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

Inspection report for children's home: SC481015 1 SC481015 Registered provider: Unique Care Homes Support Limited

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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. It is registered to provide care for up to six children with social and emotional needs. Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since July 2023 and is registered and suitably experienced.

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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: SC481015 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/01/2024 Full Good 26/01/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness 22/06/2021 Full Good 16/12/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC481015 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home and one child has moved in. All three children living at the home spoke with the inspector during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good relationships with staff at the home. They feel staff care for them positively. One child said, ‘There is nothing bad. The manager is brilliant. She is approachable, she knows how to have a laugh and cares about us and our mental health.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s meetings take place regularly. Children engage meaningfully, including chairing some meetings. Children know they can raise how they feel or make a complaint. They trust the manager would take any complaints seriously.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported by staff to attend school, college or an alternative education provision. One child has recently passed their GCSEs. When full- time schooling has not been able to meet a child’s needs, staff and managers have collaborated with education providers to organise individualised timetables or other education support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good support to meet their health needs. They have health plans and are helped to attend health appointments. They are provided with access to a therapist who visits the home. The registered manager advocates for specialised medical assessments and treatment when neccesary.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to take part in activities they enjoy and their interests are supported. For example, one child enjoys music writing and production. Staff purchased a microphone and stand for the child to help them record their own music. Various trips have been arranged, including visits to a theme park and zoo and a hiking trip on Snowdonia. Staff make memory books for children which include photos of trips and events.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager works closely with local authorities and children’s families to enable children to spend time with those people who are important to them. This includes supporting families to visit the home or taking children to spend time with their family. Children also receive creative support to build and maintain friendships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming, spacious and well furnished. There are photos and other items displayed in shared spaces, and children help choose some furnishings and paint colours in shared rooms. Children’s rooms are large, and they can personalise them. The garden and other outside areas of the property are adequately maintained. Internally, the home is generally well decorated and maintained, however, there was some damage to the walls in the upstairs hallway. The manager has requested that this is repaired but this Inspection report for children's home: SC481015 4 had not happened at the time of inspection, which detracts from an otherwise positive home environment.

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

Staff are aware of safeguarding procedures and encouraged to raise any potential concerns immediately. When safeguarding incidents occur, staff take them seriously and respond appropriately. Leaders and managers encourage an open culture to enable learning from incidents.

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

Children know how to make complaints and raise concerns. Leaders and managers respond to these openly and diligently, including involving external agencies. The manager ensures thorough internal investigations are carried out. When these identify areas for improvement, leaders and managers put measures in place, including additional supervision or training.

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

Staff place the well-being of individual children at the centre of their practice. They know the children well, and all staff speak positively and respectfully about children and their needs. Staff benefit from access to detailed risk assessments and behaviour support plans for children. These are individualised and updated regularly. Staff understand what may trigger or upset children, and adapt their approaches accordingly.

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

Managers promote an approach that focuses on de-escalation to reduce the likelihood of physical intervention being neccesary. Consequently, there has only been one recorded physical intervention since the last inspection. This record of this incident was detailed and showed that staff actions were justified and proportionate.

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

When children leave the home without permission, staff follow procedures and protocols and react responsibly. Staff work with other agencies, including the police, to help children to return safely. Missing-from-home records are detailed and accurate.

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

Staff and managers promote positive behaviour. The home uses both planned and unplanned sessions with children effectively. Each child has a ‘pebbles’ rewards system through which they can receive extra incentives. This system includes individualised targets and rewards. When consequences are used, these are restorative.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been in post for over a year. The manager and registered individual have high expectations of staff and high aspirations for children. The manager has implemented effective monitoring and auditing to improve the quality of care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak highly of the manager. They say that she is approachable and a good listener. Staff have regular supervision, which they say is helpful and supportive. Staff also speak about a culture that welcomes informal ad-hoc advice, supervision or discussion as part of a positive and supportive team ethos. Inspection report for children's home: SC481015 5 Regular team meetings take place, which are well structured and meaningful. The manager also encourages further training and staff development through team meetings. On occasion, this includes targeted sessions in response to incidents or behaviours that occur in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff have the necessary background checks and references. Staff have thorough inductions overseen by the manager. Training for staff is comprehensive and well mapped out. The manager has identified plans with staff for further development and progression.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and managers have been proactively working with other agencies from both the statutory and voluntary sectors. They collaborate closely with local authorities and police. They have also sought targeted support when a need is identified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from external professionals is consistently good. This includes responses from local authority social workers, a team manager and the local authority designated officer.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

No recommendations or requirements have been made following this inspection.

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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: SC481015 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: Maybrook House, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 4AH

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Barbara Velasco Valdes

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Inspector

Daniel Rankin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC481015 7 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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