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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2824870 1 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 home is privately owned and provides care for up to six children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left shortly before the inspection. A new manager is in post and has applied to Ofsted to be registered.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home and were both spoken to by 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

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: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2824870 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive bespoke and personalised care. Staff know children well and have a good understanding of their needs. When children move into the home, transition plans are well considered and child centred. For example, considerable effort is made to continue with children’s routines and in providing home comforts. This helps children to settle quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do well in education considering their starting points. One child who was not in school has been supported to transition back to full-time education. Another child is excelling in a specialist provision and enjoys attending. When children feel unable to go to school, staff are creative in supporting children to attend. Staff understand the barriers to education and work with teachers to ensure that children’s needs are understood and met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to maintain relationships with those who are important to them. The manager works well with social workers to strengthen these relationships safely. For one child, this has involved overnight stays with their family. For another child, they have been able to maintain close relationships with family members despite them living far away from home. This helps to reduce children’s feelings of loss and supports their identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive relationships with staff. Staff show genuine emotional warmth and care. Their trauma-informed approach helps staff to focus on children’s unmet needs rather than their behaviour. This helps children to feel valued, heard and understood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well supported by staff. For example, one child, who experiences pain in their limbs, is being supported with pain relief medication and physiotherapy. Children are also well supported with their emotional health. Referrals to mental health services are sought where appropriate to provide specialist support. This ensures that children’s overall health and well-being improves.

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

Staff are skilled at responding to behaviours that are difficult to manage, such as verbal aggression. Staff implement firm boundaries with understanding and empathy. Staff’s responses are effective in easing children’s anxieties and children have a say in their safety plans, helping them to accept and adhere to the rules and boundaries. However, not all information recorded about children is written in a non-stigmatising way.

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

Staff respond well to children who go missing from the home. Staff are vigilant and respond swiftly. Children’s views are earnestly sought, helping staff to understand why children go missing. For one child who is at risk of missing and being exploited, incidents have reduced in severity and frequency. Inspection report for children’s home: 2824870 3 Staff have regular discussions with children about how to keep themselves safe. This helps children to make better and more informed choices and is an effective approach to safeguarding.

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

Children’s concerns are taken seriously and allegations against staff are managed appropriately. The relevant agencies are consulted, such as Ofsted and the local authority designated officer. Necessary safeguards are put in place while investigations are undertaken. Appropriate actions are followed through to ensure that staff remain safe to work at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is proactive and organised. She is a strong advocate for children and strives to improve their experiences and outcomes. Staff feel well supported and admire her leadership. She sets high expectations for staff and works to drive up standards of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable staff team that enjoys working at the home. Staff are skilled and receive training in relation to children’s needs, such as therapeutic parenting, child sexual exploitation and autistic spectrum disorder. Staff have positive relationships with each other and work well as a team. This provides children with stability and consistency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective oversight and quality assurance systems in place. She knows what is happening in the home daily. Regular internal and external audits are undertaken. Any shortfalls are promptly addressed and learning from incidents is used to improve practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision from the manager. Discussions include pertinent topics such as whistleblowing, safeguarding and the care of children. The manager addresses practice and performance issues effectively, ensuring that staff feel supported and develop competently in their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Systems are in place to ensure that staff are safe to work at the home. However, not all checks are undertaken robustly. For example, not all gaps in employment history have been explored. This was addressed during the inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2824870 4

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must 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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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. 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)

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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: 2824870 5

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Robin McLoughlin

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Inspector

Emma Dacres, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2824870 6 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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