Children's home run by Upwards residential care services Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2795352 1 Registered provider: Upwards residential care services Ltd

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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 organisation. It provides care for up to 2 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2024 and is suitably qualified.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home. The child was not spoken to as they had recently moved into the home and were in the early stages of settling in.

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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: 2795352 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/03/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2795352 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have moved into the home since the last inspection, and 2 children have moved out. Managers make thoughtful and considered decisions about children’s suitability to live in the home. This ensures that children have a positive and supportive experience when moving on. Staff work closely with professionals to ensure that these arrangements are in line with children's wishes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a welcoming and warm environment for children. Staff and children take pride in the environment. It is well furnished, with jigsaws and artwork made by one child displayed on the walls. These comfortable spaces enable children to relax and play games.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of children's individual needs and provide care that is responsive and child centred. Staff understand the importance of education for children and promote this well. Despite challenges, staff work hard to ensure that children have targeted professional support to help them engage in their studies and education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive, trusting relationships are evident between children and staff, which helps children to feel listened to and understood. Children have meaningful conversations with staff that explore their views, feelings and experiences. Through these discussions, children are supported to explore more positive and effective coping mechanisms.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively encourage children to explore and develop their interests. They take time to understand what children enjoy and support them to take part in activities that reflect their hobbies and preferences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Consequences are proportionate, appropriate and understood by children. They are used to support learning and positive behaviour. Staff apply consequences consistently and fairly, taking account of each child's individual needs. This helps children to understand the impact of their actions and supports them to develop safer, more positive behaviour over time.

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

Staff consistently follow children's individual risk management and care plans, and this approach helps to reduce risk to children. Staff practice reflects their good understanding of each child's individual needs and the importance of keeping children safe.

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

When children go missing, incidents are managed effectively, with staff consistently following established protocols to ensure timely action in safeguarding children. Key information is recorded following incidents. However, there is a lack of consistency in the Inspection report for children's home: 2795352 4 quality of recording around incidents, with some lacking sufficient detail. However, this does not impact on the safety of children.

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

Incidents involving physical intervention are low and staff use physical intervention as a last resort. When physical intervention is used, it is necessary and proportionate. Incidents are carefully reviewed by management to inform future practice. However, on one occasion, the incident records did not identify an intervention taking place.

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

Staff receive training that is relevant to the specific needs of the children in their care. For example, when one child with complex needs moved in, training was refreshed for staff to ensure that they could support them in the correct way. Learning from training is embedded into day-to-day practice, enabling staff to respond confidently and effectively, which positively impacts children's safety and wellbeing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager demonstrates a strong understanding of children's individual needs and consistently advocates on their behalf. When full information was not shared prior to a child moving into the home, the manager raised concerns about this and was proactive in seeking all relevant information to ensure that staff could support the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Following a concern regarding staff conduct, the manager acted promptly to address the issue. Clear steps were in place to strengthen practice, with areas of development identified and addressed to ensure that this did not occur again.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are reflective, providing staff with regular opportunities to evaluate practice. When 2 children left the home, staff were encouraged to reflect on their stay. They considered what had gone well, what could have been improved and how any learning could be used to strengthen future practice. This ensures a consistent, child- centred approach and improvement in practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision is regular, reflective and purposeful. There is a clear focus on children's needs in supervision. Leaders and managers use supervision to review practice, reflect on incidents and explore children's safety and progress. These sessions are appropriately used to identify any areas of development and monitor progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have established good monitoring and auditing systems that provide a clear and accurate understanding of practice across the home. As a result, the quality of care is consistently reviewed. When shortfalls are identified, these are acted on quickly. Inspection report for children's home: 2795352 5

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Recommendation

 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. This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that record- keeping is up to date, accurate and detailed. ('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: 2795352 6

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Upwards residential care services Ltd

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Suite 1, 4th Floor Building 1 Wilson Business Park, Monsall Road, Manchester M40 8WN

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Inspector

Sophie Coogan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2795352 7 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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