Children's Home run by PCF Residential Childcare Ltd in Wolverhampton

Inspection report children’s home: 2622281 1 Registered provider: PCF Residential Childcare Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to three children who may experience behavioural, emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

A registered manager has been in post since the home opened in February 2021.

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Inspection date: 23 March 2022

Date of last inspection: 20 December 2021

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Inspection date: 23 March 2022

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 23 March 2022

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2622281 2

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, two children have moved into the home. The progress of children is mixed. One child making good progress. The progress for the other child is more limited. However, they have only lived at the home for eight weeks and staff are focusing on relationship building to reduce high-risk behaviours and keep him safe.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The risks around this child moving into the home were not explored as thoroughly as they could have been. The manager did not thoroughly explore why his previous home was unable to keep him safe. The child has frequently been missing from care and is at risk of exploitation. Not obtaining all relevant information undermines the quality of the decision-making and care planning process.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager does not take proactive action to ensure that staff have the required training and knowledge to meet the needs of children. For example, staff have not been provided with up-to-date training on child sexual exploitation. The manager has booked this training; however, this is taking place 10 weeks after the child has moved in. Additionally, staff have not received training in mental health, grief and loss, and gender and sexuality. Subsequently, staff are not equipped to respond to the needs of the children they care for.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

When children go missing from home, staff work in partnership with professionals and family members to try and locate them. However, on occasions, staff do not take appropriate action when they identify that a child may be at risk of harm. For example, when a staff member saw one child getting into an unknown vehicle, they did not obtain the appropriate information and call the police. On another occasion, staff did not promptly contact all relevant people who could help them to locate the child. These two omissions mean that the child’s welfare was not fully protected.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has escalated concerns about the risks relating to one child to relevant professionals and used the support of a professional network to ensure that a strategy meeting took place to address the high level of risk. As a result, there are now plans in place to review the child’s care plan, increase supervision and support, and review risks and strategies in place to keep the child safe.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There have not been any incidents of physical intervention since the last inspection. The manager has amended recording templates to ensure that these capture the views of children and staff following a restraint. She has begun to use this template for incidents that do not involve a restraint. However, not all records are accurate and contain all required information. For example, it is not always clear if staff use Inspection report children’s home: 2622281 3 professional curiosity when a child has unsupervised time in the community. In addition, staff do not ensure that they clearly record steps taken to locate children. The manager does not identify this in her oversight of incidents. As a result, important information is not included in children’s records and used to inform risk management.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, there has been one occasion when managers were reminded to make a notification about a serious incident. As a result, the notification was not made in a timely manner. Delays in notifying Ofsted about serious incidents prevent regulatory review and oversight of actions that have been taken.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Notwithstanding the shortfalls raised, one child is making good progress and moving into the home has had a positive impact on her. The child attends school every day and is closer to her peers. This is important to her, and her independence is increasing. The child also benefits from a wide range of social activities, including a sewing club and dance lessons. She proudly showed the inspector items she had made during the inspection. As a result of the support she has received, behavioural incidents have reduced both at home and at school.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home is warm and welcoming environment. It is well maintained, and children’s bedrooms are personalised. One child told the inspector, ‘My favourite thing about the home is my bedroom.’ As a result, children have a sense of belonging and feel valued.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager is working hard to improve the quality of care provided to children and is addressing the shortfalls from the previous inspection. The registered manager has developed a new informative monitoring system to help her to review the quality of care children receive. This is a plan in progress and the impact of this is not yet known. Inspection report children’s home: 2622281 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/12/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 2622281 5

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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 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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;

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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)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff have the skills to identify safeguarding concerns and take action when children are at risk of harm. 4 May 2022

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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

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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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 31 May 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2622281 6 child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that effective monitoring systems are in place to identify and respond to shortfalls in practice. In addition, the manager must make sure that staff receive appropriate training to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of the children.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that all the required information about a child is obtained before deciding if the home can meet the child’s needs. 4 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 4 May 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this inspection

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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: 2622281 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: PCF Residential Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 37 Copthorne Road, Wolverhampton WV3 0AB

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Inspector

Natasha Skinner, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2622281 8 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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