Children's Home run by Lancashire County Council 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, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness . The registered person has reviewed and updated the home’s statement of purpose and so has met the one requirement raised at the last inspection. This document now accurately reflects the aims and objectives of the service. Action has also been taken to address two out of three recommendations raised at the last inspection. The complaints leaflet now contains accurate and up-to-date information about the Children’s Commissioner and Ofsted. A mistake at the printers resulted in the telephone number for Ofsted being omitted. The registered manager has rectified this by hand so that young people have all the relevant contact details, should they need to use them. Additional references have been sourced for an agency worker, reflecting more robust employment practice. Improvements to external monitoring systems have not gone far enough. A change

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

in format allows for more detail. However, the visitor sometimes lists events that happen in the home and is not always clear about what these refer to, or how well the staff respond to them. Text that is copied and pasted from one report to another is unhelpful and dilutes the quality of reports. One report provides inaccurate information about missing-from-home interviews, stating that they are up to date, when in fact they were not fully completed. A recommendation made at the last inspection is repeated, to bring greater consistency in the quality of external monitoring. Managers and staff continue to safeguard young people well. They respond promptly and efficiently to concerns that arise. Quick thinking by a member of staff enabled them to give a vital piece of information to the police. This led to a police investigation into concerns about possible child sexual exploitation. Managers and staff liaise extremely well with partner agencies, and this helps to protect young

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

people from harm. Staff support young people who are at risk from child sexual exploitation well. They talk to young people about the risks and advise them on how to keep safe. Staff also put in boundaries to help young people to manage safely when they are out in the community with their friends. In addition, they ensure that young people access specialist support and advice to further reduce the risks. Staff have worked tirelessly to collate information about who young people are friends with, where their friends live and where young people spend time when they are out of the home. This information informs risk assessments and safety plans, which promote young people’s safety and welfare. When young people go missing, records indicate that staff make concerted efforts to locate young people and ensure their safe return. Missing episodes for one young person have significantly reduced since his admission to the home. For

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

example, from January to June 2016 the young person went missing 34 times. Since moving into the home at the end of July 2016, he has gone missing or been absent from the home 11 times. This shows that staff work well with young people, and risks reduce over time. When placing authority social workers are remiss in their responsibilities, the registered manager escalates his concerns about this. For example, not all young people’s social workers complete missing-from-home interviews in a timely way, despite being requested to do so. The responsible individual is now liaising with senior managers in the authority to bring about change. Parents continue to have confidence in the service, and have made the following comments:  ‘[The home] is the best placement [my son] has been in. He has settled in and this tells me something is right.’  The staff are ‘patient and tolerant’ and ‘kind, caring and go the extra mile.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

 ‘The staff always keep me informed.’  Because of the support of staff, ‘[X] is doing as well as she can.’ Young people report being happy. One young person told the inspector that there is nothing about the home that he wants to improve. An independent reviewing officer who recently chaired a safeguarding meeting said: ‘It is clear that the social worker and staff are doing a great job. [X] clearly has a good relationship with her social worker and the staff, and this is undoubtedly down to the hard work you have all put in.’ This feedback shows that young people receive good standards of care from staff who know them well. Managers and staff remain committed to young people. They provide them with consistency and stability. Positive relationships help young people to build trust and mutual respect. For example, one member of staff came in on his day off to take a young person for an interview. The young person was clearly pleased that the

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

member of staff had taken the time to do this for him. Young people’s participation in education has improved in relation to their individual starting points. One young person has been shortlisted for a PROUD award because she has re-engaged with education. Young people’s attendance does fluctuate, and this is an ongoing challenge for staff in their support of young people. All young people have bespoke learning programmes to suit their individual and complex needs. All young people are working towards GCSEs or functional skills exams. Given their education histories, this represents good progress. Furthermore, young people are beginning to develop aspirations for their futures. For example, one young person hopes to join the army and has successfully attended his first interview in the recruitment process. Some young people do not make progress with all aspects of their health. For example, two young people have still not attended the dentist despite repeated

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

appointments being made for them. Some young people require some outstanding childhood immunisations. It is not clear what work staff do with young people to prepare them for health appointments to minimise the risk of their refusing to attend. Furthermore, all the young people smoke, and not enough is being done to encourage them to stop. A recommendation is raised so that staff fully support young people to maintain good health. Young people live in an environment that is clean, homely and comfortable. Staff are in the process of displaying more photographs to reflect the good times that young people have, including a recent short break to London. Some aspects of the home environment require improvement. Plans have been approved to modernise the bathrooms, and this is a welcome development. One young person’s bedroom window handle is broken, and there is no natural ventilation. Although the manager has requested that the window is repaired, this

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

has still to be completed. The conservatory roof has broken tiles that need replacing. Furthermore, the inspector noted that one young person has been smoking in his bedroom because of the large number of cigarette ends on the roof outside his window. This presents a health and safety concern. It also raises questions about the vigilance of staff at times. This does not fully promote young people’s well-being. Three recommendations are raised, following this inspection, to improve practice where necessary.

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a local authority and provides care for up to six young people, irrespective of gender, aged from 12 to 17 years. The home cares for young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home can take emergency placements.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

12/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that the home complies with relevant health and safety legislation. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, repair the handle on a window in a young person’s bedroom to allow for adequate ventilation, ensure that repairs are carried out to broken roof tiles and ensure that staff are vigilant and take the appropriate action to prevent young people from smoking in their bedrooms.  Ensure that staff play a key role in ensuring each child’s attendance at the necessary primary and secondary health services. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.11) In particular, ensure that staff adequately prepare young people for health appointments to promote their attendance and encourage young people to give

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Recommendations

up smoking.  Strengthen the external monitoring processes in place to ensure a consistently rigorous assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people. Furthermore, ensure that reports contain accurate information and are evaluative. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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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 whom 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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