‘Providing aspirational homes’
FOR almost a decade, Unity Residential Care Services has been keeping children safe.
Since 2010 the company has been providing round-the-clock care for seven to 17-year-olds – many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and are victims of neglect and abuse.
The business started with the aim of helping children learn the everyday skills they need to lead an independent, productive adult life – such as how to stay safe, cooking and cleaning.
Today the company – believed to be the biggest independent provider of residential social care in Staffordshire – looks after up to 25 children at eight homes across Staffordshire and Shropshire – including one in Werrington – which are run by a dedicated team of more than 80 staff.
CEO Matt Wilcox said: “We started the business with a single care home in Werrington, and quite quickly our first two children moved in.
“Within 12 months we opened our second home and everything snowballed from there.”
Matt added: “Most of our children come from disadvantaged backgrounds and every one of them is individual and different, so the care we provide has to differ for every individual.
“But what we want to do is to provide each child with aspirational places to live in beautiful local areas.
“A big problem in residential care is shipping children out to unfamiliar places which can sometimes be really far away, so we want to grow our provision locally and support children in Stoke-on-trent and Staffordshire. We want to raise the standard as to what residential care should look like.”
Over the next 12 months, Unity has plans to open two new homes – with space for six more children – and recruit up to 25 new staff.
But in the long-term, it has ambitions to open one or two new homes within Staffordshire and Shopshire every year for the next 10 years.
Matt said: “This year has been very much about consolidating the business and developing the workforce required to drive the business forward to the next stage of growth.
“But at the moment demand is exceeding supply, so next year and beyond we want to add more bed spaces.
“We also want to open further homes and recruit more staff, because our business is driven by the availability of beds and quality staff.
“We create great outcomes for children and great career opportunities for local people.”