Children's Home run by Pilgrims Corner Limited in Kent

Inspection report for children’s home: SC473891 1 SC473891 Registered provider: Pilgrims Corner 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 by a private company. Its statement of purpose states that it provides ongoing intensive individual attention, stability and support to children who have experienced disrupted development and multiple placement moves. It is registered to provide care for up to two children.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since April 2020.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 16 February 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC473891 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/02/2022 Full Good 12/11/2019 Full Good 30/01/2019 Full Good 25/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC473891 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have strong relationships with the staff who care for them. They are confident in the home and take part in light-hearted conversations with staff and share jokes, as well as share how they are feeling.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have the opportunity to share their views formally through house meetings, one-to-one sessions and informally through general discussions. Staff support children to understand when their ideas cannot be actioned. Staff thoughtfully support children to understand the information in their local authority placement plans, explaining why the information is there, and how they can raise concerns with their social workers if they are unhappy about the plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, three children have left the home. One was in a planned way, the other two due to concerns about escalating behaviours that the staff could not safely manage. Leaders have been reflective about why these placements have not been successful, including missing information in the referral documents and new behaviours that could not have been foreseen. The two children who have moved into the home have benefited from well-planned moves and increased scrutiny of placement information to ensure that all key information is known prior to their move. A social worker was complimentary of one child’s move to the home and how well staff have made sure he is settled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school as planned. One child has maintained continued attendance at the same school since their move, while another is beginning a phased induction into the organisation’s school. Staff liaise well with school staff to ensure a consistent approach to care. Children benefit from a arrange of activities away from school, including one child joining a new football club on the day of inspection. Children like to play games online and know how to keep safe while doing so.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to lead healthy lifestyles and learn what this means for them. They enjoy a balanced diet with mostly home-made meals. Children who have specific health needs are supported by staff to attend specialist appointments. Staff provide excellent support and encouragement when children are feeling anxious about these appointments.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children’s actions and demeanour show they feel safe in the home. They say they have staff they will go to if they are upset or anxious. Staff are attuned to the needs of the children and know their vulnerabilities. They help children to understand how to be safe and make positive choices. Staff know how to respond should there be a safeguarding concern, and have suitable training in all aspects of safeguarding and the risks of exploitation in all forms. Inspection report for children’s home: SC473891 4 Staff understand that children’s behaviour is a form of communication. They seek to understand what the children are expressing and help them to consider better ways of doing this. Physical intervention has been used at times, and records are clear and support the manager to identify patterns and trends. The police have been called to the home on five occasions when staff required extra help to safely

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

manager children’s behaviour. The callouts appear to have been necessary given the escalating risks shown by children and their friends in the community. However, the former manager did not notify Ofsted about three of these incidents.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The children who currently live in the home have not been missing from home. Children who previously lived in the home benefited from joint working with specialist police officers, and a consistent approach to locating them when they were missing from the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The home is well maintained and homely. There are regular checks of the environment to ensure safety and identify any improvements needed. However, the checks have failed to notice that one child’s bed and wardrobe are broken. The manager was unaware of this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has been without a registered manager since April 2020. Two managers have worked in the home during that period without becoming registered. The current manager moved from another home in the organisation that closed in February. He is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are highly complimentary of the manager and the supportive environment he has created. The manager is using his skills and experience to ensure that staff are developing their skills and confidence to support the children in the home. Staff have reflective supervision and say they find the process useful for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from a wide range of training, including mandatory training that is online and in person. This ensures that they have the skills to meet the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has regular oversight of the children’s progress and plans. Newly implemented goals and target trackers enable the staff and children to monitor their progress. This is yet to be fully embedded into practice given the short time the manager has been in post.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager makes use of the detailed reports produced by the independent person, making improvements where required, including following-up on debriefs after incidents, which had previously been a repeated recommendation. Gaps in recording and inaccuracies in records have not continued under the new manager, due to the manager’s effective monitoring systems. Inspection report for children’s home: SC473891 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

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)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff are regularly checking the safety of items in the home, and that the broken bed and wardrobe are replaced in one child’s room. 5 May 2023

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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

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)) 5 May 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC473891 6

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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: SC473891 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pilgrims Corner Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Gathering Space, Highland Court Farm, Bridge, Canterbury Kent CT4 5HW

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Inspector

Jennie Christopher, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC473891 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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