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

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home is registered to provide care for up to two children who may have social, emotional and mental health needs. The provider operates another home in the local area. There were two children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 2023.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

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

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/03/2023 Full Good 16/02/2022 Full Good 12/11/2019 Full Good 30/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC473891 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children living at the home have moved in recently. The manager ensured that they experienced positive moves into the home. They are quickly building relationships with staff. One child said that staff had visited them several times before they moved, resulting in reduced anxiety. The children feel safe and like living at the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a safe, cosy and well-furnished home. There is communal space for the children to relax, cook and eat together. Children’s bedrooms are clean, tidy and personalised. One child has a pet hamster and is supported by staff to care for it. This encourages the child’s independence and sense of responsibility.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff encourage the children to share their views in the weekly house meetings. They make choices on their activities, what they eat and other matters. Regular planned conversations provide further opportunities for children to express their wishes and feelings, with personalised support from staff. The children know how to make a complaint.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the children to access individual programmes of education. The provider also runs a school linked to the home. The manager maintains an effective partnership with the school. When children are unable to manage the school environment, home tutoring is provided. Staff support the children to understand the importance of education in preparing them for their futures. One child has recently expressed an interest in applying for college and is being supported to explore their options.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to have safe planned family time, whether at the home or in the community. Consequently, the children spend regular time with their families and staff build positive relationships with them. One family member said, ‘Staff seem to really care.’ As a result of the support from staff, children maintain positive relationships with the people who are important to them.

p.3

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

Staff understand the individual risks to children well. The manager ensures that the children’s individual safety plans contain clear information and identify appropriate actions for staff. These plans are reviewed regularly and updated as needed. Staff receive the appropriate training to help them meet the children’s specific needs. There are appropriate safeguards in place to ensure that children can access the internet safely.

p.3

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

The home is safe and well maintained. Maintenance and safety issues are addressed promptly. During the inspection, a drain in the garden was blocked. Action was taken on the same day to resolve the issue. Inspection report for children's home: SC473891 4 Staff respond sensitively to children who harm themselves. They seek to understand and recognise the reasons why the children harm themselves and the potential triggers for this, to reduce risk of further harm. Medical assistance and treatment are provided for children who require it. Staff update the child’s safety plans following incidents to outline clear and up-to-date strategies to reduce risk for children.

p.3

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

The staff have sometimes needed to use physical intervention to manage difficult situations. Physical intervention used has been proportionate and only implemented when preventative actions have been ineffective. Incident records are well maintained. Staff ensure children’s well-being is paramount following incidents and talk to them about the event. Incident records are shared with the children’s social workers, encouraging an open approach to safeguarding with the wider professional network.

p.4

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

When staff apply consequences for children’s poor behaviour, these are relevant, reasonable and proportionate. However, discussions with children and their views following the use of consequences are not consistently recorded. Children are not always supported to understand the impact of their behaviour on others. These are missed opportunities for children to learn from their actions, and to reduce the likelihood of similar incidents occurring in the future.

p.4

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

Staff respond appropriately to children who go missing from home. They look for the children and inform the relevant professionals, in line with agreed protocols. The staff support the children when they return. However, there is a lack of challenge from leaders to children’s local authorities to ensure that return home interviews are offered to children. As a result, there are missed opportunities to explore children’s reasons for going missing and how to better keep them safe in the future.

p.4

good

The registered manager has recently resigned and was not present during the inspection. Senior leaders have taken swift action to recruit a new manager, subject to employment checks. The deputy manager is currently managing the home in the interim.

p.4

good

Managers and senior leaders have not ensured sufficient oversight of the home and monitoring systems have been ineffective. There has been undue delay in the submission of several safeguarding notifications to Ofsted. On one occasion, a significant safeguarding notification was not submitted to Ofsted. This prevents effective regulatory oversight to ensure that appropriate actions are taken to protect children from harm.

p.4

good

Written assessments do not fully record the needs of children moving into the home. Known risks are not always recorded, and staff training needs are not identified. One child moved into the home for a short-term stay for two nights. No planning Inspection report for children's home: SC473891 5 assessment was completed for this child to ensure that their needs were compatible with those of the other child living at the home. Consequently, the other child displayed behaviour that had not been witnessed previously. This lack of effective assessment of children’s needs potentially undermines the ability of staff to meet the children’s needs individually and as a group.

p.4

good

Staff are not consistent in paying sufficient attention to detail in children’s records. Documents contain copied information. A document relating to one child contained sensitive information about another child’s previous placement.

p.5

good

The registered manager has not kept the home’s statement of purpose under review. The document has not been updated following staffing changes, including management arrangements. It does not state the range of needs of children the home can care for. As a result, the statement of purpose does not inform the planning process and consideration of the needs of children moving into the home.

p.5

good

The registered manager takes appropriate action to safeguard children. Allegations of harm from children are taken seriously. Relevant authorities and social workers are informed. However, management investigations are not consistent. One investigation demonstrated poor record-keeping and fact-finding. Children are not always informed of the outcomes of investigations. This has the potential to undermine their confidence in staff and their feeling that they are listened to.

p.5

good

Staff receive ongoing reflective supervision in their roles. They are supported with ongoing professional development, with training needs identified. Team meetings are held regularly. These enable wider information-sharing and reflection, improving the quality of care provided to children. Inspection report for children's home: SC473891 6

p.5

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.

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

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;

p.6

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;

p.6

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)(f)(h)) 15 April 2024

p.6

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.6

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a)) 15 April 2024 Inspection report for children's home: SC473891 7 The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

p.6

Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 15 April 2024

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

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)(i)(ii)(e)) 15 April 2024

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from home, they request that the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure any consequences used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider Inspection report for children's home: SC473891 8 community. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

p.7

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 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pilgrims Corner Limited

p.9

Children’s home details

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

p.9

Inspectors

Chris Warren, Social Care Inspector Rebecca Fisher, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC473891 10 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.

p.9

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10