Children's Home run by United Children's Services Limited in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC489970 1 SC489970 Registered provider: United Children’s 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 children’s home is operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to four children with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, four children were living at the home. The inspector observed and spoke to all four children.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector was aware during this inspection that serious child protection allegations were being investigated by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the allegations were considered (where appropriate) alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspectors’ judgements.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: SC489970 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/06/2024 Full Good 21/11/2023 Full Good 29/06/2022 Full Good 22/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC489970 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, the manager has redecorated and refurbished areas of the home. Staff have displayed photos of the children throughout and ensured that there are books and games available for the children. Staff have repurposed areas specifically for the children, for example a therapy room and a gaming room. One child has a dedicated area for them to use, which is adapted to support their hobby of online gaming and making videos. Staff have listened to children, decorating and personalising their bedrooms in line with their wishes. These changes provide homely and comfortable spaces for the children and a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children have access to education. Staff support children to be prepared for the school day so that they are ready to learn. When children are not accessing full-time education, staff offer additional educational activities. These offer structure and routine. Staff are creative when offering these activities. For example, staff are offering one child education based on their interest in a well-known computer game. Staff prepare children to move from mainstream education into further education. Staff have worked well with educational professionals to support one child to apply to college for courses they are interested in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to be active and lead healthy lifestyles. Staff have bought the children bikes. In the garden, children have a trampoline and goal post, which they use. Indoors, staff provide activities the children are interested in such as building brick, watching online content, computer games and listening to music. Staff take children to local play centres and youth clubs. Children are excited about the activities on offer and are keen to take part.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have access to specialist health services if needed, such as child and adolescent mental health services and paediatric care. If children are prescribed medication, staff manage the dispensing of medication well with robust systems in place to support this. Staff do not always respond to children’s health needs promptly. Children have experienced a delay in accessing healthcare for health needs that were previously known by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff develop positive and caring relationships with children. Staff facilitate regular meetings with the children to seek their wishes and feelings. Staff speak to children often about any worries, their needs and associated risks. The manager discusses any areas of concern raised by children with staff during team meetings and supervision. Staff have supported children to know how to make a complaint. When a child has made a complaint, the manager has investigated and communicated the outcome to the child. Staff support children to be involved in decisions about their care. Staff advocate for children during meetings when children feel unable to attend. When a child wants to attend meetings about their care, staff ensure that reasonable adjustments are made to Inspection report for children’s home: SC489970 4 promote the child’s engagement. Staff make sure that children have access to advocacy should they want it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children are well prepared for moving in or out of the home and there are clear plans. Plans include children spending time in the home and meeting staff and children before moving in. Staff support children to develop their independent living skills. Staff remain in contact with children who have moved out of the home and continue to offer support. During this inspection period, staff have helped two children move on to independence and two children move into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make sure that children see people who are important to them. They arrange meetings in the community and in the home. This means that children maintain relationships that are important to them. Staff keep in regular contact with children’s families through telephone calls and email. When spoken to, a parent stated the manager has supported their child to make progress, stating it ‘takes a special someone’ to connect with their child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s bedrooms are not tidy and clean. Staff have not arranged repair of damage swiftly. This has meant that children have used broken bedroom furniture. Staff lock children’s bedrooms and some communal areas. Children can only access these areas by requesting access from staff. These measures are not proportionate to children’s needs and associated risks, and do not allow children access to all areas of their home.

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improvement to be good

Staff are trained in safeguarding and holding children safely. However, staff have not always utilised de-escalation techniques before holding a child, and the recording of incidents does not detail the duration and description of the measure used. Staff have not always acted on concerns that could be of a safeguarding nature and have not reported concerns to relevant agencies.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand children’s complexities and have developed care plans that align to children’s needs and risks. Staff have completed mandatory and specific training to meet children’s needs. The manager supports staff to complete formal qualifications in relation to residential childcare. When staff require additional support to complete formal qualification, the manager provides this additional support to staff.

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improvement to be good

The manager has worked with children and staff to create rules for the home, providing clear boundaries for all. Staff speak to children regularly about behaviour and support children to manage their feelings safely. Staff use consequences in the home that are of a restorative nature. This enables children to understand behaviour that is safe and develop strategies to manage their behaviour and feelings. Staff’s approach to managing children’s behaviour ensures that children retain positive relationships with staff and each other. Staff understand the dynamics between children. The manager has provided Inspection report for children’s home: SC489970 5 additional staffing to support children to manage their relationship safely and positively when there has been conflict.

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improvement to be good

Staff celebrate children’s successes, and all children have goals they are working towards. Staff provide children with tickets for their successes that are used by children to claim a reward of their choosing. Children seek support from staff and staff respond with care and compassion. Children said they felt safe and supported by staff. Staff facilitate regular meetings with the children, providing the opportunity for children to share their wishes and feelings. The manager will take any concerns raised by children to staff team meetings and supervisions.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand whistle-blowing and know how to escalate concerns they may have. When staff have made complaints, the operational manager and manager have investigated with lessons learned identified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been working to improve the culture of the home. Staff have welcomed the change of culture, but some staff have found the changes difficult to adapt to. The support the manager has offered these staff has not always been effective. The manager has reflected on feedback from staff and taken steps to improve the support offered to staff. The manager is working closely with the operations manager to continue to reflect and develop their leadership style.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides regular supervision to all staff. Supervision is reflective, considers areas of development and areas of success, and provides staff with opportunity to raise any concerns. Supervision allows staff opportunities to discuss children’s needs and any safeguarding matters with clear outcomes and actions. The manager ensures that there are regular team meetings, which provide opportunity to offer additional bespoke training and for staff to raise concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has recruited sufficient staff to care for the children. When children’s needs have changed and more staff are required, the manager is able to provide this additional support. At times, the manager uses agency staff but ensures that those staff are known to the children. The manager uses safer recruitment practices, but relevant staff qualifications are not on file.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has oversight of the care provided to children through monthly audits, feedback from stakeholders, overview of incidents and sessions completed with children. When reviewing the care being provided, the manager has not always understood the impact of that care. This means there has been missed opportunity for lessons learned and further staff development. Inspection report for children’s home: SC489970 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet The Care Standards Act 2000, The 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)) 29 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 29 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC489970 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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 each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(c)) 29 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 29 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC489970 8 The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to ensuring that staff help children to keep their bedrooms clean and tidy, and that any damage is swiftly repaired. 29 July 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: SC489970 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: United Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit J The Quays, Burton Waters, Lincoln LN1 2XG

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Inspector

Laura Copus, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC489970 10 and inspects 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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