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

Inspection report children's home: 1259114 1 Registered provider: Unity Residential Care Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who have experienced social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a permanent registered manager, who is suitably experienced and qualified.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home. They were all present during the inspection and spoke with the inspector.

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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

Date of last inspection: 31 January 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 1259114 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/01/2024 Full Outstanding 10/01/2023 Full Good 29/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 19/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: 1259114 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a good day-to-day experience. Staff help children to be continually active. They enjoy lots of fun activities and events at the home, and going out to places they enjoy for leisure. Football is a keen interest for all the children. Children go to watch matches to support their favourite teams and play football together. Staff plan activities for children that help them learn about a range of cultures. For example, the home is decorated for Halloween and children have costumes ready to attend a party. Children’s memory books capture the events they have enjoyed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff implement clear routines for children. This promotes children’s health and well- being. Children enjoy mealtimes together; they sleep well and have effective routines for personal care. Staff ensure that children attend all their health care appointments. They support one child to attend the gym to improve their fitness.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff place a high priority on education. All children attend school, and this is central to the routines and expectations at the home. Managers and staff have recently helped one child settle into a new school. This has been a significant transition for them. There has been strong partnership working to develop the plan for this move and managers have advocated for the child when this plan needed adapting. The child is delighted that they will be able to undertake some formal exams this academic year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to learn skills in preparation for adulthood. They have incentives in place to encourage their participation in this. Staff help children to spend time with people who are important to them, and their friendships are promoted. For example, one child enjoys going out to see a friend who previously lived at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a strong ethos of children's voices being central to their care. There are a range of opportunities for children to share any concerns or worries they have; these include internal and external sources. Staff are skilled at engaging with children in conversation about their wishes and feelings and they take time to understand their views. There is clear evidence of children’s choices and requests being acted upon. For example, the home has recently had a kitten upon the children’s suggestion.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection two children have moved to the home. For one child this was a positive experience and they have settled well and are making good progress. However, when another child moved to the home, managers decided to move the child, the very next day, because of a serious incident. While there had been planning for this move, managers lacked curiosity about some of the information and the reluctance of professionals for face-to-face visits to take place. This reduced their understanding of the child’s needs and risks. Inspection report children's home: 1259114 4

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

Children’s plans clearly set out their individual needs and risks. Plans are frequently reviewed and updated. Staff understand what action to take to keep children safe in their care. Staff provide clear rules, boundaries, and guidance to children. As a result, children understand what is expected of them. Incentives, rewards, and praise are used to promote positive behaviour.

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

Staff are attuned and attentive to children's needs; they observe any changes in children’s wellbeing. They act swiftly to de-escalate children's heightened emotions, using agreed strategies, and in line with the homes model of care. Staff actions are highly effective in helping children. They also help children to develop their own ideas for managing their emotions. For example, staff helped one child make a poster of ideas to help them to be calm when feeling angry or upset.

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

There is a proactive approach to online safety. Staff implement rules to promote children’s safety, including agreements for time spent online and monitoring of devices. Staff are creative and use a range of resources to help develop children's understanding of this important topic.

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

Managers are mindful that staff must remain competent and effective in managing safeguarding concerns, particularly as staff have infrequent exposure to some procedures. Staff receive training in a wide range of safeguarding matters. Safeguarding is discussed in team meetings and staff supervision. Staff are confident in how to raise any concerns both internally and externally.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a change of manager at the home. This change was well planned, and a handover period supported the transition for the staff team and children. The manager has spent time with the children getting to know them and developing a good relationship with them. Staff feel well supported by managers at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been some changes of staff but there is a consistent team, without the need for external staff. Staff receive regular supervision, and this covers a breadth of topics and is supportive of their well-being. The manager sets a clear expectation for the quality-of-care children receive. The manager acts to address any performance issues when staff practice is not in line with this standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a clear training plan for staff. This equips staff well for their roles. The manager has good oversight of training and takes action to ensure that training is undertaken by staff in a timely way. The organisation encourages staff progression. For example, senior staff undertake management qualifications.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have good working relationships with partner agencies. Managers sustain a high level of communication with local authorities for consultation and information sharing. Furthermore, children are helped to share their views with other agencies when Inspection report children's home: 1259114 5 necessary. For example, the manager asked an advocate to support a child in voicing their frustration about further changes of social worker. A positive outcome was achieved in that a long-term worker was appointed. Staff at the home have fostered lovely relationships with neighbours, with one delivering sweets for the children for the half term holiday.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager aspires to further develop the staff team, with workshops planned to promote continual upskilling and learning. Managers and staff at the home are focussed on helping children to have good experiences and be prepared for their futures. Inspection report children's home: 1259114 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, 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children's home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home's statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that managers make a thorough assessment prior to making decisions for children to move to the home, and that children’s introductions to the home are conducive to a positive experience. 28 February 2025

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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 children's home: 1259114 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

Alison Snell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1259114 8 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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