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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC473699 1 SC473699 Registered provider: Unique Care Homes Support Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is one of several homes owned by a large provider. The home is registered to provide care for up to six children who may have social and emotional difficulties and adverse childhood experiences.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has applied for registration.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC473699 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/05/2023 Full Good 14/06/2022 Full Good 11/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/10/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: SC473699 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders have effective arrangements in place for the admission of children into the home. The manager assesses children’s care needs, vulnerabilities and risks against the current children living in the home prior to agreeing to an admission. Children’s relationships with one another are positively promoted through participation in joint activities in the home and in their participation of outward-bound activities. This promotes a shared interest and develops teamwork. Consequently, children are settled and, overall, have positive relationships with one another.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said that they like living in the home and have good bonds with staff. The manager and staff interact in an affectionate and warm manner with children. As a result, one child was observed to say ‘love you’ to staff, and others initiated and accepted hugs and praise.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to engage in activities of their interest. They provide children with opportunities to try new activities and experiences, such as hiking, camping, holidays, and developing their interest in gaming in social settings rather than in isolation. One young person is attending a karate club. Another is being provided with access to tailored outward-bound activities to support their career aspirations.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff are creative in capturing children’s experiences, achievements and celebrations of their time living in the home. This includes memory boxes, personal photo albums and videos, which they can take with them when they move on. Children are encouraged and supported to understand their histories and care experiences. This is achieved through life-story work in conjunction with children’s placing authority.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage and support children to engage with education and achieve. Children talk about their future goals and aspirations. The manager is working in partnership with education partners. She is proactive in advocating for one child who is not attending school. Good alternative arrangements are in place that provide supplementary learning that is linked to their chosen career.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children, overall, are fit and well. They are encouraged and supported to access emotional health and well-being services. This has resulted in significant progress for one young person who has agreed to access professional services to help them with their mental health. All children are attending their routine health appointments and engage with their annual health reviews.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The well-presented and furnished home provides a safe, cosy family environment for children. Children said that they liked their bedrooms, which they have personalised. Children have responded very positively to the addition of two kittens in the home. They Inspection report for children’s home: SC473699 4 are positively participating in and contributing to their care. One young person said, ‘They [the kittens] are therapeutic.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain their relationships with their families and friends, in line with their wishes and feelings.

p.4

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

The manager and staff know the children well. They understand children’s individual care plans and work in partnership with key agencies to progress them. Children have comprehensive individual risk assessments that identify their risks and vulnerabilities. Assessments and support plans provide actions and strategies to mitigate and reduce risks for children.

p.4

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

Children are provided with a range of opportunities to express their views and opinions. This includes individual key-work sessions, peer group meetings and regular one-to-one meetings with the manager. The manager has ensured that arrangements are in place for children to have access to an independent advocate.

p.4

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

Children were observed to approach staff and the manager in a confident and natural manner. Children said that they have staff who they can talk to and trust. Clear arrangements are in place that support children to understand their rights and how to complain.

p.4

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

Staff support children’s positive behaviours through individual incentives and encouragement to participate in a range of interesting and fun activities. When children present behaviours that challenge staff, staff manage this effectively without recourse to physical intervention.

p.4

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

One young person has made significant progress to cease their substance misuse. This is because of their drive and ambition for their chosen career and staff providing a programme of related activities to support the young person to achieve their career goal.

p.4

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

Staff provide children with the practical and emotional support to build and develop their self-care and independence skills. There are effective systems in place to support young people to shop, prepare cooked meals and budget. One young person said, ‘I am helped with my weekly allowance.’ They have their own space to store their food, and were observed to confidently prepare their meal.

p.4

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

Key professionals say that staff keep children safe, and that they see proactive support, resulting in children making good progress. They also said that children’s risks and vulnerabilities have reduced.

p.4

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

Managers and leaders have robust measures in place to ensure that they recruit staff safely. They also have review systems to ensure regular monitoring of staff’s continued suitability to care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC473699 5

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has high expectations for children and staff, and for the development of the home. A professional said that the manager is a strong advocate for children, who is confident and appropriate when challenging professionals to ensure that children have their needs met.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is organised and has ensured that she has effective systems in place for her oversight of the home. She has a clear vision for the development of the home. This includes to further embed therapeutic care and support for children through the further training and development of her team.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are positive professional relationships with key partners. This promotes an effective team around the child. The manager undertakes reviews of children’s progress. With key partners, the manager uses this information to plan the care and support, to help children to continually progress.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive training, regular supervision and appraisals, which incorporate feedback from children. This, and regular team meetings, enables staff to reflect, learn and develop their skills to meet children’s needs.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are confident. They say that they can share their views and feel listened to. Staff contribute to plans for children and the home’s development.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is keen to maintain and develop a culture in the home where staff work in a collaborative manner. This is to ensure that children are provided with stability and consistency of care, and to promote staff’s understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager reports a good level of support from her deputy, staff and the responsible individual. She also accesses support and networks with managers from other children’s homes to promote learning and continual improvement.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is ambitious. She understands the strengths and areas for development for the children, staff and home, and her own professional development. Inspection report for children’s home: SC473699 6

p.5

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: SC473699 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Unique Care Homes Support Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 4AH

p.7

Inspector

Angela Duffus-Palmer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC473699 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8