Children's home run by Unity Residential Care Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home 2590342 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

This home is owned and operated by a private provider.

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Information about this children’s home

It is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. Three children are currently being cared for in this home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is suitably experienced and has been in post and registered with Ofsted since 16 September 2022.

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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 outstanding

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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: 5 December 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 2590342 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/12/2022 Full Good 08/12/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home 2590342 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with staff. Children remain in the home for significant periods, and staff are committed to them. Staff know the children well and understand how to meet their needs. Children have a sense of permanence and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know children’s individual interests, such as drumming and jujitsu, and support them to engage in them. Staff also support the children to spend time together as a group at mealtimes and on trips out. Children have strong relationships with each other. One child said, ‘[Name of child] is like my little sister.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Complaints from children are rare. On the one occasion that a child complained, the manager responded promptly to the child and took effective action to resolve the issue. The child was satisfied with the response prior to the conclusion of the matter. Even when children do not want to make formal complaints, their views are captured and acted on. This ensures that any difficulties are addressed at the earliest opportunity. Children feel listened to and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff regularly gain the views of children about their home and care, and act on their views. Children decide how their bedrooms will look and staff help them to personalise their space. Children are currently involved in a project where they are designing the back garden. Children have ownership of their home and are relaxed and comfortable living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have either a school or college place. Staff take children to and from their educational settings and children have high levels of attendance. Staff liaise with school professionals regularly and advocate for children to have access to the right support in school. Children are making progress from their individual starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s physical and emotional health needs. Staff complete training on health conditions to ensure that they can meet the needs of the children they care for. Children have access to therapy in the home. The therapists also work with staff to ensure that their everyday practice meets children’s needs. Children get consistent and predictable responses from staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prepare children for their futures. They tailor their approach to children in line with their individual ages and needs. Staff encourage children to challenge themselves, and provide support when they are nervous, such as when learning to use public transport.

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

Children are able to identify trusted adults who they can talk to. Staff identify and understand risks to children. Risk assessments are clear and contain strategies for Inspection report for children’s home 2590342 4 the staff to use. Staff update risk assessments regularly. The manager has reviewed and adapted the home to ensure that risk for one child was reduced.

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

Children receive help and support to manage their behaviour and feelings safely. Staff understand children’s experiences and seek to understand the triggers for their behaviour. Staff understand the therapeutic model of the home and use this in their practice. Children have consistent boundaries in the home.

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

Staff rarely use formal consequences. When they are implemented, they are proportionate and directly related to the children’s behaviour. Staff speak with children and help them to understand the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others. Staff ensure that children understand the expectations on their behaviour.

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

Children are supported to take risks that are appropriate to their age. When children make mistakes, staff use the opportunity to teach the children about the risks and how to manage them better, rather than remove the risk entirely. As a result, children are developing skills to keep themselves safe.

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

Children do not often go missing from home. When they do, staff know the individual plans to keep them safe. Staff recognise when there is increased risk to a child and adapt their responses appropriately to minimise the risk.

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

Children are rarely held by staff. Staff are trained to do this safely in the event that this is necessary. On the occasions that children have been held, this has been proportionate to the risk to the child. Staff give children the opportunity to discuss their feelings about this afterwards. The manager discusses incidents with the involved staff, to reflect on their practice.

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

Staff only search children’s bedrooms when there is a safeguarding reason to do so. However, children are not always informed prior to this, even when there is opportunity to do so. A recommendation has been made in relation to this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is inspirational and ambitious for the children. Leaders and managers understand children’s complex needs and advocate strongly for children to get the support they require. The manager coordinates the involvement of specialist agencies, such as therapists and mental health professionals, so that the children receive robust support from their professional networks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager makes child-focused decisions and ensures that the home and staff are well prepared to meet children’s complex needs. This included changing rotas, changing staffing ratios, adapting the home, and engaging specialist professionals to work in the home for a period of time to ensure that a child could return home safely after a hospital admission. Inspection report for children’s home 2590342 5 Leaders and managers create a culture of high aspiration and positivity. The manager has high expectations of staff and supports them to meet these. The induction process for new staff is thorough, and staff are well prepared to meet children’s needs. Staff complete all mandatory and child-specific training. The manager organises staff meetings with children’s individual therapists and the in- house clinical team to reflect on practice. This ensures that staff’s responses to children are effective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers lead by example. The manager seeks new ideas and opportunities to improve the quality of care for the children. The manager and deputy have undertaken specialist training to assess whether the approaches and models could be used to improve outcomes for children. The leaders and managers model the approaches in their practice and provide this training to staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has excellent oversight of the home. The manager uses a number of systems to ensure that they are fully aware of practice, and uses each opportunity to reflect and promote staff development. The manager completes detailed analysis of the information available to them to understand patterns and trends. The manager has an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses in the home and can demonstrate sustained improvement for all children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers have strong and effective relationships with other professionals and agencies. Other professionals feel that the home is communicative, responsive, and highly committed to the children who live there. Children maintain their schooling and engagement with other agencies due to the support offered by the manager and staff. This ensures that children have the best possible coordinated care and experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff team is stable and committed to the children. Managers and leaders focus on supporting staff to build and maintain relationships of trust with children. Staff have a shared sense of ownership and accountability in the home. Staff are highly motivated to provide high-quality and consistent care. Inspection report for children’s home 2590342 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, where possible, rooms are only searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission. (Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, pages 16-17, paragraph 3.20)

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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 2590342 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: 2 Lymevale Court, Lyme Drive, Parklands, Stoke- on-Trent ST4 6NW

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Inspector

Sarah Huntbatch, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home 2590342 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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