Children's Home run by Pilgrims Corner Limited in Kent

Inspection report children‘s home: SC390167 1 SC390167 Registered provider: Pilgrim‘s Corner Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

A private company operates this home for up to two children. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it offers care for children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since April 2018.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 28 to 29 November 2018

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children‘s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‘s home: SC390167 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/08/2017 Full Good 13/03/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 15/11/2016 Full Good 27/01/2016 Interim Not judged Inspection report children‘s home: SC390167 3

p.2

Statutory requirements

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

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children‘s home a statement (―the statement of purpose‖) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1)) Specifically, include in the statement how persons working in the home are trained in restraint and how their competence is assessed; and include details of the experience and qualifications of staff. 31/01/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children‘s safety. The registered person may only— employ an individual to work at the children‘s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

p.3

Requirement Due date

(c) the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

p.3

Requirement Due date

(d) full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(c)(d)) 31/01/2019

p.3

Recommendations

 The children‘s guide should help children to understand how to contact the Office of the Children‘s Commissioner. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 24, paragraph 4.22)  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. Children‘s homes must comply with relevant health and safety Inspection report children‘s home: SC390167 4 legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes 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) Specifically, review the information on noticeboards, whether all signage is necessary, and the use of plastic plates and cutlery.  Staff should have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to help children

p.3

Recommendations

understand, and where necessary work to change negative behaviours in key areas of health and well-being such as, but not limited to, nutrition and healthy diet and exercise. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 35, paragraph 7.18) Specifically, ensure that all staff have the skills and support to achieve better outcomes regarding helping children to maintain a healthy weight.  All staff in a care role, including external agency or bank staff, must have the qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 53, paragraph 10.12)  The workforce development plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of

p.4

Recommendations

staff – including the home‘s manager. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 53, paragraph 10.8) Specifically, update the plan to include all staff working in the home and include dates when training expires and when training is planned.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are treated with dignity and respect at this home. Most children form friendly relationships with staff. This helps them to settle and have positive experiences. Staff help children to understand why it is not always possible to act on their wishes, for example because of judicial decisions made in their best interests.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a smooth transition into attending the provider‘s school. A teacher said that the home ‗has the right balance of staff to meet the children‘s care and are continually supportive of the children‘s place in school‘. Staff provide good support to young people who are leaving education, for example with making applications to obtain work experience and apprenticeships.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop good independence skills. Young people are supported with a successful programme of pathway planning to help them live semi-independently after they move on from the home.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Social workers and children appreciate that staff visit the children in their previous placements before they move in. The manager also writes to the children, including Inspection report children‘s home: SC390167 5 photographs of the home and their bedroom. This helps to reduce children‘s anxiety about moving somewhere new.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff share their interests with children, for example in cooking, bird watching and fishing, to encourage them to take up new hobbies. Children‘s religious, ethnic and cultural needs are well met. During the inspection year, one child had limited engagement in the home. Nevertheless, this child accessed new activities and recreational opportunities in the local community.

p.5

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

Children feel safe in the home and in the local area. Close supervision by staff ensures that children are protected from going missing from the home, with only two incidents since the last inspection. Staff apply their broad safeguarding training to provide a safe place for children to live.

p.5

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

Children learn about how to keep themselves safe. Through key-work meetings, staff build children‘s knowledge, for example about online safety, so that they learn to better manage risk. A parent said that they foundthe remote location of the home reassuring in reducing risk to their child. The building is maintained safely.

p.5

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

The manager successfully advocates for children, for example by challenging a placing authority about the poor timing of a child‘s planned move from the home. Children benefit from staff who work collaboratively with their families and the professionals involved in their lives.

p.5

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

Staff support children to make a ‗fresh start‘ when they move in. They are non- judgemental in helping children better understand and manage their feelings and make positive choices regarding their behaviour.

p.5

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

The recruitment of staff is generally sound. Meticulous checks are made to verify why applicants left their previous jobs. However, evidence of physical and mental fitness for the work is not obtained. Staff value the improved induction process which helps them settle into the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The registered manager has met the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection, thereby improving the quality of care. However, the statement of purpose requires further information.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

There is now a workforce development plan in place. However, this does not reflect the current staff team and it is difficult to track when training expires or new training is planned. One member of staff has not achieved the level 3 qualification within the required timescales.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

Staff value their training and support, which has been adequate to help them meet the Inspection report children‘s home: SC390167 6 needs of most children. Despite staff input, outcomes for ‗hard to reach‘ children or those trying to achieve a healthy weight were not good.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

Some staff described a ‗difficult year‘, with staff leaving and new staff joining. However, the staff team is now stable. The registered manager is in the process of handing over to another manager, following their promotion.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The home is comfortable and clean. Some aspects of the kitchen detract from the homely feel, such as posters on child abuse, signs and plastic plates and cutlery.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The children‘s guide to the home requires improvement. The manager identified that different versions are necessary to meet children‘s varied needs and to include additional information.

p.6

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 differences 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.

p.6

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: SC390167 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pilgrim‘s Corner Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Inspector

Jacqueline Graves, social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children‘s home: SC390167 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, 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 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8