Children's Home run by Young UK Today Limited in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: 2807199 1 Registered provider: Young UK Today 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 and the home’s manager have been registered with Ofsted since March 2025. This was the home’s first inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider owns and manages the home. It provides care for up to five children with difficulties in managing their emotions and behaviour.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2807199 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s needs are carefully considered before they move into the home. There are detailed assessments that consider how their needs will be met and the suitability of children living together. Staff take a thoughtful, child-centred approach to welcoming children into the home. This includes introductory visits, dinners at the home and insight gained into their preferences to ensure that familiar items are in place. Children also receive welcome packs and a child-friendly guide to support them to settle into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop warm and trusting relationships with staff, who demonstrate a desire to ensure that children receive good-quality care and have positive experiences. This is consistently recognised by children and professionals. One child’s social worker said, ‘[Child’s name] trusts the staff and is able to speak to them when they have any worries.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress because of the care that they receive. This is particularly evident regarding their emotional well-being. One child said that they are now better able to identify and understand their feelings. Staff support children to develop greater self- awareness of their emotions, which enhances their ability to make safer and more considered choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff routinely seek children’s views and ensure that these are acted on, if appropriate. Both informal and planned conversations are held regularly with children. These provide them with a space to express their thoughts, feelings and preferences, which are then used to inform the care provided to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The importance of time spent with family and friends is recognised and encouraged by the staff. When possible, staff encourage and facilitate family time, including by welcoming family into the home to create a more natural and comfortable environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with education professionals to promote children’s learning. For those children who are not attending school, staff provide structured routines and creative learning opportunities at home. They link activities to the children’s individual interests and future career goals.

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

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of both the universal and individual risks that exist for children. Staff promote children’s safety through the trusting relationships that they help them to build. These relationships enable children to feel confident in approaching staff with concerns, creating opportunities for guidance and support. Inspection report for children’s home: 2807199 3 Staff are clear on the procedures to follow when a child goes missing from the home. They respond proactively, taking immediate steps to locate children and work in partnership with external professionals to ensure children’s safe return. On their return, staff prioritise children’s well-being and provide opportunities for them to discuss the reasons for going missing, with the aim of reducing repeat incidents. Staff then follow up with children’s social workers to ensure that independent return home interviews are

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

Staff recognise behaviour to be a form of communication for children. This understanding supports the staff to respond with curiosity and empathy. This helps children to explore their emotions and develop healthier ways to express themselves.

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

The child living in the home said that they feel safer due to the care that they receive from the staff. The child described staff as consistently acting in their best interests. They felt confident that staff would always take the action needed to prioritise their safety and well-being.

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

Staff actively encourage safe risk taking, recognising its value in supporting children’s development and encouraging engagement with agreed plans. However, a decision was made to allow a child to watch films that are not certified for their age. While this was based on advice from the therapeutic network and in consultation with the child’s social worker, there was no clear plan or assessment for the scope of this agreement.

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

Physical intervention is only used by staff as a last resort to protect children from harm. Following any use of restraint, steps are taken to help children understand why this was necessary and to offer follow-up support, such as medical attention or the opportunity to raise a complaint. While all permanent staff have completed physical intervention training, appropriate checks were not carried out to confirm whether an agency worker’s training was up to date. This was promptly addressed during the inspection and a risk assessment put in place. Additionally, there was an occasion when the manager reviewed an incident that she was involved in. While this did not impact on the child’s safety, it did not allow for independent oversight.

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

The registered manager is dedicated and committed to achieving good outcomes for children. She demonstrates a child-focused approach and is driven to ensure that both children and staff have a positive experience under her leadership. The manager shows a willingness to develop, identifying both strengths and areas requiring improvement for the home.

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

Professionals report being regularly updated regarding the children. They consistently praise the manager for the effective communication that they receive. One child’s social worker commented, ‘I find her leadership inspiring.’

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

Although the home can accommodate up to five children, the manager has been focused on ensuring that children have individual time to settle into the home. Since the home Inspection report for children’s home: 2807199 4 opened, two children have moved in and one child has moved out. Staff made efforts to support the child who moved out to remain living in the home. The social worker for the child confirmed that the move was a mutual decision, based on the child’s best interests. They acknowledged that staff did all that they could to encourage stability for them. Senior managers have reflected on the decision-making around the child’s admission and departure, seeking to learn from this experience.

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

Staff speak highly of the support that they receive from the manager, consistently describing her as approachable, available and committed to promoting their learning and development. This has contributed to positive morale and staff feeling valued. Although staff report receiving regular supervision from the manager, records of these sessions are not routinely completed. This has made it difficult to evidence the quality of supervision and to ensure that identified actions are followed through.

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

Although it is evident that the manager has a full understanding of the children’s needs and maintains oversight of all incidents, this is not clearly documented and has led to missed opportunities for learning and practice improvement.

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

There are shortfalls in the recording systems in place. This is causing some confusion as to where information for children should be recorded. Although staff take the required action to manage incidents, the quality of recordings is variable. The records of incidents lack key detail, which make it difficult to identify triggers and implement preventative strategies. Although the management team has started to make some changes to the recording system, these changes are at an early stage.

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

Managers have not made sufficient use of the feedback provided by the home’s independent visitor and have failed to act on the recommendations arising from these visits. Additionally, there have been repeated delays in sharing the reports from these visits with relevant professionals. Inspection report for children’s home: 2807199 5

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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

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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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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)(f)(g)(i)(h)) 26 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that supervision is provided in line with the organisation’s supervision policy and statement of purpose. They should further ensure that a written record of the discussion is maintained and a copy provided to the staff member. 26 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2807199 6 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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b)(e)) 12 September 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. 29 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2807199 7 (Regulation 35 (2) (3)(a)(ii)(iv)(v)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that physical intervention is only carried out by staff who are appropriately trained. All incidents involving physical intervention should be recorded with sufficient detail to provide a clear account of the event. The manager is responsible for reviewing each use of restraint and evaluating how it was managed by staff.

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Requirement Due date

The policy should also clearly define who is responsible for reviewing physical intervention records in cases where the manager has been directly involved in the incident.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

upon request, the local authority for the area in which the home is located;

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Requirement Due date

the placing authorities of children. (Regulation 44 (1) (5) (7)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they fully consider the recommendations made by the independent visitor and that copies of the reports are provided to the relevant services in sufficient time. 26 September 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children’s home: 2807199 8

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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: 2807199 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Young UK Today Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 85, 77 Victoria Street, London SW1H 0HW

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Inspector

Kerry Howarth, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2807199 10 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted Inspection report for children’s home: 2807199 11 Inspection report for children’s home: 2807199 12

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