Children's Home run by PSS Care Group Limited in Essex

Inspection report for children’s home: 2571480 1 Registered provider: PSS Care Group 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

This home opened in January 2020 and provides care for up to five children who have experienced trauma. It is run by a private organisation. The home has been divided into two living spaces and is currently providing one solo placement.

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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

Date of last inspection: 15 January 2025

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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: 2571480 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/01/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2571480 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have lived at the home. One child recently moved out as part of a planned move. At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home. The child spoke to the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote positive endings for children when they are moving on. The child who moved out had a leaving meal with staff and staff also visited them at their new home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand how to communicate with children effectively. They use a therapeutic model to guide their practice. Staff adapt the model to meet the needs of children. Staff are opportunistic in their approach, and they set achievable targets for children. They celebrate children’s achievements. This has helped to increase the children’s confidence and independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are attuned to the children’s emotional needs. A therapist visits the home weekly, offering additional guidance and support for staff. This helps them in offering empathetic and nurturing care. Children are supported by staff to develop their own strategies to manage frustrations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living at the home has made good progress. Staff are sensitive to the child’s preferred gender identity. Staff support them to feel accepted and confident about their personal identity. This has helped the child form stable and trusting relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are creative in offering opportunities to explore children’s individual interests and try new experiences. These include visiting areas of interest in London, going away on holiday and researching which kind of bicycle will be best suited to their needs. Children enjoy playing with the dogs that regularly visit the home. These opportunities help children to create positive memories. Staff also collect memorabilia for children. This helps them to reflect on important events and accomplishments over time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has at the home made significant progress from their starting point with their education. Managers and staff work effectively with the virtual school and the alternative education provider. The child has a bespoke timetable that reflects their interests. One professional said, ‘I never thought the amount of progress they have made would be possible.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in helping children maintain relationships with their families. Staff carefully consider what support children may need before and after family visits. One child had birthday celebrations at the home. Staff carefully planned how the child’s family could celebrate their birthday at the home in keeping with the child’s wishes and feelings. Family and professionals consistently provided positive feedback about the quality of care provided by staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2571480 4 The home is generally well furnished, with ample space for the child to enjoy. However, several walls within communal areas are marked and some carpets are stained. This detracts from the homely environment.

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

Staff use well-thought-out approaches to help children understand risks and reflect on their experiences. Staff regularly monitor, discuss and review children’s support plans. As a result, children are very well understood and receive individualised support.

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

Staff provide children with clear and helpful boundaries. On occasion, staff use natural consequences with children as part of a wider approach to behaviour management. The manager reviews and monitors these interventions to ensure that they remain effective.

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

Missing-from-home incidents are managed well. Staff take appropriate action to escalate concerns and search for children. Staff share concerns with professionals, including the local police to help protect children. This approach to multi-agency working has helped to reduce the frequency of incidents and it has supported referrals being made to appropriate agencies.

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

All staff have undertaken safeguarding training. They can talk confidently through the safeguarding procedures. Staff can reflect on when practice has fallen short of expectations, and they take a learning approach to this. Careful and detailed management of allegations and whistle-blowing is demonstrated.

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

Staff work closely with external health agencies to ensure that the children’s health needs are met. For the child at the home, when they struggle with their health, staff take effective action to share concerns and act quickly on advice. However, staff have not prepared the child to fully understand what healthy and safe romantic relationships might look like.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced registered manager. He is in the process of completing his management qualification. The registered manager is committed to achieving positive experiences and outcomes for children. The registered manager has plans to step down as he has other commitments across the service. A new manager has recently submitted her application to register with Ofsted. Both managers were present throughout the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager enjoys taking part in activities with children in keeping with their hobbies and interests. Children’s social skills have developed due to having positive role models.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers give careful consideration to any new children who might move in. Managers have sought the views of the child already living at the home about who they would like Inspection report for children’s home: 2571480 5 to live with. This helps children to feel valued and at the centre of important decisions made about their future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers use effective systems for auditing and monitoring records. This helps them identify and address areas requiring further exploration. Monitoring and review systems have helped managers understand how children’s needs have changed and how they can adapt to that.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff are proud of their work and are committed to supporting children. However, at times, morale is impacted by staff leaving. Remaining staff work extra shifts to help minimise disruption to children. Managers are in the process of recruiting more staff. This will help bring a sense of stability for both staff and children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safer recruitment processes are followed. New staff benefit from helpful inductions, which include comprehensive training. For existing staff, additional training is provided in line with the children’s specific needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have responded appropriately to incidents, although they have not always notified Ofsted in a timely manner. This limits Ofsted’s ability to monitor incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers make sure reports detailing the use of physical intervention are written in detail and include clear rationale for the intervention. Children are given the opportunity to reflect on incidents. However, staff are not routinely offered conversations after the event, and this means learning is not captured and used to inform future practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from reflective supervision sessions. However, not all staff have their practice annually appraised. This means that opportunities for continuous professional development may have been missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. The review of the quality-of-care report includes analysis of the impact to children of the care delivered. However, the report was submitted to Ofsted late.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection have been met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2571480 6

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Statutory requirement

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 notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)). 1 September 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are debriefed in the event physical intervention is used. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person should ensure that staff offer children advice, support and guidance on healthy and safe relationships. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.18)  The registered person should ensure that staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should ensure that the decoration of the home is maintained to a good standard and that carpets are clean. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the quality of care report is generated at least every 6 months. The report should then be shared without delay with Ofsted and the placing authority for all children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.3)

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2571480 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: PSS Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Laser Quay, Culpeper close, Rochester, Kent ME2 4HU

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Inspector

Lexi Mitchell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2571480 8 regulates 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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