Children's Home run by Pinnacle Care NW Ltd in St Helens

Inspection report for children's home: 2847722 1 Registered provider: Pinnacle Care NW Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children's home

The home is run by a private organisation and provides care for one child who experiences social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, no child was living at the home.

p.1

Information about this children's home

This home was registered with Ofsted in July 2025. The home has not had a registered manager since November 2025. A new manager is in place and has applied to register.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

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.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 18 November 2025

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

p.1

Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 18 and 19 November 2025. Due to the serious and widespread safeguarding failures and poor leadership and management of the home, Ofsted issued a notice suspending the registration of the home. A monitoring visit was carried out on 7 January 2026 to monitor the provider's Inspection report for children's home: 2847722 2 compliance with the suspension notice and any action taken to address the shortfalls outlined in the notice. The provider complied with the suspension notice, and no children were moved into the home. The provider had taken sufficient action to manage and reduce the risk of harm to children. Inspection report for children's home: 2847722 3

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/11/2025 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: 2847722 4

p.3

Summary of findings

There have been no children living at the home or staff working there for some time. Action is needed to address areas identified in a recent fire risk assessment of the home to ensure that it is safe. Improvements are also required to ensure that the home is clean and welcoming for children.

p.4

Summary of findings

There have been further changes to leadership and management, which impacts on the development of the home and stability for the staff team.

p.4

Summary of findings

There is a new manager in place who has identified areas for improvement. He has developed documentation and processes to ensure that there is better planning for children moving to the home and to maintain positive practice for staff.

p.4

improvement to be good

There have been no children living at the home since November 2025.

p.4

improvement to be good

The home environment is tired and has not been well maintained. The decoration of the home lacks warmth, meaning it is not welcoming for children. The manager has proposed a detailed plan to bring the environment back to where he expects it to be, and some redecoration has begun.

p.4

improvement to be good

The manager has developed a new children's guide. It is attractive and written in a child- friendly way. It provides relevant information about the home and staff to support children's understanding of what to expect.

p.4

improvement to be good

The manager has developed new paperwork and processes to support improvements to the referral process and care planning.

p.4

improvement to be good

Actions identified in a fire risk assessment of the home have not been addressed. The assessment advises that actions required to remove or reduce the risk of harm should be actioned before the property is occupied. Leaders responded to this during the inspection by putting a plan in place. This is subject to a compliance notice.

p.4

improvement to be good

There are elements of the home that require further consideration and improvement to ensure that they are suitable for children. This includes a staircase and handrail to the first-floor landing, which could present a risk to children, and a large section of the rear garden, which is significantly overgrown. Inspection report for children's home: 2847722 5 The manager has put new tools and resources in place to support staff development around safeguarding practice and whistleblowing. This includes visual aids and flow charts to ensure that information is easy for staff to access and understand.

p.4

improvement to be good

There are safer recruitment practices in place to ensure that children are cared for only by those who are safe to do so.

p.5

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

There continues to be instability with further changes to the leadership and management of the home. There is no current registered manager in place. The proposed responsible individual named on Ofsted systems is incorrect. This person informed Ofsted that she plans to withdraw her application. However, this has not been received by Ofsted.

p.5

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

There is a new responsible individual in post. She is an experienced responsible individual who was previously in this role. However, these changes have impacted on stability, oversight and the development of the home. Leaders have not had robust oversight to ensure that key actions identified around risks in the home environment are addressed in a timely way.

p.5

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

The new manager has plans in place to improve the home both around its appearance and how it is run. He is enthusiastic and plans to engage the team fully in the running of the home going forward.

p.5

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

A staff team has been recruited, with one vacancy remaining. Staff, including a number who are new to the role, are working in other homes to build their experience. Staff continue to receive training as part of their induction and through an online training hub. The manager is working with the therapist who has completed training and will continue to provide support and guidance to the team to meet children's needs.

p.5

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

The manager has introduced new templates for team meetings and supervisions to ensure that staff are supported and encouraged to reflect on their practice. The manager plans to complete team-building within team meetings to support the development of the team.

p.5

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

The statement of purpose for the home does not include information about the experience of staff or when they gained relevant qualifications.

p.5

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

A review of the quality of care provided at the home was completed by the previous manager. It does not include any actions that the manager considers necessary to improve or maintain the quality of care. Inspection report for children's home: 2847722 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

* After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

p.6

Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children's home.

p.6

Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to the home—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (1)(a) (2)(b))

p.6

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that shortfalls identified in the recent fire risk assessment are rectified appropriately. 9 August 2026

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (2)(c)(i)) 9 August 2026

p.6

Requirement Due date

satisfy the requirements in paragraph (5)(a) to (c); and

p.6

Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26 (7)(a)(b)) 31 August 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2847722 7 In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

p.6

Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (2)(c)) 31 August 2026

p.7

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.

p.7

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))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This requirement is remade. 9 August 2026

p.7

Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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: 2847722 8

p.7

Children's home details

Registered provider: Pinnacle Care NW Ltd

p.8

Children's home details

Registered provider address: Sinclair Accounting Co Ltd, 300 St. Marys Road, Garston, Liverpool L19 0NQ

p.8

Inspector

Andrea Foreman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2847722 9 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.

p.8

Inspector

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 .

p.9

Inspector

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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9