Children's Home run by Crossway Services Limited in St Helens

Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 1 SC068206 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

The home provides care for one child with social and emotional difficulties. It is run by a national provider of children’s homes.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 31 October 2022. They are also the registered manager for another of the provider’s children’s homes.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/03/2023 Full Good 04/05/2022 Full Inadequate 01/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/02/2020 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved on from the home and one child has moved in, and has now lived in the home for three months. Children are supported to move in and out of the home in a sensitive and planned way. The child living in the home is happy. In a short time, they have developed trusted and secure relationships with staff. They are now actively contributing to making decisions about their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has recently completed their formal education. Staff encouraged and supported the child to attend school. The child has made great progress and sat all their GCSE examinations. The headteacher said, ‘Whatever stability the home offered and created for them led to [name of child]’s attendance and engagement being really good.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to attend all their health appointments, resulting in the child making healthy lifestyle choices. Staff support this by encouraging them to eat well and increase their daily exercise. Staff often bring their own dogs into the home, to encourage the child to go on dog walks and visit the local parks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team works with the provider’s psychologist, who provides guidance for the manager and staff. As a result, staff have a better understanding of the child’s behaviours and how best to respond to their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child spends time with their family in the home and in the community. Staff understand the importance of the child’s relationships and make sure the child’s time with family is safe. The child’s parents are encouraged to visit the home. The child is able to talk to staff about any changes they would like to see to family time. Staff have worked with the child’s social worker to ensure that family time reflects the child’s wishes and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is being supported to develop an increased sense of independence in the home. Staff are giving them opportunities to develop new skills, including budgeting and cooking. However, aspects of adult life such as key-holding have not been considered.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is a safe environment for the child to live in. There are photos of the child on display, despite the child’s initial reservations about this. There are also ornamental figures of some of the things the child likes around the home. The child’s bedroom reflects their interests. Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 4

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

Staff understand the child’s behaviours and are trained in physical intervention. There are strategies to respond to the child’s behaviour, as part of an individual plan. Staff use these to prevent any escalation in behaviour, meaning there have been no instances of the child being physically held by staff.

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

The child has trusted adults they can talk to. They know how to make a complaint. The manager has ensured that the child knows the importance of sharing their views. The child has an advocate they now meet with.

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

The staff are aware of the risks that the child faces online, including those associated with adult-rated computer games. However, staff have not always conducted room searches in response to information that the child may be playing adult games in the home.

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

The house is a safe and secure environment for the child to live in. The manager uses the home’s local area risk assessment to inform decisions about children moving into the home.

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

Staff are recruited safely. However, the manager does not routinely view all information gathered during the recruitment process. This means the manager is not aware of any potential concerns raised in the recruitment process, including any issues relating to staff in their previous employment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is qualified and experienced. She is valued by staff and children alike. Staffing levels in the home are sufficient. However, the home’s statement of purpose is not specific to the care delivered by the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager supports staff to understand how the child’s lived experiences can impact on their behaviour. Staff and the manager aspire to provide the best care for children. However, there is not always management oversight of practice. This means that care is not evaluated to ensure that staff have the right skills to care for children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows children who live in the home well. They understand their risks and work with external professionals to manage these.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are supported by the manager. They receive reflective supervision and annual appraisals, which also ensure that they have continued training and development. The manager seeks feedback on staff from the child, which is discussed in supervision. However, the child’s views are not used to inform discussion at appraisals. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that the child’s views are central to the development of the staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 5 There are regular team meetings, which are well attended by staff. The child attends part of the meeting and their contributions are included in the minutes. The manager uses team meetings as an opportunity for staff development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of staff’s training and their developmental needs. When training has not been undertaken, the manager is aware and sets timescales for completion. This ensures that the child is cared for by a knowledgeable staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 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

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. (Regulation 32 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that when recruiting staff, they have a full understanding of employment history and an awareness of any issues relating to individual practice. 31 July 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is kept under review and outlines how the home provides individualised care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that there are systems in place to review and evaluate all incidents, to ensure that there is continuous improvement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that staff appraisals take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of children who have been cared for by the staff member over the year. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: SC068206 7

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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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Inspector

Sarah Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC068206 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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