Children's Home run by Pinnacle Care Provisions Ltd in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 1 Registered provider: Pinnacle Care Provisions Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for up to three children. At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home.

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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: Inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/06/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 3

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improvement to be good

Conditions in some areas of the home environment are poor. Managers and staff have failed to maintain the home to an acceptable standard of decoration. Steps have now been taken to address previous concerns about hygiene standards. Further action is required to address all maintenance issues. There are plans in place and a timescale to complete repairs and improvements within the next few weeks.

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improvement to be good

Staff have struggled at times to implement routines and boundaries in the home. Incidents of challenging behaviour have escalated due to inconsistent responses to children’s behaviour. This is an area that is improving. A social worker commented, ‘Things have changed; staff are more proactive and able to implement boundaries.’

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improvement to be good

Children have individual plans and are starting to build secure relationships with adults. Staff pay attention to the detail of each child’s needs and are starting to get to know them well. Children are supported to have positive experiences and some children are starting to make positive progress.

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improvement to be good

Communication with children is good. Children can make decisions about their day- to-day lives, such as activities and meals. They contribute to how the home is decorated. Children are asked their opinions about individual staff members as part of the staff’s development, and they contribute to staff recruitment. This helps children feel listened to and empowered to make positive decisions.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to engage and achieve in education. One child is supported to continue to attend the school that they have been attending for some time. This will help them maintain friendships that they have already made and to progress with their education.

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improvement to be good

Children have been supported to have positive contact with family members who they haven’t been in touch with for some time. This will help give them a sense of belonging and increase their sense of self and identity.

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improvement to be good

There have been several missing-from-care incidents since the last full inspection. The missing-from-care records are completed by staff and signed off by a manager but there is some inconsistency in recording and insufficient analysis. This means staff will find it difficult to understand why children go missing and how to help to prevent this. Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 4 Children’s risk assessments are improved, and the members of the staff team have a clearer understanding of the risks that effect the children and how to help prevent those risks. Some elements of risk are missed out of the assessments. This means that staff will be missing the opportunity to understand and prevent some of the key risks that children may be subject to.

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improvement to be good

Staff attend multi-agency meetings which help them to address and understand the missing behaviour. The home has effective links with social workers, and other safeguarding agencies. There is good communication about safeguarding issues. These links support a coordinated response to promoting children’s safety.

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improvement to be good

Safer recruitment processes are in place, which means that staff who work with the children undergo checks to ensure they are suitable to work with children.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding training has been completed by all staff who are working with the children. This means that they are supported to build the knowledge to recognise issues which would compromise children’s safety and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The post of registered manager is vacant. The manager who was in post at the last inspection has left. The company are recruiting for a new manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Supervision is in place but isn’t always effective. Staff have described not feeling supported by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home is short staffed. Existing staff have covered extra shifts to ensure that the children have continuity. Staff have described feeling ‘very tired’. This means there is a risk of staff becoming burnt out and not able to care for the children effectively. The company are currently recruiting new staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Team meetings don’t create opportunities for staff to reflect on how to care for the children. This means they are not effective in helping staff offer consistency of care to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have described children being racist towards them. There is no evidence of how this is challenged, or how equality and diversity is promoted. This means that children are not educated about this anti-social behaviour, which they may then use outside of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Employee induction is not currently sufficient. One employee’s induction plan had not been signed or progressed in several weeks. There are plans to implement a new induction handbook in the next few weeks. Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 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

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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(d)) 10 October 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 6 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 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 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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(h)) 10 October 2022

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose; 10 October 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 7 that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person is to ensure that children’s local authority care plans are received and implemented in the home. Further to this, the registered person is to ensure that other relevant plans, such as EHC plans, are also implemented within the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and the registered provider—

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home.

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person so appointed; and

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Requirement Due date

the date on which the appointment takes effect. 27(1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) (2)(a)(b) 10 October 2022

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Recommendations

 Children’s negative behaviours should be challenged by staff and discussed. This includes antisocial behaviours such as racism. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.14)

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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 for children’s home: 2653112 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pinnacle Care Provisions Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 507, 275 Deansgate, Manchester M3 4EL

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Inspector

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 9 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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