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

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC022444 1 SC022444

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PIC Children’s Services Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is one of several owned by a private company. The home provides care and accommodation for one child who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The child living at the home was spoken to as part of the visit.

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This monitoring visit

A visit took place due to an increase in safeguarding notifications, and an escalation in risk-taking behaviours and police involvement in relation to the child living at the home. Following this visit, three compliance notices were issued.

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This monitoring visit

During this visit, the registered manager and other professionals working with the child told the inspector that the child is not safe when out in the community. There are risks in relation to criminal exploitation, criminality, poor peer influences and the misuse of substances. The child has not been given a comprehensive understanding of the risks posed to him from criminal exploitation. Despite these known concerns, the provider has failed to take sufficient action to safeguard and protect the child. This means that the child continues to be at risk of significant harm when out in the community.

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This monitoring visit

The registered manager and leaders do not fully understand their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding the child. They have not effectively escalated concerns about the lack of consistent social work involvement since October 2020, when the child’s permanent social worker left. This has negatively affected the care planning process and safeguarding measures in place to protect the child. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC022444 2 The registered manager did contact the local authority as he was concerned about the safety of the child and requested agreement to increase the staffing levels to help keep the child safe. However, this measure of having additional staff members available to support the child was not put in place. This failure means that there have not been effective strategies in place to keep the child safe.

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This monitoring visit

Risk management plans have not been updated to ensure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities in keeping the child safe. For example, there have been several incidents of the child going out of the home after 10.00pm. However, there is no information contained in the plans demonstrating what action staff should take to minimise the risks posed to the child. Plans that are in place to keep the child safe are not consistently adhered to by the staff team. For example, the risk management plan states that if the child is to return to the home under the influence of substances, the staff must seek medical advice. However, staff have failed to consistently adhere to the plan. This has failed to safeguard the child. Previous requirements in relation to keeping children safe have not been met.

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This monitoring visit

The child has strong relationships with the staff team. The child told the inspector that he feels happy living at the home and that the staff are nice and listen to him. The staff talk fondly about the child and support him to have regular contact with his family. A parent talked highly of the staff team and the level of communication provided by the home.

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This monitoring visit

The child is engaging in educational sessions with a tutor in the home during the week. There is a plan in place for the child to re-engage with his school following a previous exclusion. The provider has supported the child to engage with external agencies, such as drug and alcohol misuse services and therapeutic support.

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This monitoring visit

There is an experienced registered manager in place. He manages another single- occupancy home within the organisation. The manager is motivated and committed and has worked well with other professionals in multi-agency meetings. However, the inspector found shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home, which have had a detrimental effect on the child’s safety and welfare.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has failed to effectively escalate the safeguarding issues with the local authority to ensure that strategies were in place to protect the child. This means that the child’s welfare was not promoted. The manager has failed to address the issue in relation to staff not adhering to the agreed strategies to seek medical attention when the child is under the influence of substances. Furthermore, the monitoring and review systems in the home have failed to identify these shortfalls.

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This monitoring visit

During the visit, the registered manager was unable to clearly evidence that all staff working with the child have received training in relation to criminal exploitation. Therefore, is it not clear that all staff have the skills and knowledge to safely manage this risk. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC022444 3 The manager has failed to update the statement of purpose following a new member of staff starting work in the home. The rotas do not clearly identify which staff are working in the home and the actual hours worked. There is not a clear record of who has worked in the home with the child, which compromises safeguarding should any allegations be made.

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This monitoring visit

A further concern highlighted at the monitoring visit was the availability of the responsible individual. The inspector was informed that the responsible individual was living in a different country. During the monitoring visit, there was a delay in the inspector being able to make contact with the responsible individual to discuss the concerns in relation to the safeguarding and risks for the child living at the home.

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This monitoring visit

The responsible individual does not visit the home, which affects her ability and capacity to have oversight and effectively assess the standard of care provided. Additionally, the responsible individual has failed to identify the shortfalls found during the monitoring visit when completing her own internal monitoring and review of the home. A previous requirement under regulation 13, the leadership and management of the home, has not been met.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 03/09/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/06/2018 Full Good 30/01/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/06/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC022444 4

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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, the 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the need for risk management plans to contain clear guidance for staff to follow to manage risks. Also, staff must understand their roles in keeping the child safe, particularly with regards to risks of exploitation and substance misuse. 21 March 2021

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; and 21 March 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC022444 5 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the need to ensure that safeguarding concerns and risks in relation to the child’s welfare are effectively acted upon. Concerns in relation to safety and risk of the child should be effectively escalated as required. Ensure that the staff working with the child have the relevant training and skills to identify and act upon signs that the child is at risk of harm, particularly in relation to criminal exploitation.

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Requirement Due date

*An individual may only carry on a children’s home if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (5).

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26 (1) (7)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the need for the home to have a responsible individual who has capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, in line with the regulation. 21 March 2021

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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.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the provider ensuring that they send HMCI an updated version of the statement of purpose when there are changes to the staff members working in the home. 21 March 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC022444 6 Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the provider ensuring that rotas include the full names of all staff who work in the home and the actual hours worked. 21 March 2021

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000.

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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

Suzanne Birchall, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC022444 7 to 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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