Children's Home run by United Children Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report of children’s home: 2800079 1 Registered provider: United Children 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 was registered with Ofsted in December 2024. It provides care for up to 3 children with social and emotional difficulties. There were 2 children living in the home at the time of the inspection and one child spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2026. He holds a level 5 leadership and management qualification. The responsible individual has made an application to Ofsted to be registered.

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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 of children’s home: 2800079 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/04/2025 Full Good Inspection report of children’s home: 2800079 3

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Summary of findings

Children are making good progress from their starting points and benefit from the staff in the home, who know them well and celebrate their achievements. Staff are committed to helping children to feel safe, supported and valued. Children are supported with their independence skills and to maintain important relationships.

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Summary of findings

Children enjoy a wide range of activities and have made progress in education. Staff report feeling supported by an approachable and reflective manager, who provides them with regular supervision, training and opportunities to develop their practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and speak positively about them and their achievements. They demonstrate care and attentiveness in their day-to-day interactions with children and understand their lived experiences. This helps children to feel safe and supported in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide opportunities for children to take participant in a range of activities, including visits to theme parks, cinemas and shopping. Children are involved in planning these activities, enabling them to make choices about how they spend their time. Staff also encourage children to develop independence skills, such as preparing meals, managing budgets and contributing to household tasks. This helps to prepare children for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with their families. There has been an increase in family time for both children. Staff help facilitate these arrangements when required, including providing and arranging transport. Children are also supported to maintain friendships. Friends are welcomed into the home and staff support and arrange shared activities in the community; this helps children to maintain these important relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children made progress in education. When children are reluctant to attend, staff help them understand the value of education and work effectively with external education professionals. One child’s attendance has improved, and another child has completed examinations and has been supported to apply for college.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend routine health appointments. Staff work closely with health professionals, including child and adolescent mental health services to support one child build their self-esteem, which they have found helpful. They also speak with children about a range of important health topics, such as the risks associated with vaping and unhealthy relationships. This helps children to better understand their physical and emotional health needs. Inspection report of children’s home: 2800079 4 Two children have moved into the home, and one child has moved out. One child experienced a planned move into the home and was able to visit and meet staff before moving in. However, for another child, the assessment process did not fully explore the known risks and managers did not gather the relevant information. As a result, the staff could not meet the child’s needs, and they experienced an unplanned move. Managers

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

have acknowledged this shortfall and made changes to the arrangements for when children move into the home. However, this is yet to be embedded into practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is generally well maintained and provides a welcoming environment for children. There are games, relaxing spaces and photographs displayed throughout the home. Children’s bedrooms are personalised; however, one child’s bedroom requires cleaning and tidying, with stained surfaces and unvacuumed carpets. This does not provide a comfortable and nurturing environment for children.

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

Staff speak confidently about their safeguarding responsibilities and understand how to escalate concerns. When concerns are raised about staff practice, these are taken seriously. Managers share information and work closely with other professionals, ensuring that concerns are thoroughly investigated. This promotes children’s safety and welfare.

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

When children go missing from home, staff look for the child and work closely with local police to locate them. Children are welcomed back into the home and have independent return home interviews. This good support helps staff to understand why the child has gone missing and keep children safe.

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

Self-harm incidents are managed sensitively. Staff understand children’s individual risks and safety plans, which are developed with the support of mental health professionals. These clearly identify vulnerabilities and safety measures to help reduce risk. However, one incident was not reported to managers, as required, but this was addressed promptly through additional staff learning and has improved staff practice.

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

When physical intervention is used in the home, it is used as a last resort to keep children and others safe. The manager reviews each incident to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention and to ensure they are appropriate. Children are given opportunities to talk about how they feel with staff following incidents and are supported to identify coping strategies.

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

Recruitment practice is generally effective. However, on one occasion, managers did not follow up on one reference to verify information about a staff member’s previous employment. This limits the manager’s understanding about a staff member’s experience and suitability. Inspection report of children’s home: 2800079 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the children well and is ambitious for both staff and children. He is committed to providing good-quality care. Staff speak positively about the support they receive. One staff member said, ‘The manager is approachable and supportive. There is a genuine open-door policy; I feel comfortable asking for advice.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular team meetings and supervisions take place. These provide staff with an opportunity to reflect on practice, discuss their own welfare and review each child’s current needs and safety plans. This helps staff to develop their skills and meet children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff maintain effective relationships with a wide range of professionals, including education professionals, social workers and health services. Professionals spoke positively about the care children receive. One professional said, ‘The staff know [name of child] really well and care about the child deeply. They want to provide that consistent long-term care and we see this commitment.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has systems in place to monitor the quality of care children receive; he is reflective and addresses shortfalls to improve staff practice. However, he has not always identified that the independent person does not consistently seek feedback from parents and professionals. This means opportunities to gather wider feedback about the care children receive and staff practice are sometimes missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a wide range of training that is tailored to the needs of the children living in the home. They bring a range of experience and demonstrate a good understanding of the children in their care. However, some staff have not achieved the required qualification within the expected timescales. Although the manager monitors progress and has taken some action to address this shortfall, not all staff have been enrolled on the relevant qualification in a timely manner. Inspection report of children’s home: 2800079 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

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s risks are fully considered before they move into the home, and that children have positive moves when moving out of the home. 27 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a 27 August 2026 Inspection report of children’s home: 2800079 7 home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff are enrolled on the relevant qualification in timely manner and complete this within expected timescales.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that good employment practice is maintained. They must ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that staff meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would. This specifically relates to staff supporting children to maintain a clean bedroom. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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 of children’s home: 2800079 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: United Children Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Woodlands, Festival Way, Stoke-on-Trent ST1 5SG

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Inspector

Kirsty Truesdale, Social Care Inspector Inspection report of children’s home: 2800079 9 regulates 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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