Children's home run by PIC Children’s Services in St. Helens

Inspection report children‟s home: SC022437 1 SC022437 Registered provider: PIC Children’s Services Limited

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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 privately owned home provides care and accommodation for one young person who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager was registered with Ofsted in June 2019 and is also registered to manage another single-occupancy home in the local area.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 24 to 25 September 2019

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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 requires improvement to be 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: Requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children‟s home: SC022437 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/08/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/06/2017 Full Good 29/03/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 22/11/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC022437 3

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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, 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 helps children aspire to fulfil their potential and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to 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)) 18/11/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(c)) 18/11/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person maintains records (“case records”) for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure the removal of conflicting information, that entries are detailed and that they are in relation to the young person. 18/11/2019

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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. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety 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)  Ensure that the importance of understanding who we are and where we come Inspection report children‟s home: SC022437 4 from is recognised by staff, for example through undertaking life story work or other direct work. Staff in children’s homes should play a full role in work of this kind. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.14)  The registered person should have a workforce plan, which can fulfil the

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Recommendations

workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The 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 staff, including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of care provided by the staff is very nurturing, responsive and focused on helping the young person to achieve stability in his life. Change is supported step by step and at the young person’s pace and in line with his ability. This approach allows him to develop confidence and to build his self-esteem and trust in appropriate adults. A social worker commented, ‘Staff are very good. They don’t just react to incidents; they are also proactive in their key-work sessions, and the relationships they have formed with [Name of young person] mean that these are productive.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff nurture the young person‟s aspirations. The young person aspires to a future career in painting and decorating. He has access to good information, advice and guidance. For example, staff have helped the young person to create an email address and registered him with relevant employment websites to help him to succeed. The young person commented, „The staff are helping me to try to get an apprenticeship.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff monitor the young person‟s health and provide the necessary support to ensure that routine appointments and checks are up to date. Statutory health assessments have been completed, and the young person has attended all required medical appointments. He is encouraged to contribute to his plans and identify any areas with which he may need additional support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take photographs with the young person, and these show activities and day-to-day achievements. However, these are not collated or used as ongoing life story work or to capture the young person‟s journey. This is a missed opportunity to create a lasting memory for the young person, and the photographs could also be used very effectively to show the progress that he has made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

In general, the home presents as a lived-in family home. It is warm, welcoming and comfortable. The quality of furniture and decoration is very good. However, the young person’s bed does not have a headboard fitted. Furthermore, garden furniture is stored in the dining room, and this distracts from a homely environment. Inspection report children‟s home: SC022437 5

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

There are clear and effective safeguarding arrangements in place to protect the young person. The young person said that he feels safe at the home. He knows that he can talk to the staff if he has any concerns or worries. A social worker commented, ‘Child safety is at the forefront of all staff practice.’

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

Fellow professionals reported excellent levels of communication between them and the home. This collaborative approach means that staff are working together to ensure that the young person is kept safe. Effective liaison with other safeguarding agencies ensures that the manager has a clear understanding of any safety concerns in the local area. Staff can describe clearly the procedures to follow to ensure that the young person is safeguarded.

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

Staff demonstrated a good understanding of risk-taking behaviours, such as missing from home. Missing from home procedures are followed well, and incidents of missing are reducing. When young people return, they are offered appropriate support and reassurance to ensure that they are safe and well. An independent person completes return home interviews to see whether anything can be learned from the event.

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

Staff educate the young person on how to keep safe. One-to-one sessions include the dangers of smoking and staying safe when he is away from home. Bespoke and comprehensive individual risk assessments, including child criminal exploitation and drug misuse, promote the young person‟s safety and well-being.

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

The young person receives praise and rewards for his positive behaviour. This recognition encourages a constructive and nurturing environment and helps to build strong relationships between him and the staff. Staff implement clear and unwavering boundaries consistently, and this helps the young person to develop an understanding of what acceptable behaviour is.

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

The manager is experienced and working towards the necessary level 5 qualification. The manager also manages another single-occupancy home in the local area. He manages his time effectively between the homes, maintaining good oversight, and is supported in his role by an experienced deputy manager.

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

The team morale is positive. It is due to the motivated and confident staff team that firm boundaries are being instilled. Staff speak in complimentary terms about the young person and express positive regard towards him.

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

Care planning documents held in the home are generally of good quality. However, some records refer to outdated information, such as the education facility attended by the Inspection report children‟s home: SC022437 6 young person and the exact date when the young person first resided at the home. The registered manager agreed that these shortfalls had not been identified in the current auditing system. He committed to reviewing and revising his systems to ensure that complete and accurate records are kept in the home.

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

The independent person has highlighted several issues in regulation 44 reports, relating to recording omissions and errors. The manager has not yet addressed these matters. This has not had a direct impact on the care the young person receives; however, it is a missed opportunity to ensure that a robust management overview is maintained.

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

Staff benefit from regular supervision, which allows them to reflect on their practice. All staff have received an induction and have access to regular training opportunities. However, the manager and staff have not received annual appraisals. This lack of formal support limits the staff‟s ability to reflect on their practice and development in a planned way.

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

Staff feel well supported by the home‟s management. The young person is discussed at monthly team meetings and is the primary focus at the home. The manager consults with families and stakeholders, which contributes to a comprehensive report on the quality of care that the home provides. Monthly external monitoring reports are of a good standard and offer appropriate challenge and actions for the manager to address.

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

The home‟s statement of purpose reflects the aims, objectives and ethos of the home. However, the home‟s workforce plan requires improvement to clearly show the manager‟s plans for the future development of his staff group.

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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 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.

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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: SC022437 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: PIC Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 North Street, Haydock, St. Helens, Merseyside WA11 0TW

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Inspector

Elaine Allison, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC022437 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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