC488961 3

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improvement to be good

Children live in a home that is spacious and they have bedrooms that are personalised to their interests. Staff are proactive to encourage children to take part in activities in the community and to spend time with their families. Consequently, warm and trusting relationships with staff have developed. Children like living at the home and feel settled there.

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improvement to be good

There is a culture at the home of recognising when children have been kind and their achievements are celebrated. Staff document their appreciation of children into books, which children like to read. This is valued by children and helps to build their self-esteem and confidence.

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improvement to be good

Managers understand the importance of education and advocate well for children, especially when trying to establish school places. One child attends school full time and is making good progress. For children who are not able to attend a provision, online tutoring is sourced for several hours throughout the week. However, staff are not yet proactive in structuring children’s time when they are not receiving education during the school day. As a result, children spend long periods of time playing computer games or in their bedrooms and are not motivated to learn.

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improvement to be good

Children do not currently have adequate opportunities to share their thoughts and feelings. Children’s meetings are not happening regularly. When children have chosen not to attend these meetings, their opinions have not been sought. Children do receive key-work sessions, but these are not planned by staff or have manager oversight. There have, therefore, been missed opportunities to discuss pertinent issues with children, such as how they are feeling after episodes of going missing. Children cannot meaningfully influence the care they receive in the home or reflect on significant incidents.

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improvement to be good

Care planning for children is inconsistent. Not all children have the necessary plans in place to inform staff of how to care for them effectively. One child’s move to the home was not well prepared for, and documentation was not clear about how their complex needs would be met. As a result, staff were overwhelmed during incidents and there was a reliance on police to support in managing the child’s behaviour.

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improvement to be good

One child has experienced a significant episode of going missing while living at the home. Since their return to the home, the child has not gone missing again and feels supported by staff to safely see those people who are important to them. Records do not, however, capture actions taken by the home to ensure the child’s safe return or how the staff have prevented them going missing again. There has Inspection report for children’s home: SC488961 4 not been appropriate reflection or learning from this incident, despite this child being at high risk when going missing in the community.

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improvement to be good

Children do have risk assessments, and these are detailed and updated regularly. Risk assessments are spread over several documents and do not always cover known risks or vulnerabilities for children. Essential documentation, such as protocols for when children go missing from the home, were not included for one child. This means that staff would not know the agreed actions they would need to take to keep this child safe.

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improvement to be good

One child has a long-established concern around their personal hygiene. While staff respond to this child sensitively, they do not understand this behaviour in the wider context of the child’s experiences. The manager has not been proactive to track approaches used to support the child or understand why these were not effective. As a result, the approach from staff has, on occasion, not been managed in a way that is child centred.

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improvement to be good

Consequences are used by staff to address some children’s behaviours. This is usually in the form of restricting access to electronic devices. Records of instances when these consequences have been used have not been clearly kept, and the effectiveness of these actions in reducing certain behaviour is not monitored. Children are not supported to understand why these consequences are used, or to reflect on or change their behaviour.

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improvement to be good

The home has a clear fire risk assessment in place that is overseen by a specialist. Fire drills have been completed, but these were not occurring regularly or clearly documented. The manager does not prioritise new staff completing fire training or taking part in fire drills. This means that staff would not have the knowledge and experience needed to ensure the safety of children and staff in the event of a fire at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are significant shortfalls in the management of the home. The registered manager post has been vacant since February 2022. This has led to instability at the home and a recent period of change. The home is now benefiting from a newly appointed interim manager and deputy manager. They are ambitious for the home and professionals spoke of the positive impact that they are already having.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not ensure that staff receive appropriate training when they first start work at the home. Often, staff have worked at the home for several months without important mandatory training being completed. This is of particular concern, as most of the staff in the team are new employees. Children have sometimes spent time alone with staff who have not completed introductory training in first aid and the safeguarding of children. This has the potential to put children at risk of significant harm. Inspection report for children’s home: SC488961 5 Supervision of staff has been sporadic, and staff have often gone several months without a formal meeting with their manager. Where supervisions have taken place, these have not always involved discussion about the children being cared for. Team meetings have also not occurred regularly. Consequently, staff have limited opportunities to reflect on their practice or work together to ensure the consistency

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is not a sufficient auditing process at the home. The manager has not had consistent oversight of the day-to-day running of the home and this has meant that staff have not received guidance or reflection after significant incidents. The manager is not able to track effectively the impact that the care offered to children is having or the progress children are making. As a result, the reporting to Ofsted did not meet the required standard, or offer the required analysis of the care being offered. Inspection report for children’s home: SC488961 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, The 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—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are 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)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e)) 4 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC488961 7 In particular, ensure that all children have in place the necessary care plans and risk assessments and that staff understand and implement these. The manager should ensure that the recording of incidents are clear and that there are opportunities for staff to learn from significant events. Also, that children have the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings through effective children’s meetings and key-work sessions.

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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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there is sufficient management oversight to facilitate learning by the wider team. Staff must 4 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC488961 8 be regularly supervised and have opportunities to attend team meetings. Also, the manager must ensure that staff have undertaken mandatory training and that required qualifications are undertaken in a timely way.

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

make arrangements for persons working at the home to receive suitable training in fire prevention; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practises at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff have completed fire safety training and that all staff are involved in regular fire drills. Also, ensure that clear records are kept of when drills and practices have been completed. 4 November 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home.

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person so appointed; and

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Requirement Due date

the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (1) (a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to there being no registered manager in position since February 2022. 4 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC488961 9 The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to ensuring that there is a suitable monitoring system in place, and that reports are completed at least every six months and sent to HMCI within 28 days. 4 November 2023

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Recommendation

Inspection report for children’s home: SC488961 10  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. In particular, the registered person should ensure that children’s days are structured and educational when they are not in full-time schooling. This recommendation was made at the last inspection and is restated. (‘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: SC488961 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: United Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Old Coach House, Drinsey Nook, Lincoln, Nottinghamshire LN1 2JJ

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Inspector

Louise Copping, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC488961 12 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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