Children's Home run by Unique Care Homes Support Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report for children’s home: 1027158 1 Registered provider: Unique Care Homes Support Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private organisation. It provides care for up to 6 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Five children were living at the home at the time of inspection. All 5 children were spoken with.

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Information about this children’s home

Ofsted registered the manager in October 2025.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 19 February 2025

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1027158 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/02/2025 Full Good 27/09/2023 Full Outstanding 06/02/2023 Full Good 12/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1027158 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

All 5 children have lived in the home for a significant period. Indeed, perseverance and patience are at the heart of how staff approach their roles. Therefore, children learn to trust staff and establish meaningful and substantive relationships with them. One parent captured what this meant for their child by saying, ‘I take my child back to their extended family, it really is a home from home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

An embedded ethos of championing children increases children’s confidence. The positive energy in the home that this has generated amongst children is tangible. Therefore, children become braver and push through their perceived barriers, enabling them to make credible progress in all aspects of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Unquestionably, staff are central to the successes that children experience. Staff understand the need to give children a sense of stability and familiarity whilst injecting fun and laughter into the children’s lives. As a result, children have established routines that enable them to thrive at home and in school. One headteacher from a child’s school commented, ‘The progress we are seeing in school is a direct reflection of the care, consistency and commitment staff provide every day.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff are skilled at supporting children to have settled and regular sleep patterns. Again, this embedded practice is implemented with skill and intent. Children understand the rational around handing over their devices at night. Although, this is not a regimented boundary, it is applied according to the child’s age and capacity to responsibly manage their device. Again, reflecting flexible parenting styles that better support consistent bedtime routines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The culture around mealtimes has gifted children the ability to enjoy food as a shared experience. Notably, children have learned the value of not bringing their devices to the dining table. As a result, mealtimes are approached as an opportunity to enjoy food while staff listen to children talk about their days. Staff have created a fun approach to mealtimes through their competitiveness with one another around who prepares the best meals in the team. This approach has enticed children to experiment with food, therefore broadening the children’s diets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children enjoy an array of activities that reflect their interests. Again, staff gradually build up children’s confidence in this area. This has resulted in children accessing community clubs and challenging themselves to complete physical expeditions. Notably, staff harness their passion for children to be involved in charitable pursuits. Cumulatively, these endeavours broaden children’s experiences and raises their awareness around the value of helping others in society.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are supported to work through complex family dynamics. To achieve this, staff work closely and forge meaningful relationships with children’s families and the child’s Inspection report for children’s home: 1027158 4 social worker. In doing so, children are better able to understand their circumstances and work towards strengthening their ties with family members. One parent said, ‘I have a close relationship with staff, the children have excellent relationships with them as they have been there so long. Communication with the home is excellent.’

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

Staff are skilled at supporting children to better manage periods of distress, anger and worry. Moreover, the messages of support that staff convey to children stick. Therefore, children remember strategies to cope better when they experience challenging situations and emotional upheaval. This ensures that the level of staff intervention that children need when they are in a state of upset lessens the longer the child lives in the home.

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

The children’s written records capture the context of incidents that children are involved in. This is done without shaming the child while enabling others to evaluate the child’s behaviour and the support that the child needed in the moment. Following significant incidents, staff write a letter to the child. This supports the child’s understanding of events, but also reinforces the love and care that staff hold for the child.

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

Social workers have faith in the information shared by the manager concerning any worries or risks they have about a child. This is due to the quality of information as it is balanced, accurate and child focused. Therefore, social workers have a clearer understanding of risk and are better able to plan and co-ordinate services to reduce the risk of harm to children.

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

The home is allocated a dedicated therapist who better supports staff’s ability to support children, emotionally and practically. The therapist is a frequent visitor to the home and forms part of the team. The therapist gave an insightful overview of the team by saying, ‘Staff see their role as a vocation, it is clear that the children take centre stage.’ This summary captures how staff inspire others to embrace their role with children.

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

Although the staff team is stable, it is not stagnant. Staff understand the need to be role models for children. To achieve this, staff acknowledge the need to continually evolve their practices to stay alert to children’s everchanging needs. When new staff are interviewed, the manager ensures that children are part of the recruitment process. This shows the manager’s effort to maintain a healthy, diverse and united staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are longstanding and have forged emotional bonds with the home. This tangible sense of commitment influences loyalty and respect from staff. Collectively, this engenders a strong sense of togetherness that promotes staff and children to invest in their relationships with one another.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are well attended and staff view these meetings as an opportunity to strengthen their care of the children. Furthermore, staff respectfully challenge one another. Indeed, there is a strong sense of accountability that runs across the team. One Inspection report for children’s home: 1027158 5 staff member said, ‘We put our hands up when we make mistakes.’ This is a further example of how staff teach children to adopt positive values and principles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that leaders and managers nurture their career aspirations. Furthermore, staff are happy with the direct emotional and practical support that they receive from leaders and managers. This is on a day-to-day basis, as well as through their supervision sessions. As a result, staff feel valued, which galvanises their care of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager does not fully understand of the role of the local authority designated officer (LADO). This has resulted in unnecessary notifications being escalated to the LADO. As a result, staff have experienced unnecessary anxiety. Although, this has not affected the children’s care. However, leaders and managers are going to review their processes to ensure that notifications sent to the LADO are reasonable and proportionate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although the manager has a clear vision for the home, this is not aided by their review of quality of care report. The manager’s approach to this piece of work is not aligned with the statutory guidance. Consequently, the lack of a focussed assessment undermines the managers capacity to realise their vision for the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 1027158 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should fully understand the role and remit of the local authority designated officer. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.2)  The registered person should complete a focused review of quality of care report as stipulated by Regulation 45. There is no expectation that the registered person will review the home against every part of the quality standards every six months. The registered person should use their professional judgement to decide which factors to focus on. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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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: 1027158 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Unique Care Homes Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Maybrook House, Third Floor, Queensway, Halesowen, West Midlands B63 4AH

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Inspector

Steve Guirey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1027158 8 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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