Children's Home run by Pilgrims Corner Limited in Kent

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has declined in effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has left the home. The new manager has been in post a week. She was appointed to be the deputy of the home a few months prior to this. She has worked in similar services previously. The manager acknowledged that there are shortfalls in the service and shows a determination to put them right.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All three requirements made at the last inspection have been addressed. A new child protection policy has been completed for the home. Training was also given to staff regarding the new policy. Self-harm management plans were implemented to record any incidents of self-harming events in one document to highlight trends and patterns. Arrangements for medication are now secure. Audits of current medication in the home match the stock and the records. The previous registered manager reviewed and improved the system. Regarding the third requirement, recruitment procedures are now robust. They ensure that a sufficient number of references are obtained prior to staff being allowed to work at the home. Additionally, gaps in employment histories are now explored and the reasons why prospective employees left previous employment with children or vulnerable adults are now verified.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Four of the six recommendations made at the last inspection have been addressed. An independent visitor comes to the home regularly. He submits a report to the relevant authorities, including Ofsted. He reviewed his report format in January and now provides his professional evaluation on how the conduct of staff is promoting the children’s well-being. The record of restraint has now been retrospectively completed; there have not been any further restraints since this previous incident. There has been an improvement in the regularity of formal supervision for staff.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The two unmet recommendations have been remade as a single requirement at this inspection visit. This is because the statement of purpose still contains inaccuracies about the service provision, stating that it provides life story work and family work, along with mediation and resolution techniques and refers to ‘the therapeutic nature and the holistic culture’, none of which staff have been trained in. It also mentions ‘‘‘Outstanding” care which is already provided through the organisation’, although this and other services have not been judged as such. The second unmet recommendation was for staff to be provided with the training and resources to meet this.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff encourage children to attend routine health appointments and specialist support, such as sessions with the health promotion nurse, as well as smoking cessation programmes. Children attend school regularly and make progress towards their educational goals. Staff create a warm and homely environment for children to live in. The home is well maintained and brightly decorated. Children can personalise their own bedroom space.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There are weaknesses in the management of safeguarding concerns. Since the last inspection, a safeguarding incident has occurred which demonstrates a failure to record as soon as possible the young person’s own words, and the questions put to the young person in chronological order with clear dates and signatures. This is a shortfall in managing risks to children and young people effectively. This led to the outcome strategy meeting to conclude that ‘it was unclear at the beginning of this process if the young person was actually making a disclosure’. Additionally, the times logged on the ‘incident of going missing’ form did not correspond to those entered into the safeguarding log. These omissions and errors had not been identified through the monitoring of the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A child placed within the home has been reported as going missing since the previous inspection. This is not reducing and the frequency is escalating. The manager has initiated a formal review of this child’s placement and also agreed strategies with the missing persons police officer. However, strategies to keep him safe from going missing are having only limited impact. In one situation, agreed protocols had not been followed. While the completed log noted that staff searched for five hours, the detailed record actually showed that staff did not continue looking for the child who was missing sufficiently. This resulted in the child being at an increased risk of harm. This child is funded for two-to-one staffing.

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Information about this children’s home

This private children’s home provides accommodation for up to two young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. This home is part of a group of four homes owned by the same company.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 15/11/2016 Full Good 27/01/2016 Interim Not judged 11/08/2015 Full Good 24/03/2015 Full Good

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meets the Care Standards Act 2000, 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

12: The protection of children standard In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to recording safeguarding concerns in full, the registered person must ensure that staff:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(v) understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person (vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and (vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. 14/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard In order to meet the leadership and management standard, with particular reference to ensuring that monitoring of safeguarding incidents highlights discrepancies and ensures the best outcome for young people; the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

(a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and (b) promotes their welfare. 13/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to searching for highly vulnerable children, the registered person must ensure that staff:

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Requirement Due date

(2) (vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. 14/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that:

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Requirement Due date

(2) requires the registered person to— 12/05/2017 (a) lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children’s home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference that adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service 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’. the guidance ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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