Children's Home run by Pebbles Care Limited in North Yorkshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC481631 1 SC481631 Registered provider: Pebbles Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by an independent provider. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children who may have social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager in post since August 2020. The current manager in day-to-day change of the home has not yet applied to register with Ofsted as required.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 3 September 2020 to complete an assurance visit. The report is published on our website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

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

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

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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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC481631 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/01/2019 Full Good 24/01/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/07/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC481631 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s overall experience of living in the home is variable. There has been a period of instability which has seen several changes to the staff team. This has unsettled the children.

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improvement to be good

Standards of cleanliness in the home have declined, and maintenance and redecoration are not completed in a timely way. This is not creating a high-quality environment for children.

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improvement to be good

Children have some opportunities to express their views to staff. However, there is no system in place to provide feedback in respect of actions taken as a result of that feedback. This means that children are not always aware of what impact sharing their views and wishes has on the quality of care provided to them.

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improvement to be good

When recording information about children, the staff do not consistently use language or terminology that best reflect children’s chosen identity. As a result, there are differences across the staff team regarding how children are addressed or represented to others. This does not promote children’s confidence or help them to develop their identity.

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improvement to be good

Children are making some progress from their starting point because staff meet their needs and advocate in their best interests. One professional said that for the child they are working with, this means that their behaviour has improved. Risks for this child have reduced and they now have clear aspirations for their future.

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improvement to be good

Where children have not attended school in the past, they are now engaging in education and are establishing goals. The staff are working with schools to plan for children’s further education at college or university. This is paving the way for future employment opportunities.

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improvement to be good

Children say that they like living in the home and are building good relationships with the staff. They know who they can go to if they have problems and they feel that the staff understand them. This helps children to feel cared for and secure.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments do not always contain details of all current risks for children. This means that staff do not always have up-to-date information about children in their care. The manager does not evaluate the strategies used to reduce risks to children’s safety. As a result, the effectiveness of these plans is not assessed. This can leave children at risk of harm. Inspection report children’s home: SC481631 4 Children sometimes need emotional support from staff throughout the day and overnight. In these circumstances, children’s risk assessments specify the need for them to be supported by staff who they are familiar with. However, this does not always occur because of the continual use of agency staff in the home. This leads to children becoming upset and feeling unsafe.

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improvement to be good

The recording of physical restraint is not in line with the relevant regulation. The manager does not ensure that these records detail what intervention was used, whether staff and children have been spoken to or what oversight the manager has had. Consequently, it cannot be established that the use of physical restraint is safe or necessary. This means that children may be at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Children receive support from staff to help them to manage their own behaviours and be involved in reducing risks to their safety. However, the quality of key-work sessions around children’s individual risks is inconsistent. Key-work sessions lack an evaluation of the impact on the child’s learning. Consequently, it cannot be known if children are developing a better understanding of their risks to help them to make safer choices.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager since August 2020. The interim arrangements for the management of the home have been inconsistent. The current manager has been in post since 23 March 2021 and has not yet submitted their application for registration. Leaders have not ensured that there is stability in the management of the home. This is detrimental to the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There have been changes to the staffing structure, and the manager is routinely reliant on agency staff. This does not promote a consistent and high-quality service to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not have sufficient oversight of the service and do not routinely evaluate the documents and records completed by staff. The manager lacks insight into the strengths and areas for development of the home. This hinders the development of the service to ensure good-quality care for children. Decisive and effective action has not been taken to address shortfalls in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers are not able to deliver care as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. Staff have not received the necessary training, which means that the service is not meeting the stated aim of delivering a therapeutic model of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

New staff have not benefited from an induction which focuses on supporting their learning and development. These staff are unclear of their progress and performance and are not aware if their probation is complete. This means that children may be cared for by staff who do not have the skills and knowledge to meet their needs. Inspection report children’s home: SC481631 5 Supervision for staff does not take place in line with company policy. Recording is poor and there is no evidence of reflective practice or a review of personal developmental needs. This limits the manager’s ability to develop her team and address any shortfalls in practice. Inspection report children’s home: SC481631 6

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children's home's overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children's needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii)) 25 June 2021

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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; and

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)) 25 June 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC481631 7 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

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 the home's workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(a)(e)(f)(h)) 25 June 2021

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each permanent appointment of an employee is subject to the satisfactory completion of a period of probation. (Regulation 33 (1)(a)(b)) 25 June 2021

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child's behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure; 25 June 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC481631 8 a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure;

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted on. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective

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Recommendations

and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party Inspection report children’s home: SC481631 9 information. Information about the child should always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC481631 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pebbles Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 The Calls, Leeds LS2 7JU

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Inspectors

Deb Duffy, Social Care Inspector Paula Shepherd, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC481631 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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