Children's Home run by Pilgrims Corner Limited in Kent

Inspection report children’s home: SC390167 1 SC390167 Registered provider: Pilgrims Corner 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

A private company operates this home for up to two children. The provider offers care for children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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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 good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 28 November 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/11/2018 Full Good 02/08/2017 Full Good 13/03/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 15/11/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC390167 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 registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months. (Regulation 45(1)) 31/03/2020

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Recommendations

 Homes are required to develop and keep under review a "Statement of Purpose" (regulation 16 and schedule 1). The home’s Statement of Purpose should be child-focused, indicating how the home provides individualised care to meet the Quality Standards for the children in their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The children’s home must produce a children’s guide. The children’s guide must be made available to all children when their placement in the home is agreed (or on arrival at the home if the placement is made in an emergency) and must be age appropriate, provided in an accessible format and explained to each child to make sure they understand it. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.21)  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the

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Recommendations

arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day to day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.7)  10.8 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20) The plan should:  detail the necessary management and staffing structure, (including any staff commissioned to provide health and education), the experience and qualifications of staff currently working within the staffing structure and any further training required for those staff, to enable the delivery of the home’s Statement of Purpose; Inspection report children’s home: SC390167 4

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Recommendations

 detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training (such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications);  detail the process for managing and improving poor performance;  detail the process and timescales for supervision of practice (see regulation 33 (4) (b)) and keep appropriate records for staff in the home. 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

No children have lived in the home since July 2019. Since the last full inspection, two children have lived in the home. One child stayed for a period of six months. He moved on to a semi-independent setting. Staff helped him to make some very positive progress in the early part of his placement. The child engaged well in the daily life of the home. He formed positive attachments with staff. He respected the boundaries in place at the home and kept himself safe. The child’s care plan prioritised the need for him to have increasing levels of free time in order to prepare for independence. As his free time increased, the child became more prone to going missing from the home and not returning at agreed times. Staff worked closely with the placing authority and the police to keep the child safe. However, a decision was made that the child was unable to work within the constraints of the children’s home. He asked to be moved to a more independent setting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff expressed sadness at the child’s departure. They worked hard to ensure that his move was a positive experience for him. Despite the relative brevity of his time at the home, the child expressed positive feelings about his placement and gratitude to the staff team. The other child who lived in the home for a short time found it difficult to adjust to a new child coming into the home, despite careful planning and assessment of the impact of this placement. The organisation made a timely decision that it would be better for the current child to remain in the placement as a single occupant. The child who moved homes has had a very successful move. His social worker was very pleased with the way this move was managed by the staff. The home has been fully redecorated and is in good condition. Inspection report children’s home: SC390167 5

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

Staff were successful in managing the risks associated with children living in the home. They completed clear risk assessments. They managed missing from home episodes proactively. Recording was clear and demonstrated that staff worked hard to ensure that children returned to the home as quickly as possible. Partnership working with the police was effective. As part of the admissions process, staff make good use of all available information to identify areas of vulnerability for each child. They use this information to develop safety and support plans. Staff make good judgements about the suitability of placements for children. They act quickly and in the best interests of children when they feel that they would be better accommodated elsewhere. One child arrived at the home on a two-to-one staffing arrangement. Once he settled in, this was reduced to a one-to-one arrangement. Risk assessments were updated to

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

reflect this change in supervision levels. Leaders did not, however, fully consider the impact that the reduced staffing ratio would have on risk management strategies, particularly in respect to lone working. Staff continue to maintain all fire and health and safety records. Checks and monitoring are completed on schedule.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The organisation is taking a careful and considered approach to the timing of new admissions. This is to ensure that the home is fully ready for the reintroduction of children. The organisation is currently reviewing and preparing new operational documentation. The updated version of some of these documents, such as the home’s new statement of purpose and the children’s guide, are not yet in place. Leaders and managers plan to have all new documentation to be completely reviewed and finalised before they admit any new children to the home. Leaders are recruiting new staff and have a number of experienced staff ready to mentor those new recruits when the service admits children. Leaders continue to develop strong relationships with external partners. They have established regular contact with child and adolescent mental health services, placing authorities and the police. They are also working with a local advocacy provider, namely

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

the ‘Young Lives’ foundation, and they are building links with community groups such as army cadets and police cadets. Staff have also taken time to build good links with leisure facilities to ensure that children can make full use of local resources. The manager has not completed a review of the quality of care provided by the service within the required six-month timescale. Inspection report children’s home: SC390167 6

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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: SC390167 7

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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

Peter Jackson, social care 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 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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