Children's Home run by Unity Residential Care Services Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2562531 1 Registered provider: Unity Residential Care Services Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider operates this home. It provides care for up to four children with social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2023.

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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: 2 November 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: 2562531 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/11/2022 Full Good 23/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2562531 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living at this home make good progress, enjoy positive experiences and benefit from the support of a staff team who hold them at the centre of their decision-making. Staff and managers care for children and have high aspirations for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, three children were living at this home. They are settled and say they are happy and feel safe. Three children have moved out of the home since the last inspection. Two children made excellent progress at the home and successfully moved on to supported living in line with their plans. Generally, children benefit from well-planned moves, which include visits to the home before they move in, and settle well. However, one child who moved into the home struggled to settle. The child made progress in some areas, however, risks escalated and staff could not meet their needs. There were delays in finding the child a new home, which meant visits did not take place. The manager has reflected on the child’s experience at the home and identified learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in an environment that is warm and welcoming. Children’s rooms are personalised to their interests and children say they have everything they need at the home. Photos of the children are on display around the home. A sensory area has been created in the garden and sports equipment has been provided for children to enjoy. Staff decorate the home for festivals such as Easter and support children to develop cultural understanding through regular themed nights. As a result, children are developing interests and enjoy living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children go to school and school is an integral part of the home’s routine. The manager and staff have built excellent working relationships with children’s schools and education professionals are unanimous in praising the quality of care and communication. A teacher said communication with the home is ‘excellent’ and the home is one of the best they have worked with in over 23 years of teaching. Another education professional called the home ‘brilliant’ and commended the team for how well they advocate for the child. The manager challenged appropriately when a child was without a school place and, as a result, the child now has a school place and is thriving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with people who are important to them. Staff build positive relationships with children’s families and welcome them into the home. Children’s families praise the quality of care their children receive and the quality of communication with the team. A parent said, ‘They are brilliant, they can’t do enough for you as a parent.’ They said their child is settled and that they ‘couldn’t wish for a better home’ for their child. Another child’s parent said that staff at the home are ‘fantastic’ and they could not fault the care their child receives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consult regularly with children to gather their opinions and support them to make informed choices about their care. Staff use creative approaches to make consultation Inspection report for children’s home: 2562531 4 meetings interesting. For example, ‘natter and batter’ nights are held, when children lead the conversation while enjoying a takeaway. The manager writes to children individually after meetings. Letters include an explanation of actions taken in response to children’s requests. As a result, children feel listened to and valued in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities which enhance their experiences, for example, holidays, trips out to theme parks and attending clubs in the local community. One child enjoys going to regular football training, another child enjoys having their friend visit for meals and to spend time with them at the home. These experiences help children to develop self-confidence and other skills which will benefit them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Records completed by staff are generally clear and detailed, however, children’s daily records are brief and are sometimes recorded in a way which is not helpful for children or reflective of the home’s therapeutic ethos. The manager has identified the quality of these records and has a plan to review and improve them.

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

Staff support children to develop their understanding of risk through regular focused discussions. Discussions are well planned and staff carry out research and use resources to support work as needed. Children are supported to take appropriate risks, for example, one child is now self-administering one of her medications and two children enjoy regular unsupervised time in the community.

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

External professionals comment on the impact living at the home has had on improving outcomes for children. A child’s social worker said their child is doing ‘really well’. They commended the team for how well they have supported the child to develop their independence skills. As a result, the child is better able to keep themselves safe and spends regular time away from the home. The child is building towards a move to live more independently, in line with their wishes and feelings.

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

Children’s plans and risk assessments provide clear guidance for staff on the steps they need to take to keep children safe. Staff work therapeutically, in line with the therapeutic model for the home, and support children to contribute strategies to their plans and reflect on their behaviour after incidents. Working together to make plans supports children to develop self-awareness and to feel listened to. As a result of effective strategies and regular reflection, children’s abilities to manage difficult situations are improving and incidents are reducing.

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

The home’s policies set out clear expectations for behaviour management and support. Consequences are used rarely and there is good management oversight. Records of consequences are clear and contain all relevant information. Some consequences have not followed the home’s policy. The manager identified concerns about consequences and completed a thorough investigation which provided reassurance that they had been used proportionately and effectively. The organisation is currently reviewing its policy and approach to consequences and the manager has a plan to ensure that all consequences are in line with the policy. Inspection report for children’s home: 2562531 5 Children have individual protocols that provide staff with clear guidance on the steps to take if they go missing from home. Staff search for children who are missing and make clear records that reflect the actions taken. The proactive approach of staff has

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

contributed to all incidents of children going missing being of short duration. Staff ensure that they reassure children when they return to the home and the manager follows up with other professionals to request that someone independent meets with the child when they return. Due to how incidents of children going missing were recorded by police, and inaction by other professionals, independent return interviews did not take place after all such incidents. The manager did challenge this at the time and has a plan to ensure these interviews take place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is committed to providing a high quality of care to children. She advocates strongly for children and holds their views and well-being at the centre of her decision- making. The manager fosters exceptionally good relationships with children’s families and external professionals and promotes an environment in which children and staff thrive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager’s oversight of the home is excellent. She completes regular audits to assure herself of the quality of care. Audits consider all aspects of the home and are regularly reviewed. As a result, systems for oversight of documents in the home are up to date and effective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has been instrumental in bringing in new ways to review and reflect on children’s experiences. She has created documents which analyse different areas of children’s development and linked with relevant research. These documents clearly reflect children’s individual progress and areas of need. Staff carry out focused work with children to support them with their individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager delivers regular workshops to staff which are linked to relevant research. Workshops support staff to further broaden their knowledge and understanding of children and of best practice in relation to delivering care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff benefit from development plans which are individualised to their needs and set out clear targets. The manager completes competency assessments with staff which feed into development plans. The manager also looks at outcomes from development plans to identify trends. For example, competency assessments showed that many staff needed to have a better understanding of the laws relating to childcare. The manager then created a workshop that she delivered at a team meeting. Children benefit from the support of staff who have the correct knowledge and understanding to provide high- quality care and who are continually developing in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager creates clear guidance documents which support staff to understand crucial plans and protocols. Guidance documents give examples of the expectations around recording and reporting. As a result, records are clear and complete. Inspection report for children’s home: 2562531 6 The manager has good support within the organisation. Senior leaders complete regular audits of the home and there is a comprehensive management training programme in place. The manager brings learning from training into her practice. Regular internal quality assurance helps to ensure that children are safeguarded effectively and provides reassurance of the quality of care children receive. Inspection report for children’s home: 2562531 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and that information about the child, including in their daily records, is recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that all consequences are used in line with the organisation’s behaviour management policy. This policy should describe the home’s approach to promoting positive behaviour and the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in the home. These measures should be set in the context of building positive relationships with children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.33)  The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after

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Recommendations

being missing or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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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: 2562531 8

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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

Laura Norcop, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2562531 9 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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