Children's Home run by Care Afloat Ltd in Lancashire

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, the home was not judged . At the time of this interim inspection, the home was closed and had not taken any new admissions since the last inspection. Due to the home being closed and not providing care or accommodation for young people, the home was not judged on this occasion. The home is currently in the process of recruiting new staff to work at the home. Existing staff have been redeployed temporarily to other children’s homes until the home can be fully staffed and adequately resourced. The home is not habitable in its current state and it is in need of some minor repair work and redecoration. The home’s central heating is not working as the boiler isn’t working properly. The home’s development plan has not been reviewed for some time. Consequently, the recommendation from the previous inspection is repeated. Reports following the home’s external monitoring activities are not being sent to

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Ofsted each month, to ensure that Ofsted can monitor the home’s developments and activities. A requirement is, therefore, made in respect of this issue. The manager of the home has submitted an application for their registration with Ofsted. This will ensure that there are clear lines of delegation and accountability and effective arrangements for the day-to-day operation, leadership and management of the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for one young person who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is privately owned and managed.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 23/08/2016 Full Good 09/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 30/11/2015 Full Outstanding 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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

44: Independent person: visits and reports Ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month. The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to— (a) HMCI; (b) on request, the local authority for the area in which the home is located; (c) the placing authorities of children; (d) the registered provider and, if applicable, the registered manager; and (e) the responsible individual. (Regulation 44 (1)(7)) 10/04/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 Make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. This relates specifically to reviewing the home’s development plan, at least annually. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, paragraph 10.24, page 55)  The home must meet children’s basic day-to-day needs and physical necessities. Staff should seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value

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Recommendations

them as an individual. This relates specifically to ensuring that the home is adequately heated and the accommodation provided for young people is suitably equipped, well maintained, furnished and resourced. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, paragraph 3.7, page 15)

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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 that 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 0300 123 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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