Children's home run by Lancashire County Council in Preston

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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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

This home was judged outstanding at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

Young people who use this service continue to receive an excellent standard of individualised support. The feedback received from young people, parents and external professionals is extremely positive. One parent commented that the service had exceeded all her expectations and said that she felt completely confident in the registered manager and staff to care for her chid in a safe and responsive manner. A social worker described the registered manager and staff as ‘totally child-focused’ and ‘very forward thinking’.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

Young people continue to make very good progress. One young person who has some specific complex behavioural needs has settled well into the service without any significant incidents. He has benefited from consistent and positive staff support, which has enabled him to use a short-break service successfully for the first time. This young person’s parent and social worker were both very complimentary about the service and spoke highly of the registered manager and staff.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

Several young people are at the age when they will soon be making the transition to adult services. As a result, the home is focusing on transition work and how each young person should be supported to take this step. One young person has made excellent progress and, due to support from staff, is now able to travel to college independently. This young person’s social worker felt that staff at the home had been central to the young person’s success.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

The home continues to be managed effectively by a highly committed registered manager who is clearly passionate about the standard of care young people receive. Feedback received from parents, staff members and external professionals is consistently excellent. The management team has been enhanced through the permanent appointment of two assistant managers. Staff spoken with felt well supported and described a positive and open culture.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

Formal feedback has been sought from parents and young people regarding how they felt the merger of this service with another in the area was managed. The results of this survey demonstrate that parents and young people felt well supported and fully included in the process. One parent wrote, ‘The transition has gone smoothly. We have not noticed any difference to the excellent care provision.’

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

The registered manager and staff continue to work in a positive manner with external agencies and other services. They have recently been approached and requested to support staff in another service by sharing their good practice in relation to positive behaviour support. A social worker commented, ‘Strengths of the home are the skills in working with others and excellent communication.’

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

The registered manager and staff continue to look at ways in which the service can be developed. For example, staff have recently developed a new working policy in relation to the provision of intimate personal care. The policy is strongly focused on the promotion of young people’s privacy and dignity and safeguarding. It was pleasing to note that young people had been involved in the development of the policy and their views were included within it.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

The registered manager continues to monitor safety and quality across the service and takes action when necessary to ensure that young people’s well-being is protected. A recent example of action taken to safeguard young people was that of the assistant manager addressing some concerns with a young person’s school regarding the management of medication.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

Records confirmed that there had been no adverse incidents at the home since the last inspection and no incidents when staff had been required to physically intervene or restrain a young person. No safeguarding concerns have been identified and no complaints have been made about the service.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

One recommendation made at the last inspection, in relation to the recording of fire drill training for staff, was confirmed as being addressed. In addition, the registered manager continues to look for further developments and changes he could make at the home and, as a result, enhanced the arrangements for fire drill training and liaison with the local fire service. This demonstrates the registered manager’s positive approach to continuous improvement.

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides short-break care and accommodation for up to six children with learning disabilities and physical disabilities. The home is operated by a local authority. The home is fully equipped to meet the needs of the children using this short-break service.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 13/09/2016 Full Outstanding 01/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/10/2015 Full Outstanding 27/02/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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