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 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 4 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since January 2026.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living at the home. Two children were 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 requires improvement to be 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: 2824870 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/10/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2824870 3

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Summary of findings

Children are making good progress and are supported by staff who have high aspirations for their outcomes. Children benefit from positive relationships with staff that enable them to express their thoughts and feelings. Children are encouraged and supported to maintain relationships with the people who are important to them. Staff work collaboratively with professionals and families to meet children's individual needs and support them in making positive choices. However, high staff turnover has affected the continuity and consistency of care. New staff work well together, although some staff do not have the necessary training to meet children's needs. Additionally, some staff feel that their feedback relating to the care and support of children is not always considered or acted upon promptly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff ensure that the home is clean and a welcoming environment for children. Children are encouraged and supported to personalise their bedrooms, adding to the sense of belonging. For example, one child proudly displays models and awards in their room. However, one child's wardrobe is damaged and needs replacing. In addition, some shared rooms, such as the lounge and kitchen, are fitted with lock mechanisms, which detracts from the homely atmosphere for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive relationships with the staff who care for them. Good staffing levels mean that staff can spend quality time with each child, strengthening their relationships through shared activities and meaningful discussions. As a result, this supports children to feel confident and comfortable talking to the staff about sensitive or personal issues.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager ensures that moves into and out of the home are planned thoroughly and carefully. Children are supported practically and emotionally. Prior to a child moving into the home, the manager assesses the potential impact for children living at the home to help maintain a safe and stable environment. When one child left the home, the manager worked collaboratively with professionals and the child to promote their safety and wellbeing, ensuring that they experienced a positive move on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has made good progress in their education, with staff actively promoting and supporting children's engagement in learning. However, some children had missed a lot of formal education prior to moving to this home. Staff work to increase children's self- esteem and confidence. They sensitively support children to begin to feel able to engage in education. Staff have yet to establish clear routines for children who are not attending education. More structure is required during what should be a school day to include education-focused support from staff. Inspection report for children's home: 2824870 4 The staff promote and maintain relationships with people who are important to the children. This helps children sustain family and social connections, strengthening their sense of identity. Where appropriate, children are supported to make progress from having limited time to increased time with their families. For 2 children, this has

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

progressed to overnight stays. This has strengthened family relationships and supports progress of their care plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are registered with primary healthcare services and supported to attend appointments. Although staff have provided one child with help and support to understand the harmful impact of vaping on their health, there has been an inconsistent response from the team in how this is managed in the home.

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

Staff work closely with children to help them understand risks and make safer, more positive choices. This is achieved through direct work and key-work sessions that aim to increase their awareness of risk and promote safer decision-making. Staff work creatively with children, ensuring that they continue to receive support during challenging circumstances. The organisational in-house therapist further enhances this support by providing therapeutic interventions that aim to address risk factors with children.

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

The team works effectively with partner agencies and services to meet children's needs and reduce risks. Key professionals describe having regular communication with the staff, with a shared focus on promoting positive outcomes for children. The manager ensures that information is shared appropriately and risks are managed in a coordinated and effective way. This collaborative approach helps to reduce risks for children in a coordinated manner.

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

When children go missing from home, staff take appropriate action in line with children's protocols. This includes carrying out searches to locate children and notifying the police when necessary. Staff speak to children on their return home to understand their reasons for going missing and to identify how they can be better supported to reduce further incidents of this nature. However, the manager has not provided a clear plan for staff to follow when children are missing for extended periods of time, including when to escalate if circumstances change. This has the potential to impact staff consistency and the effectiveness of the response.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the therapeutic model used in the home. This, alongside the relationships they have established with children, has enabled them to de- escalate some incidents effectively. However, several staff are not trained in the use of physical interventions. This contributed to one incident escalating beyond staff control that, as a result, required police involvement.

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

Managers and leaders demonstrate a strong understanding of the importance of safer recruitment practices, ensuring that only suitable individuals, who are appropriately vetted and qualified, are employed to work with children in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2824870 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is led by a permanent manager who registered with Ofsted in January 2026. The manager knows the children well and is committed to providing the care that they need. Professionals involved in the children's care spoke highly of the manager and staff team, their efforts to safeguard the children and the levels of support that children receive. Staff talk positively about the management team, which they describe as 'empathetic' and 'child focused'.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has been a high turnover of staff since the last inspection. The manager has now recruited new staff to the vacancies, and the team is almost to a full complement. However, not all staff received the relevant training to meet the needs of children, although there is a plan in place to address this shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff do not work consistently to provide continuity of care to children. Staff expressed concerns that children receive inconsistent responses to behaviours that challenge. As a result, there have been examples where children have perceived that they are being treated differently to their peers. In addition, rules and expectations in place for children's welfare and social development are not consistently applied by all staff, which may lead to uncertainty for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Management oversight of records for significant incidents are not consistently robust. While some reports are clear and detailed, one record relating to a significant incident resulting in police involvement lacked sufficient detail. The information recorded was also inconsistent with staff accounts of the incident. For example, it did not reflect when a staff member removed themselves from the incident to ensure their safety. These inaccuracies had not been identifed by the management team in their review of the incident, and therefore, lessons learned had not been identified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive regular, reflective supervision sessions that are child focused. In addition, team meetings provide an opportunity for the team to come together with a focus on developing practice to meet the needs of the children. The in-house therapist attends these meetings, working together with the team to promote therapeutic ways of working. However, staff have expressed that decisions around ideas they have for day- to-day improvements for children are needlessly delayed or not acted upon. Inspection report for children's home: 2824870 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children's home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home's workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff have the appropriate skills to meet the specific needs of children. They must also ensure that staff provide consistent care to children, including when managing behaviours that challenge. Additionally, they must also ensure that reporting and recording across all records is accurate to allow sufficient oversight of all aspects of the home, taking into account staff experience and suggestions to improve the quality of care provided. 30 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2824870 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for ensuring that each child's day-to-day health and wellbeing needs are met. Staff should work to make the children's home an environment that supports children's physical, mental and emotional health, in line with the approach set out in the home's Statement of Purpose. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 33, paragraph 7.3)  The registered person should ensure that children are provided with clear structures and timetables for education and training when not attending formal education or training settings. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 29, paragraph 5.18)  The registered person should ensure that the children's home is nurturing and supportive environment that meets the need of their children, they will in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. This includes ensuring maintenance tasks are

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Recommendations

completed promptly. The manager should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than `institutional' impression. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15 paragraph 3.9

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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 8

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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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Inspector

Nile Blanchard, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2824870 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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Inspector

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