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Inspection report for children’s home: SC488943 1 SC488943 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

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who have experienced social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a permanent manager at the home, who has applied to become registered and is awaiting the outcome of this.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were three children living at the home. They were all present 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

Date of last inspection: 5 November 2024

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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: SC488943 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/11/2024 Full Good 12/03/2024 Full Outstanding 14/03/2023 Full Outstanding 21/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC488943 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, children have a good experience and are making progress. One child has had an exceptional experience living at the home for seven years, where they have flourished. They have recently moved on to semi-independent living. Staff ensured that the child was well prepared and fully equipped for this. Staff have formalised lifelong links, and the child has welcomed this opportunity to remain in contact and seek support from trusted adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

However, the decision managers made for one child to move to the home has resulted in unsettlement for the other children. Managers did not gather important information, mainly from the child’s school, which would have greater informed their decision-making and care planning. While there had been some planning for this move, this missed opportunity reduced managers’ understanding of the child’s needs and risks. As a result, the group-living dynamics are not sustainable, and the child will be shortly moving on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to access routine and specialist healthcare. They are tenacious in seeking to understand children’s barriers to this and help them to understand the importance of healthcare. One child was provided with a photo of the appointment setting, and this familiarised them and encouraged them to attend. Staff embed clear routines at the home that promote sitting together for meals, good sleep patterns and personal care regimes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are effective in building trusted relationships with the children. They are attentive to learn about children’s interests and to help them explore and enjoy these. For example, one child has a particular cartoon character they are fond of, and the manager arranged for t-shirts to be made for the child with the motif of the character. For another child, they have a keen interest in a pop band, and the staff know about the band members and join in their celebrations. As a result, children often enjoy staff’s company and will choose to spend time talking with them about their feelings and experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a strong ethos of respect and valuing each other. Staff provide frequent praise to children, and all children and staff have a compliment jar that others add to over the month before being shared. Staff use thoughtful and creative approaches to help children share their wishes and feelings. The manager has also introduced a meal out for staff and children each month to promote this. A monthly newsletter is shared with children, which helps to keep them informed of plans and events at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a very social environment; children invite their friends to the home and know that they will be warmly welcomed. There is a lot of fun and laughter in the Inspection report for children’s home: SC488943 4 home, and staff plan a wide range of events and activities for children’s enjoyment. This also helps them learn about different cultures and celebrations.

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

Children’s individual needs and risks are understood by staff. Managers constantly reassess children’s risks and update their plans accordingly. Any changes are communicated to the wider staff team. As a result, staff understand what action to take to keep children safe in their care.

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

Staff embed clear boundaries and rules at the home and are consistent with this. As a result, children are aware of the expectations. Staff talk to children about relevant topics to help them learn about keeping safe, for example positive relationships and fire safety.

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

Staff have comprehensive training for behaviour management, which includes the home’s therapeutic approaches and physical intervention. For one child who moved to the home, additional bespoke training and advice has been sought to develop strategies to safely manage their specific behaviour and needs. As a result, the staff have gone through a period of upskilling in behaviour management approaches.

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

Staff have helped one child to learn to better recognise their emotions, and they have made progress in self-regulating. However, there continues to be a high number of behavioural incidents, including staff needing to physically intervene. This upsets and unsettles the other children. Furthermore, the measures needed to keep this child safe result in a restrictive environment for other children, for example removal of cutlery and gated access to the home. Managers have listened to the children’s feelings about this and considered the impact on them. Therefore, managers have taken decisive action for the child to move on from the home.

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

Allegations are taken very seriously, and staff know what action to take in this event. There has been one allegation, and managers shared the information with the relevant people, and a full investigation was carried out. Staff spoke with the child to keep them updated and for reparation work. There have been no complaints made in respect of the home. Staff talk to children and remind them how to make a complaint or raise a concern. Staff have helped one child raise a complaint in respect of their school, which led to positive changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been changes of manager at the home. Following the departure of the permanent registered manager last November, another manager was appointed but did not remain in post. The current manager was appointed to oversee the home on an interim basis in March 2025. The decision was made for them to remain; she has applied and interviewed to become registered. They quickly understood the shortfalls that had arisen in leadership and management and began to address these. Inspection report for children’s home: SC488943 5 The manager swiftly recognised when staff were starting to become ‘burnt out’. The manager implemented a plan to mitigate the risks and support staff welfare. The manager brings her wealth of experience and expertise in well-being, actively promoting the well-being of everyone at the home. This includes sharing resources for promoting resilience. This has boosted staff morale, and staff feel very well

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been some changes of staff at the home. There are four staff currently in their probation period. However, there is a core team of staff who are experienced. There are currently some agency staff working at the home. Agency staff receive a structured introduction, and regular staff receive formal supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The organisation has a robust training offer, and the workforce plan sets out the expected timeframe for this to be completed. The manager has effective oversight of training and takes action to ensure that staff undertake necessary training. Staff say that they find the training useful, highlighting an excellent training session recently led by the organisation’s children’s practice assurance lead, entitled ‘what is good practice’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are a relatively low number of qualified staff, with less than half being qualified. However, the organisation is committed to supporting staff to complete this in a timely way. For example, staff are funded specific working hours to undertake this work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has comprehensive oversight at the home and is continually modifying tools and approaches to enhance this further. The manager is motivated to promote the development of the staff team and is aspirational for children’s outcomes. Inspection report for children’s home: SC488943 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that managers make a thorough assessment before making decisions for children to move to the home, and that children’s introductions are conducive to a positive experience for all children at the home. 30 November

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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: SC488943 7

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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: SC488943 8 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 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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