Children's Home run by PIC Children’s Services in St Helens

Inspection report for children’s home: SC022442 1 SC022442 Registered provider: PIC Children’s Services

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for one child who experiences social and/or emotional difficulties. One child was living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has submitted her application to register with Ofsted.

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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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

This home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 7 and 8 May 2024. Inspectors identified serious concerns in relation to safeguarding practices and ineffective leadership and management arrangements. Inspection report for children’s home: SC022442 2 Following the inspection, two compliance notices were issued under Section 22A of the Care Standards Act, under regulation 12, the protection of children standard, and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit took place on 4 July 2024 to monitor action taken by the provider in meeting the steps in the compliance notices.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A case review was held following the visit, at which it was decided that the provider had taken sufficient action to meet the compliance notices. Inspection report for children’s home: SC022442 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/05/2024 Full Inadequate 20/04/2023 Full Good 22/11/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/09/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: SC022442 4

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improvement to be good

The child living in the home remains settled and happy. However, support is not in place to meet all their needs. As a result, progress in some areas is limited for the child.

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improvement to be good

The child is now cared for by a stable staff team. This has helped them to develop relationships with staff in the home. The child maintains a particularly strong relationship with one member of staff. This supports them to overcome barriers in expressing emotions resulting from their previous experiences.

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improvement to be good

The child is supported to maintain good physical health. Staff provide the child with opportunities to engage in a variety of physical activities in the community. Staff spend time with the child to develop weekly planners, based on the child’s wishes and interests. However, the child’s engagement with activities is sporadic. Records for the child do not demonstrate that staff support the child to overcome barriers to engagement with activities.

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improvement to be good

The child is now enrolled in college following a long time out of education. Staff understand the barriers for the child in attending education and provide support to overcome them.

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improvement to be good

Staff now engage the child in meaningful work on a more frequent basis. This helps the child to express emotions on topics such as trauma and grief. However, work has not been undertaken on all topics that are relevant to the child. This means that the child has not received support to reduce their use of e-cigarettes or to promote engagement in activities. This was a raised as a requirement at the last inspection and is restated.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the child to spend time with family and friends. However, plans are not in place to manage potential risks for the child when spending time with family members they have not seen for a significant length of time. Furthermore, plans for the child do not include strategies to manage friendships that impact on the child’s safety. Staff advocate on behalf of the child when restrictions are imposed on arrangements to spend time with their siblings in the community. As a result, arrangements are in place that the child is happy with.

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improvement to be good

Action to address the child’s use of e-cigarettes is not effective. Daily trackers help staff to monitor the child’s daily use. However, plans for the child do not include guidance or strategies to manage this. A lack of managerial oversight means there are missed opportunities to identify strategies to support the child to reduce their use. Staff do not provide support through direct work with the child to address the associated risks. Action Inspection report for children’s home: SC022442 5 is not taken when the child has e-cigarettes in the home. On one occasion, staff gave the child money, knowing it would be used to purchase an e-cigarette. The manager took action to address this with the individual member of staff.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of challenging behaviour in the home have reduced. Room searches are carried out following incidents of substance misuse and consequences are imposed to reduce future risk. However, staff lack professional curiosity when the child develops new relationships in the community. Staff do not identify when relationships are inappropriate. Consistent oversight of incidents by the manager means that shortfalls are identified and action is taken.

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improvement to be good

There have not been any incidents of the child going missing from the home. However, the child’s plans do not include all relevant information to support staff in locating the child if they do go missing.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the child’s individual risks and needs. However, risk assessments and behaviour support plans do not identify all known risks. Furthermore, records have not been consistently updated following incidents.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote positive behaviour by using incentives. The child has opportunities to receive financial rewards every day by completing specific tasks. However, alternative strategies are not considered when these incentives are not effective. Furthermore, financial rewards mean the child can purchase e-cigarettes on a routine basis.

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

The current manager of the home is new to the role. . She is supported well in the role by senior leaders and managers. Staff say that overall support has improved in the home since the manager has been in post. She has worked hard to provide stability in the home for the child.

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

Oversight of the care provided to the child has improved. The implementation of a manager’s monitoring tool means that the manager can monitor staff practice and ensure tasks are completed promptly. Safeguarding trackers are in place to monitor incidents and safeguarding concerns. This helps the manager to ensure that all incidents are managed and recorded appropriately. However, the manager has not taken sufficient action to ensure that up-to-date local authority care plans and documents are on file for the child. This was a raised as a requirement at the last inspection and is restated.

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

Staff now benefit from regular supervision. Team meetings provide staff with opportunities to reflect on their practice and identify further areas of support for the child. Bespoke workshops enhance the staff’s knowledge and understanding of relevant topics. The use of quizzes supports the manager to ensure that staff have improved their knowledge and understanding in specific areas. All staff are now trained on topics relevant to the child’s individual needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC022442 6 The manager takes prompt action to address shortfalls in staff practice. These are addressed by the manager on an individual basis with staff. Action is taken to provide additional support to staff through personal improvement plans when issues are identified with their practice or conduct in the home.

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

Workforce development plans are detailed. However, they lack evaluation of areas for development and the action required to rectify shortfalls. Furthermore, action has not been taken to update the home’s statement of purpose to include details of staff qualifications. This was a raised as a requirement at the last inspection and is restated. Inspection report for children’s home: SC022442 7

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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 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 that staff—

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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 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that the child’s records include all known risks, are updated following incidents and include clear guidance and strategies for staff to follow to manage risks. 16 October 2024

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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 promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 16 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC022442 8 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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that there is oversight of all work completed with the child, that records are completed in full and signed by the author and that development plans include evaluation and analysis.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (2)(i)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that the staff team provides the child with focused work and sessions to address risks and needs. Leaders and managers must have oversight of the work undertaken with the child and records must be maintained to reflect the support provided. 16 October 2024

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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

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 (c)) 16 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC022442 9 Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that all up-to- date local authority plans and documents are on file and that concerns are escalated when documents are not received within appropriate timescales.

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

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

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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))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that the statement of purpose includes all staff’s qualifications and experience. 16 October 2024

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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: SC022442 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: PIC Children’s Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: PIC Children’s Services Ltd, 2 North Street, Haydock, St Helens WA11 0TW

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Inspector

Claire Hobbs, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC022442 11 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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