Children's Home run by Pilgrims Corner Limited in Kent

Inspection report children’s home: SC473877 1 SC473877 Registered provider: Pilgrims Corner Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to accommodate no more than two children. It is one of four operated by a privately owned organisation. The home shares a manager with a similar- size home which is situated nearby. The company also owns a separately registered school, which children living in the homes may attend.

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Information about this children’s home

The newly appointed manager’s application for registration is currently in progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account requires improvement to be good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

Date of last inspection: 1 November 2017

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC473877 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/11/2017 Full Good 21/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 01/11/2016 Full Good 30/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC473877 3

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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, 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 registered person is required to ensure that each child has access to the home’s children’s guide. 25/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)) 25/01/2019

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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

promotes their welfare. 25/01/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC473877 4 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to–

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Requirement Due date

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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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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 has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b), (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)) 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)) 25/01/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees–

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development; and

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(4)(a)(b)) 25/01/2019

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely domestic environments. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

In particular, ensure that sleeping arrangements for staff do not detract from this environment. Inspection report children’s home: SC473877 5

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improvement to be good

Substantial changes to the staff team, as well as to the leadership of the home, have resulted in mixed outcomes for children during this inspection period. Some have successfully progressed to independence, yet others have continued to be unsettled.

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improvement to be good

Children’s best progress and positive experiences have been hampered by unclear plans and poor communication between staff. This has resulted in inconsistencies in staff practice and a failure to provide the children with clear and consistent boundaries. Children’s feelings of security and belonging have been undermined. The staff team does not yet have sufficient skill, and it lacks direction. For these reasons, it has been unable to ensure children’s progress or positive experiences. Children with low levels of challenge who have moved into the home have, however, been able to settle and make progress.

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improvement to be good

Children’s engagement in education and their emotional well-being has been undermined by the failures of placing authorities to properly manage and support the agreed plans for their transition beyond this home. This has led to drift for the affected children, although recently the new leadership of the home has more effectively addressed the escalation in concerns.

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improvement to be good

During this inspection period there have been serious safeguarding failures by leaders and staff and, as a result, children have been placed at significant risk of harm. There has been a failure to recognise and address obvious risks, compounded by a failure to report significant incidents. There was insufficient recording of some incidents and no evidence of managerial oversight.

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improvement to be good

Responses to identified risks for some children have been weak and, in some instances, non-existent. Some staff have failed to effectively communicate significant safeguarding concerns, and the systems failed to identify this.

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improvement to be good

Plans to guide and direct staff to keep children safe are unclear and unhelpful, and they have not been updated in response to incidents and changing circumstances. Staff have been unclear and inconsistent in applying boundaries relating to the free time of vulnerable children, creating uncertainty and leaving them at risk of harm. Following the appointment of a new manager in the last quarter of this inspection period, the approach to safeguarding practice has, however, shown clear improvement and the staff team is increasingly able to work together to keep children safe. Risks are better understood, and the plans to guide staff in keeping children safe are improving. Deficiencies in staff expertise in managing risk, however, need to be urgently addressed. Processes to identify and reduce risks need to be improved, and those for monitoring safeguarding Inspection report children’s home: SC473877 6

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

The home has been without a registered manager for a period of more than a year. It has laboured under weak leadership for at least the last two inspection periods, and the promised delivery of the repeated plans for improvement and development has not taken place. This has led to a clear decline in the standards of care and safeguarding, as well as a lack of effective teamwork.

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

Following significant instability and change in the staff team, a period of rebuilding is underway. This is being led by the newly appointed, qualified and experienced manager. The leadership of the home displays both insight into the extent of the required improvement and confidence that this will be achieved.

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

Processes to support the practice and development of staff are being improved. These include regular team meetings and staff supervision, coupled with an audit of the staff team’s needs.

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

The home does not currently have or provide children with a children’s guide.

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

The sleeping arrangements for staff currently include sleeping in the lounge. This is not an appropriate arrangement, and intrudes into the children’s space.

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

Staff are feeling positive and motivated to engage in the process of improvement, and the manager is enjoying the full support of the senior management of the wider organisation. Current efforts will, however, need to be sustained for the necessary changes to become fully imbedded in the culture and day-to-day running of the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC473877 7

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

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Information about this inspection

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: SC473877 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pilgrims Corner Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 5, The Links, Herne Bay, Kent CT6 7GQ

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Inspector:

John Pledger, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC473877 9 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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