Children's Home run by Care Afloat Ltd in Lancashire

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Outstanding at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has declined in effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young person placed at this home has experienced a number of issues since the last full inspection which appear to have been triggered by changes to his contact arrangements as agreed by his placing authority. The dramatic reduction of his contact with his family appears to have been the beginning of a downward spiral which has resulted in an almost complete disengagement from the placement.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young person’s engagement in education is currently minimal, from being quite good previously. He has no motivation to attend and confusion from the college over whether he should be awarded his bursary or not, has left him being rewarded for not attending and also has given him additional funds which he has misused by buying illegal substances.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Substance misuse is becoming a significant issue for the young person, fuelled by new associates that he currently spends almost all of his time with. Support from Addaction has been put in place but the young person declined to engage after the first session. Similarly he has disengaged from the therapeutic support that has been in place for him for a long period. Regular breaches of curfew have resulted in the police being called to the home and the young person being reported as missing on a number of occasions. The home have a robust system for responding to his missing episodes, and make every effort to locate him, although the young person does not engage in any meaningful work around the reason he goes missing.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young person is unhappy in the home. He reports feeling low, has self-harmed and openly says he no longer wants to be in placement. This makes it extremely difficult for staff to continue to support and engage him in the placement and their frustration and disappointment are evident. Key worker sessions are completed without the input of the young person and can be somewhat opinionated and negative. The young person is refusing to participate in any activities to develop his independence and therefore is not learning the necessary skills to equip him for adult life such as cooking, washing and maintaining hygiene. This results in him eating a poor diet and having poor personal hygiene which reflect his low mood and impact on his health. Driving lessons have been the one activity he has engaged in and he willingly participates and is developing his driving skills which is a positive step for his future.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The care staff team have remained consistent and stable offering the young person the opportunity to continue to build on the positive relationships he had developed, although he chooses not to do so. He continues to be offered activities and encouraged to pursue a healthy and active lifestyle.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager has been on extended leave for a period of more than six weeks now and although the deputy manager has stepped up to the role, having three homes to manage is a challenging task. As such, key areas have been prioritised but the previously outstanding level of performance and recording has not been possible to maintain. One specific area to be addressed is in ensuring any new risks identified for the young person are clearly communicated to the full staff team and are recorded in the young person’s risk assessment This ensures all staff working with the young person are fully appraised of his risks and therefore can better ensure his safety. A further area for improvement is in the timeliness of notification of serious incidents to the regulatory body, one notification was delayed by a period of more than two weeks and although this did not impact directly on the young person it prevents the regulator from monitoring the service

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The deputy manager has good internal monitoring systems in place with checks carried out weekly and collated into monthly reports. Monthly progress reports are sent to the young person’s social worker to ensure they are appraised of his progress. The monitoring activity is generally robust, and the deputy manager is aware of the difficulties in maintaining standards with a reduction of management support. The home continues to work in partnership with external agencies to provide support to the young person, albeit that he declines most of what is offered.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home had one requirement in the last full inspection which was to ensure that Ofsted were notified of any revisions to the statement of purpose and this has not yet been met and so is repeated in this interim inspection.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home have made extensive efforts to continue to engage and support the young person but these have been unsuccessful. The judgement of declined effectiveness relates to the very poor progress of the young person in placement with the addition of a dip in the quality of the home’s practice and recording that has gone unchecked due to the absence of the registered manager.

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Information about this children's home

This home is one of a number of children’s homes run by a private company. The home provides care and accommodation to one young person of either gender between the ages of 11 and 17 who may be suffering from emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

25/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, 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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision (16 (3)(b)) 31/03/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious (40(4)(b)) 31/03/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person must ensure that the homes day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and protect each child effectively from harm. Specifically that any new risks to a young person are clearly communicated to the full staff team and that their risk assessment is updated at the first opportunity. (2)(b) 31/03/2016

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service 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. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . 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,

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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