Children's Home run by Pinnacle Care Provisions Ltd in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 1 Registered provider: Pinnacle Care Provisions Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home is operated by a private organisation. The home provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspection started on 1 October 2024. Inspectors returned on 25 October 2024 to gather additional evidence in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 29 November 2023

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/11/2023 Full good 07/09/2022 Full requires improvement to be good 21/06/2022 Full inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s overall progress and experiences have been adversely affected by poor safeguarding practices and ineffective leadership and management.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Since the previous inspection, leaders and managers have made some improvements in relation to care planning. Leaders and managers ensure that they have relevant information from children’s placing authorities. This helps to improve staff’s knowledge in relation to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Two children have moved out of the home since the last inspection. Both children experienced moves out of the home following an increase in known risks. Leaders, managers, and staff were unable to manage these risks. As a result, one child experienced an unplanned ending. This does not ensure that all children have positive endings to their time living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children experience inconsistent care from staff. Staff do not ensure that children have routines or boundaries in place. Therefore, children are not helped to understand what is expected of them. This has led to an increase in significant safeguarding incidents. This has affected children’s daily care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children do not attend education in line with their individual plans. Leaders and managers work with other professionals to identify suitable education provision. However, when children are not attending formal education, staff do not engage children in informal learning in the home. Staff do not provide children with routines which would support them to return to education. As a result, children do not make progress with their education. A requirement was made in respect of this at the last inspection. Leaders, managers, and staff have not taken sufficient action to address this. Therefore, this has been restated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff encourage children to attend routine health appointments. However, this is ineffective because children do not receive the necessary healthcare in line with their individual needs. This includes therapeutic support. When children decline to take their prescribed medication, staff do not always seek medical advice to address this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff try to build relationships with children by investing time with them. Staff celebrate children’s achievements, which helps to build children’s confidence. Staff provide children with opportunities to share their views about the care they receive. However, children do not always feel that their views are taken seriously. For example, one child told staff that they were unsafe living in the local area. This child described displaying poor behaviour so they could move out of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff support children to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. This helps children to maintain a sense of belonging and build on their support networks Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 4 for the future. Professionals and family speak positively of the staff team. One child’s parent stated that the staff members ‘feel like family.’

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

There are serious failures that mean children are not protected. One child was exposed to emotional harm due to inadequate safeguarding practices.

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

There has been an escalation of safeguarding incidents, including fire-setting, significant damage to the home environment and assaults against staff. Staff endeavour to manage some incidents safely. However, despite the escalating risks, leaders and managers have not taken sufficient action to consistently safeguard children or staff.

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

Leaders and managers do not always act on safeguarding incidents or information. As a result, staff do not understand their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. For example, staff did not report concerns about the safety of a child to the relevant professionals. This prevents relevant agencies from assessing risk and taking steps to safeguard children. Staff do not understand the risk to one child when they are out in the community. As a result, the child was unsafe and there was an increase in risk-taking behaviours.

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

Despite staff’s attempts to manage incidents, they do not have the skills to manage known risks for children. Staff contact the police for support in managing children’s behaviour. This places children at risk of criminalisation. One member of staff described feeling ‘terrified’ when a serious incident occurred. Staff say they felt unable to keep one child safe. Despite this, leaders and managers do not take decisive action to safeguard children or staff. This has left staff and the child in unsafe situations.

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

Managers do not ensure that staff receive clear guidance on the best way to support children. Strategies in children’s risk assessments are not clear. This has meant that some known risks have not been managed. For example, one child had access to smoking paraphernalia, which meant the child was able to continue to smoke in the home.

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

Staff do not help children understand their vulnerabilities or learn strategies to stay safe. For example, when there are concerns around smoking and exploitation, staff have lacked professional curiosity to discuss this and educate the child.

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

The premises are not maintained to be a safe environment for children to live in. Not all known information is considered in the fire risk assessment. Despite one child being known to light fires, systems in place to manage this risk are not in working order.

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

Leaders and managers have failed to notify Ofsted when there have been serious incidents in the home. This means that the regulator is not provided with an accurate overview of safeguarding practice in the home.

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

Safer recruitment processes are not consistently followed. This means that children could be at harm from unsafe adults. Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leadership and management are poor and ineffective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not have sufficient oversight of staff practice or the impact this has on children’s progress and experiences. Leaders and managers do not take decisive action to address this. This means that unsafe practice has been unchallenged and allowed to continue. This places children at risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have failed to take action to address shortfalls in staff practice. This has allowed unsafe practice to continue and does not support staff to understand what is expected of them. For example, one member of staff described how they deliberately antagonised a child, so that any violence was directed at them. This places children and staff at risk of significant harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers ensure that staff access training to meet the specific needs of the individual children in their care. Leaders and managers try to support staff’s well-being following significant incidents. However, some staff have continued to work while feeling unsafe and unsupported. This impacts on staff morale and therefore children’s daily care. Some staff say they feel unable to use the whistle-blowing processes to raise concerns about staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual works shifts in the home when there are not enough staff. This means that children are cared for by an adult they know. Risk assessments are in place to manage this, although they are not followed. This does not support safe practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have working relationships with other professionals, which builds a team around the child approach. However, leaders and managers have not sufficiently challenged other professionals when children’s needs are not met. This has contributed to one child feeling unsafe and risks increasing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Despite this, some staff say they enjoy working in the home and feel supported by managers. Staff have supervision and team meetings, which provide opportunities for learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not ensure that children’s records accurately reflect their experiences. Management oversight of children’s records is poor. This is a missed opportunity to identify learning and develop staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered persons 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 persons 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

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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

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

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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; and

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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)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that all known information relating to shortfalls in fire safety at the home is considered in the fire risk assessment. 15 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 7 This also relates to the registered person ensuring that all fire doors and smoke alarms are in working order. Ensure that health and safety monitoring systems are reviewed. Any risks identified in the physical environment of the home must be addressed.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the registered person ensuring that staff have the skills and knowledge to identify and act on signs that a child is at risk of harm, and to ensuring that staff take effective action to safeguard children.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the registered person ensuring that all staff understand whistle-blowing procedures.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the registered person ensuring that managers and staff challenge and follow the escalation policy if other agencies are not meeting children’s needs.

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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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications, and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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 15 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 8 and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; and

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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)(a)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that management monitoring and review systems are effective.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the registered person ensuring that the systems in place enable them to have effective oversight of staff practice and the impact this has on children’s experiences.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the managers ensuring that when shortfalls are identified in staff practice, action is taken to enable staff to learn, develop and improve their practice.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the registered person ensuring that relevant professionals are informed when there are concerns that staff have failed to safeguard children.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the registered person ensuring that staff risk assessments are followed and active.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the registered person ensuring that when staff risk assessments are in place, these are reviewed and updated as required.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the registered person ensuring that all staff have the knowledge, skills, experience, and ability to meet the assessed needs of each child.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; 6 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 9 support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally; and

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that safer recruitment checks are adhered to before staff start working in the home. 6 January 2025

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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

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person notifying Ofsted of any incidents which they consider to be serious. 6 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 10 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: 2653112 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pinnacle Care Provisions Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 399 Hollins Road, Oldham OL8 3BD

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Inspectors

Nicola Rutherford, Social Care Inspector Sally Griffiths, Social Care Inspector Judith Birchall, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2653112 12 and inspects 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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