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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1249326 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 company owns this home, which provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The permanent manager was recently registered with Ofsted and is suitably experienced and qualified.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were three children living at the home. All the children spent time with 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1249326 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/10/2024 Full Good 18/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/08/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1249326 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The three children living at the home are very settled. They are having a good experience and are making clear progress. One other child moved to the home and did not settle well. Managers recognised that staff could not keep them safe, and this was disruptive for other children. Senior leaders and the manager took decisive action for them to move on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to spend time with those people who are important to them. Staff have helped to free one child from the caring responsibilities they held for their sibling when they both moved to the home. This has enabled their relationship to flourish.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to break down any barriers to their learning. For example, one child struggles with homework, so staff take them for dedicated time at a coffee shop, to help them to focus and complete their work. Another child has been without education for a period; the manager has been proactive in escalating concerns about this. As a result, a suitable college placement has now been secured, and interim tuition arrangements are in place. The routines and activities that staff have embedded have prepared the child well for going to college.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to access routine and specialist healthcare and support in line with their individual needs. For example, an occupational therapy assessment for one child has resulted in them being provided with specialist cutlery, which has enhanced their independence skills in eating.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities in line with their interests. For example, one child loves to visit charity shops frequently. As a result, they are now a popular customer in the local shops, and this social experience has helped the child to make vast progress with their social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to learn about their own culture and celebrate world events. They are skilled at engaging children in this through creative approaches based around fun and enjoyment. Children are helped to store their memories in positive comments books, photo albums and memory boxes for their keepsakes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a concerns and suggestions box and lots of opportunities to express their wishes and feelings. Staff and the manager are very responsive to children’s requests and feedback. As a result, children feel listened to and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a pleasant space for children to live in. Managers take account of children’s interests and requests for the home. Two children now have pets, there are new bird boxes in the garden and the home has a large new pool for children to enjoy. The home environment is maintained to a high standard, with ongoing maintenance and any damage being promptly repaired. Inspection report for children’s home: 1249326 4

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

Staff prioritise the safety and well-being of children at the home. They think and plan carefully for the important topics to discuss with children to help them learn about keeping themselves safe. Staff confidently talk to children about sensitive topics to aid their learning. This includes helping children to reflect after incidents and addressing emerging risks.

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

Staff help children to manage their emotions effectively. Children have made vast progress in this and will now actively talk to staff about their feelings. Children are included in their own safety planning. For example, one child is asking to spend unsupervised time in the neighbouring town with friends. Staff are working with them to devise a plan that enables this to happen while their safety and well-being are monitored. As a result, children are helped to safely take age-appropriate risks.

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

Staff know what action to take in the event of an allegation. There has been one allegation at the home. This was taken seriously, and there was a full investigation and relevant action. However, following this incident, a child’s plan was not updated to give staff clear guidance about what measures should be taken to reduce risks when travelling in the car. As a result, the risks were not managed consistently or effectively and there were further risk-taking behaviours in the car.

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

Staff are vigilant about children’s whereabouts, and they help children to learn about the risks of being missing. For one child, while the risk of going missing was known, the extent of this was not fully understood prior to their move to the home. It was assessed that the home’s location would mitigate the risk. Staff acted in line with the child’s plans each time they went missing.

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

Staff embed clear and consistent boundaries for children. As a result, children understand what is expected of them. Overall, there have been a low number of behavioural incidents involving the children at the home and the use of physical intervention is rare. However, for one child who lived at the home for a short period, their incidents were significantly higher in frequency and in terms of risk. Through oversight and reflection, the manager identified that, at times, some staff lacked experience and were hesitant to intervene. There was also a heavy reliance on management support during behavioural incidents. Action has been taken to further upskill staff to increase confidence and competence in supporting children when they are in crisis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a change of registered manager and responsible individual. This has been a smooth and successful transition, aided by the manager already working at the home as a trainee manager. As a result, children and staff swiftly adapted to the change and this sustained the stability of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is very present and approachable; staff are confident that they can seek support or advice at any time. They are extremely positive about how well the home is Inspection report for children’s home: 1249326 5 managed and they feel highly supported by the manager; this builds positive morale. There have been a number of staff changes at the home. However, a small core staff team has been sustained and, overall, this has provided consistency of care for children. The staff work collaboratively and exhibit a shared sense of responsibility for the care and progress of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are some occasions when staffing levels are affected by shortfalls at the provider’s other homes. Staff are sometimes called away from the home to work elsewhere. While this has not led to any safety concerns, this has at times reduced children’s opportunities to go out, and on occasion delayed staff training and supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a broad range of training that helps to prepare and equip them for their roles. The staff reflect together and learn from each other. Staff receive supervision that promotes reflection and their well-being and development. The frequency of supervision varies, with some gaps for some staff. Many staff have not had an appraisal. This reduces the opportunity for staff development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is highly effective partnership working between the manager, staff and partner agencies. Managers sustain a high level of communication with other professionals. The manager has a forward-thinking approach to children’s care planning, keeping a focus on preparing children for their next steps. For example, there is early consideration of one child’s long-term care and support needs for when they become an adult.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has diligent oversight at the home, setting high expectations, and is proactive in addressing any practice that is not in line with expectations. The manager constantly monitors the quality of care and strives to make continuous improvements. Staff and the manager are very proud of children’s progress and are aspirational for their future achievements and experiences. Inspection report for children’s home: 1249326 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, 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 that staff—

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s plans are maintained, up to date and reflect all measures in place to reduce risks for children, and that staff follow these plans consistently. 1 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all staff have supervision at suitable intervals and an annual appraisal. 1 October 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that where positive relationships exist between children and staff these should be respected and maintained as far as possible when making any decisions to alter staffing arrangements. The registered person should respond to children’s views about changes to staffing and be aware of the potential Inspection report for children’s home: 1249326 7 impact this may have for children’s stability and emotional well-being. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.12)

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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: 1249326 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

Alison Snell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1249326 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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