Children's Home run by PIC Children’s Services in Sefton

Inspection report for children’s home: SC040785 1 SC040785 Registered provider: PIC Children’s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC040785 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/03/2022 Full Good 12/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 29/05/2019 Full Good 21/08/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC040785 3

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improvement to be good

The child living in this home has made progress since moving in four years ago. He is supported by a passionate and committed manager and staff team who strive to ensure that he enjoys a wide range of experiences while living at the home.

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improvement to be good

The child’s views, wishes and feelings about spending time with family members and important people in his life are considered by the manager and shared with professionals. As a result, the child is sustaining and developing relationships with those who are important to him.

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improvement to be good

Staff have supported the child to register with health services and attend routine health appointments. The child was particularly worried about a dental appointment, which resulted in several cancellations. The anxieties around dental appointments resulted in minor incidents at the home. The manager and staff team have supported the child by carrying out significant direct work. This has resulted in the child attending their dental appointment and their health needs being met.

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improvement to be good

The child attends school full time and has 100% attendance. He has participated in awards and enjoyed a camping trip; all of which have been celebrated by the manager and staff. The manager discussed how she has not always felt that the school has supported the child effectively. She also has concerns with behaviour management strategies and ineffective support in school. The manager failed to raise these concerns directly with the school. This impacts on the delivery of support to the child and prevents professionals from actively working together.

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff team do not always advocate for the child in a timely manner. The child was receiving speech and language support in school. When this stopped, the manager failed to adequately escalate this despite recognising that the support was a necessary aid for the child.

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improvement to be good

The child is supported to engage in several activities. He has enjoyed holidays to Wales, trips to the cinema, days out to the fairground and a trip to a light festival. More recently, staff have supported the child to establish friendships with peers and attend a youth group where the child has developed a passion for canoeing.

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improvement to be good

During the inspection, the child told the inspector about how much he enjoys living at the home and said that he feels cared for by the manager and staff team. The relationships between the manager and staff with the child are very positive. This is also reflected in the feedback received from a professional.

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improvement to be good

Not all plans in place are up to date to support the delivery of care to the child. For example, local authority and education plans were significantly out of date. The manager took action during the inspection to rectify this shortfall; however, this Inspection report for children’s home: SC040785 4 practice does not ensure that the child is supported by staff who have access to individualised and effective plans.

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improvement to be good

The quality of the manager’s oversight and monitoring of records is not consistent. They have not ensured that recruitment records for agency staff always contain the required information, including staff’s experience or qualifications. In addition, there are shortfalls on rotas, which means that they do not always meet regulatory requirements, such as the full names of staff. The manager acknowledged these breaches during the inspection and took action to rectify them.

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improvement to be good

The child’s individual risk assessments cover a range of risks and include individual strategies that staff use to support the child. Strategies have been effective in reducing the number of incidents. The manager and staff have been able to support the child in managing his feelings and emotions in a much more positive way. However, risk assessments do not accurately reflect the reduction in risk and the progress that the child has made. Risk assessments for high-risk activities are also not in place. For example, the child has recently begun canoeing with a local club. The manager has not adequately considered the risks of this activity and the support and guidance for the child and staff. In addition, there is no protocol in place to support the team and safeguard the child if he was to go missing from home or get lost. These shortfalls have the potential to impact on the safety of children.

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improvement to be good

When incidents have occurred, the manager and staff have taken action to support the child. For example, staff have supported the child to complete online safety work, watch videos and engage in direct work sessions to help him to understand risks online. This helps the child to understand what appropriate online behaviour is and remain safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the child to reflect on their actions. Staff praise the child and celebrate their achievements. The child responds well to this approach. As a result, physical intervention has not been required for some time.

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improvement to be good

Improvements needed to the home mean that children are not yet living in a homely environment. Locks on internal doors restrict the child’s access to all areas of their home. The bathroom has recently been redecorated but this does not detract from the tired and worn bathroom suite. The flooring and carpets in some areas are worn and the absence of blinds in the lounge and child’s bedroom impacts on the child’s privacy.

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good

Not all supervision records were available at the time of the inspection. The manager has not ensured that staff, including agency staff, have received regular Inspection report for children’s home: SC040785 5 supervision. As a result, staff are not receiving the level of support that they should receive.

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good

The manager has been proactive in accessing training following the child discussing his sexuality. However, the manager has not ensured that all staff undertake all relevant training to promote their knowledge and professional development. Despite the child’s level of vulnerability, the manager has not ensured that all staff have completed missing-from-home training. In addition, the manager has not completed internet safety training. This reduces her ability to adequately support the staff team and inform risk assessments in place.

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good

Although the manager has put new monitoring systems in place, these need to be further developed to identify shortfalls in recording and staff practice. Staff do not consistently record safety checks on the child’s electronic devices as directed in the risk assessment. The manager has failed to identify this. The lack of effective management oversight does not adequately safeguard the child or support the improvement of staff practice.

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good

Not all records consistently triangulate important information. Relevant information in the child’s education, health and care plan has not been recorded in the child’s health plan to ensure that staff are aware of health conditions, understand the illness and have an awareness of the signs that they need to be aware of. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040785 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, 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The manager must ensure that she advocates for children in a timely manner when services and support are required, or the child is not being adequately supported by professionals to achieve their full potential. 9 December 2022

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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

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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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— 9 December 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040785 7 enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(vii)(c)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the manager ensuring that the home is well decorated, clean, welcoming and a homely environment.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the manager ensuring that an up- to-date personal education plan is on file and incorporated into the child’s plans.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the manager challenging education provisions if the child is not being supported to make progress. 9 December 2022

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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 18 November 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040785 8 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;

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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)(v)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In addition, children must have in place a missing-from-home protocol to safeguard them and inform staff of action to take in the event a child is missing or lost.

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Requirement Due date

The manager must also ensure that there are sufficient risk assessments in place to inform activities and assess risk, such as canoeing. Finally, risk assessments must be reviewed to accurately reflect the level of risk for children.

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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 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)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the manager ensuring that records are accurately reviewed with robust oversight to identify shortfalls, evidence progression and highlight potential risk. 9 December 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040785 9 The manager must also ensure that staff complete missing- from-home training. The manager must complete internet safety training to inform her knowledge and support the team.

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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.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the manager ensuring that up-to- date local authority plans are in place for children and records in the home are regularly reviewed. 9 December 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the manager ensuring that all staff members receive supervision and appraisals consistently and within timescales. The manager must have a system in place to ensure that supervision is readily available. 9 December 2022

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Requirement Due date

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; 18 November 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040785 10 ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the manager ensuring that rotas contain the full names of staff members working in the home. The manager must also ensure that information regarding agency staff’s training and work experience is obtained.

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to removing internal locks from the doors of communal areas. 9 December 2022

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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: SC040785 11

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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: PIC Children’s Services Limited, 2 North Street, Haydock, St Helens, Merseyside WA11 0TW

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Inspector

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC040785 12 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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