Children's home run by PCF Residential Childcare Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2503031 1 Registered provider: PCF Residential Childcare Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to three children who may experience emotional and social difficulties. A private company runs the home.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection, a new manager has been appointed. He is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2503031 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/04/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/10/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2503031 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, two children are living at the home. One child has lived at the home for some time. Another child has recently moved in. Although one child finds it more difficult, they have both developed positive relationships with staff. Children feel safe to share their worries and concerns and seek out support when they need it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made good progress as a result of the care they receive. One child has made good progress in education, is developing their independence and is building positive relationships with their family. Another child who has experienced significant trauma is being provided with the stability they need to make progress socially and emotionally. This is helping to keep them safer.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with positive experiences. They explore children’s interests to help increase their enjoyment of activities. Both children are supported to go horse riding each week. For one child, this is providing a therapeutic opportunity for the first time. Other experiences children have enjoyed include baking and visiting cat cafés and local attractions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child is in full-time education and has good attendance. The other child, who does not attend school, has received creative educational support from the staff in the home. This is tailored to their individual needs. Managers are working with the local authority to find the most appropriate educational provision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote family relationships and keep families involved in children’s care. Staff work collaboratively with families and professionals to ensure that children have the support network that they require. One family member gave very positive feedback of her experience of the staff and the care they provide for her child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to share their views, wishes and feelings. The manager has good oversight, ensuring that children have a range of opportunities to express their views and participate in their care. They are also helped to understand how their views, wishes and feelings are responded to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When one child moved into the home, not enough professional curiosity was used to ensure a robust assessment of the staff’s ability to meet their needs. Once further information was received and understood, there was a proactive response to ensure that the child was appropriately supported and risks were managed. There has been a robust reflection of the referral and care planning process to prevent this from occurring again. Inspection report for children's home: 2503031 4

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

Children’s risks and behaviours are well understood by staff. This enables them to keep children safer and promote their well-being. Risk management plans are thorough, regularly updated and provide guidance for staff, which they implement when needed.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff respond effectively. Collaborative working with safeguarding agencies and family members helps to ensure that children are located quickly. Reflective discussions take place with children when they return home so that their views are heard and to reduce the risk of children going missing from home again.

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

Children benefit from clear and consistent rules and boundaries. Managers reflect on the effectiveness of behaviour management approaches. This has informed a more therapeutic approach and has subsequently had a positive impact on children’s progress. Physical intervention is only used as a last resort.

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

Staff support children to take age-appropriate risks in line with their care plans and to develop independence skills. Managers have reflected on strategies and approaches to care support, measured risk-taking and education rather than a restrictive approach that isolates children from their peers. This approach has contributed to one child becoming safer during online interactions.

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

Staff help children to understand risks through conversations. This occurs both naturally and also in response to specific situations as they arise. These sessions support children to be reflective and help them develop skills to keep themselves safer now and in the future. This has helped one child to understand risks of self-harm and feel safe to talk to staff about these experiences.

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

There has been an isolated yet significant incident. An oversight in the monitoring of bedroom door alarms resulted in two children going missing from the home during the night. The responsible individual took action to understand how this happened. The response has been robust, thorough and reflective. There has been significant learning for the team to reduce the risk of reoccurrence.

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

Managers liaise with professionals appropriately when allegations are raised. They take action to understand learning that can be applied in the future. Concerns about staff practice are investigated appropriately so that managers can establish the facts and staff are able to reflect on practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The provider has taken steps to recruit managers in a timely way. However, those recruited have left before the point of interview. In addition to this, the turnover of responsible individuals has also been high. This means that the children and staff have not always had the consistency and continuity in leadership that they need. Although a Inspection report for children's home: 2503031 5 core team of staff have remained, children have expressed anxieties around new people coming into their home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

A new responsible individual was appointed in May 2024, and a new manager has been in post for five weeks at the time of this inspection. Under their leadership, the home is making noticeable progress, and they have an excellent understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. In addition, they understand the children’s needs and progress well, and they have introduced new ideas that have supported their progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are positive about the support in place from the new management team. Staff development and progression are central to keeping the team members motivated and helping them to better understand their role in delivering good care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has been a complete overhaul of monitoring systems, and this is improving the oversight of children’s progress and the care that they receive. The responsible individual has created ambitious action plans to support the new manager and maintain a focus on the continual improvement of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are given training opportunities that are relevant to children’s needs. However, staff do not always complete refresher training in a timely manner. In addition, the new manager is supervising staff, but it is not clear if the manager has received the relevant training to do this effectively over time. Changes in management in the home have contributed to some of these shortfalls. There are clear plans in place to support development in this area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive regular supervision with a focus on safeguarding, reflection and development. However, although a consistent pool of agency staff has been used in the home, they have not received supervision that could support consistency and continuity of care for children. The responsible individual has recognised the importance of this and has plans in place to review the supervision policy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff do not always complete records to a good quality. At the time of the inspection, the manager has identified this and is already working with staff to improve the quality of their recording. A recommendation is made to ensure this work continues. Inspection report for children's home: 2503031 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional. In particular, the registered person should ensure that those delivering supervision have had the appropriate training and that all staff receive training in line with the provider’s supervision policy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs. In particular, greater professional curiosity should be used during the referral process. (‘Guide to the Children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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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: 2503031 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: PCF Residential Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Brook House, Moss Grove, Kingswinford, West Midlands DY6 9HS

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Inspector

Natasha Skinner, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2503031 8 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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