Children's Home run by Unity Residential Care Services Limited in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report for children’s home: SC426318 1 SC426318 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

The home is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably experienced and registered with Ofsted in July 2025.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 21 October 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC426318 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/10/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/10/2023 Full Good 11/01/2023 Full Good 12/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC426318 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have moved into the home and three children have moved out. At the time of this inspection, no children were living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience positive transitions into the home. The manager carefully oversees these transitions. Both the manager and staff visit children in advance to provide them with information about the home and the staff team. Children are given the opportunity to visit the home, view their bedrooms and spend time with staff. This helps them to understand their future living environment and reduces potential anxieties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move out, they have the opportunity to go on farewell outings and take part in activities with staff. They also receive goodbye cards and gifts. If children leave earlier than planned, these decisions are made in their best interests. Staff work in partnership with other professionals to ensure that transitions to new homes are smooth and well supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well supported by staff through careful planning and effective communication with external providers. Staff ensure that children attend routine health appointments and, where necessary, seek specialist support, including referrals for counselling. This multi-agency approach to care ensures that children’s holistic needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively support children with their home education, providing guidance and encouragement throughout their learning. In addition, the manager works in partnership with external providers to identify the most suitable educational provision, tailored to each child’s individual needs. This collaborative approach ensures that children receive the stability and personalised support they need to make progress in their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a variety of activities, such as exploring new places and enjoying day trips to theme parks. These experiences help them to build confidence, develop social skills and create lasting, positive memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children have had access to an independent advocate to advise them and ensure that they receive the support needed to express their views, wishes and feelings about their care and life. As a result, there is a risk that children may not fully understand their rights or have access to the entitlements and support available to them.

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

Staff are provided with effective guidance to help keep children safe. The manager develops individualised plans and protocols to address each child’s needs and associated risks. The manager and staff routinely review and update these plans to ensure that they remain relevant and effective. Inspection report for children’s home: SC426318 4 Staff respond effectively and sensitively to behaviours that may be challenging. Since the last inspection, there have been very few safeguarding incidents in the home. When incidents do occur, staff respond with nurture and follow established safeguarding procedures to ensure that children remain safe. Physical intervention is only used as a last resort, once all de-escalation techniques have been exhausted. The manager maintains oversight of all incidents and holds reflective discussions with both children and staff afterwards.

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

Staff use a nurturing approach when children hurt themselves. They seek medical advice when needed and provide appropriate first aid. Staff also ensure that the environment is adapted to promote children’s safety. Through supportive conversations, staff help children to understand their thoughts and emotions. When necessary, children are referred to specialist health professionals and strategies are implemented to reduce the likelihood of further incidents.

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

Staff respond promptly when children go missing from the home. They follow missing- from-home protocols, actively search for the children and work with the local police until the children are found. When children return, staff spend time with them, offering opportunities to share any worries or anxieties, discuss their reasons for going missing and explore how future occurrences can be prevented.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, there has been a change in the day-to-day management of the home. A new manager has been appointed. She is experienced and child centred. The manager has been in post since June 2025 and is now registered with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers’ systems for monitoring and review do not consistently support effective oversight. For example, several gaps in record-keeping were identified. Following incidents, discussions with staff and professionals are not consistently documented, resulting in missed opportunities to improve practice and identify shortfalls effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home’s quality of care review lacks clear action planning, and managers are unaware of this shortfall. This lack of awareness prevents them from driving improvements in the quality of care for children and limits their ability to guide staff in delivering consistent and effective practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

In addition, managers do not regularly complete health and safety audits in the home. This failure increases the risk that hazards may go unnoticed or unaddressed, potentially compromising children’s safety and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

In general, staff have the necessary training to meet children’s needs. However, agency staff working at the home have not completed the required physical intervention training. Additionally, one member of staff has exceeded the expected timeframe for completing their relevant qualification. These gaps in training have the potential to impact children, as untrained staff may be less equipped to respond safely and Inspection report for children’s home: SC426318 5 effectively in challenging situations, potentially compromising children’s safety, well- being and the consistency of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Team meetings and supervision sessions are held monthly. These practices help to ensure that staff are well supported in their roles and responsibilities. Inspection report for children’s home: SC426318 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child.

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that all staff have the necessary training to meet children’s needs, staff have completed their qualifications within the required timeframes, and the managers’ monitoring systems are effective and robust. 30 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date; and 30 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC426318 7 are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all children have access to appropriate advocacy support and have an independent advocate to advise them and ensure that they have the support needed to express their views, wishes and feelings about their care and lives. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 23, paragraph 4.16)

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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: SC426318 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

Jas Nahar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC426318 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 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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