Children's Home run by Unity Youth Services Ltd in Thurrock

Inspection report children's home: 2805278 1 Registered provider: Unity Youth 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

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to 2 children. One child was living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The home registered with Ofsted in December 2024. The manager registered at the same time.

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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 children's home: 2805278 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/06/2025 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2805278 3

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Summary of findings

Children have good relationships with staff and enjoy a range of activities. Children’s moves into and out of the home are well planned. Children are supported with education, health and maintaining relationships with those important to them.

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Summary of findings

Staff understand their responsibilities to keep children safe. They have regular conversations with children to support them to understand risk and make safer decisions.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers are ambitious for children and understand their needs well. Management system's provide oversight of children's records. However, some incident discussions and management reviews are not consistently documented.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved in and two children have moved out. At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home. The child said that they feel happy living at the home and receive good care from staff. They feel listened to and supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children who have moved on were supported to explore and visit new home options. Staff helped them to prepare for and manage their moves. This helps children to feel involved in the decisions about their futures. Children are given photo books to capture their memories of the home. This provides a meaningful reminder of their experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain relationships with families and friends when this is safe and in their best interests. They support families to visit the home. This helps children to maintain positive connections to significant people in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are persistent in finding alternative ways to engage children in learning. They work closely with education professionals to provide opportunities that reflect each child's needs and aspirations. Staff have identified a tutor who developed a positive relationship with one child. The child was supported to work towards a construction qualification. However, the children do not consistently attended education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well understood by staff. They take proactive steps to ensure children secure appropriate support and have assessments when needed. For one child, staff explored genetic testing to establish a condition was hereditary. Staff have also supported a child through a diagnostic process. They have advocated for appointments to be brought forward when needed. Staff respond promptly to children's changing health needs which helps children to receive appropriate support. Inspection report children's home: 2805278 4 Children enjoy a wide range of activities such as golf, go-karting and fishing. Staff take time to understand what each child enjoys. This helps children to develop their interests, build confidence and have positive experiences.

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

Risk assessments are detailed and include all known risks. These enable staff to understand each child's needs and identify presenting risks. These are working documents which are regularly reviewed and updated. Behaviour management plans are individualised for the children. Children contribute to their plans and communicate about how they want to be supported. This ensures children's preferences are understood and reflected in their care and support.

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

There have been a high number of missing-from-home incidents. Staff follow the correct protocols when children go missing. They share relevant information with the police and other agencies and search the local area. Staff speak with children when they return to understand their experiences and identify any concerns.

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

Children have regular one-to-one discussions with staff. Staff address matters directly and help children to understand the potential impact of their actions. Sessions are planned around each child's vulnerabilities and areas of need. This helps children to reflect on their choices, understand consequences and consider safer ways of responding.

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

Staff support children to work with a range of external professionals. Staff work collaboratively with services including the police, substance misuse services and emotional wellbeing support. This ensures children can access specialist support and advice.

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

Children's meetings take place regularly. Children share their views about what is going well and provide feedback to staff. Their views are listened to and used to inform their care and routines. This helps children to feel valued and gives them opportunities to influence their support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is dedicated, caring and has a good understanding of the children. The manager is supported by a committed deputy manager and an experienced responsible individual. The manager is working towards a level 5 qualification and is expected to finish this within the required timeframe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are monitoring systems in place to provide oversight of the children's records. Incidents are discussed by the management team. However, the outcomes and any learning identified in these discussions are not recorded and there is no management evaluation to review documents. This limits how the staff identify learning from incidents and use this to support continuous improvement. Inspection report children's home: 2805278 5 There are monitoring systems in place to provide oversight of children's records including daily logs and one-to-one discussions. Incidents are discussed with the management team. These discussions are not documented and there is no recorded management of incidents. This limits staff's ability to identify learning from incidents and use this to inform continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions take place regularly and in line with the home's policy. These are detailed child-focused and demonstrate reflective discussions with staff. Staff have opportunities to share any worries and receive feedback on their performance. Staff have regular team meetings. Meetings are brought forward when needed to ensure relevant information is shared and staff are kept informed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Independent visits do not consistently include feedback from families and professionals. This limits the range of views available to inform independent scrutiny and identify areas for improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, feedback from professionals overall is positive. A social work team manager said that the commitment and desire to ensure [child's name] has stability should be commended. Inspection report children's home: 2805278 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 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

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 30 October 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should make best use of information from independent monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. The independent person's consultations with children, their families and professional network should be more frequent. ('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 children's home: 2805278 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Unity Youth Services Ltd.

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Kay-Anna Patterson

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Inspector

Harkerat Lidhar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2805278 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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