Children's Home run by Lifetime Opportunities Limited 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 improved effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people who have resided in this home for a number of years benefit from and enjoy living in their home. Young people are provided with a clean, safe and comfortable home environment which has afforded them consistency and a sustained period of placement stability. This positive and nurturing environment has supported young people well with their continued development and progression.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Positive and nurturing relationships that the manager and staff develop and maintain with young people support young people with their continued progress and aid young people with developing their confidence, life skills and ability to communicate more effectively. The successes of the placements for young people were validated by professionals, who wrote: ‘The staff know [name] and his needs well. They continuously try to ensure that [name] continues to make progress in all aspects of his development and they are very attentive to his needs.’ Another professional noted:

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Both school and his placement have worked together consistently in order to move [name] forward in his key areas of behaviour, personal and independence skills, developing relationships and the focus now is on developing his communication. This has been noticeable in his signing and [name] is now beginning to initiate conversation.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager is not afraid to challenge the barriers that young people are presented with as a result of their abilities and she is a strong advocate for them. The manager knows and understands young people well and will challenge those other agencies appropriately when they do not plan effectively to meet young people’s present needs. Consequently, young people quickly receive the additional support and services that they require from health and education colleagues. This ensures that young people continue to benefit from improved health outcomes and continue to make good educational progress against their individual goals and targets.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager ensures that young people receive a high level of individual support and care from a motivated and committed staff team. Staff, who speak warmly of young people, understand their complex needs well. This is because the manager ensures that young people’s care planning is cohesive, thorough and well thought out. Care planning which incorporates the views of social workers, health professionals and education providers promotes young people’s safety and enables young people to continue to develop and flourish from their individual starting points.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff provide young people with a range of interesting and exciting opportunities. Trips out swimming, visiting local community centres, attending after school and holiday clubs, attending youth groups, as well as going to the cinema, out for meals and enjoying trips out to local attractions, broaden young people’s understanding and knowledge of the wider world. These positive and safe opportunities allow young people to try to explore a variety of new and stimulating opportunities which enhance their childhood experiences.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff provide a level of consistency to young people. They maintain the boundaries, routines and structure of the home, which enables young people to feel safe and well supported by the staff team. Sanctions are not used within this home and staff use positive role modelling to promote safe and acceptable behaviour. The manager and staff are acutely aware of young people’s needs and can identify the situations which heighten young people’s anxieties. During these times, the manager and staff support young people in a calm and consistent manner and are effective with their use of distraction and de-escalation techniques. This constant and caring approach has supported young people to manage their emotional responses more effectively, so that the use of physical intervention has only been required on two occasions within the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager maintains and is committed to providing a high level of good quality care and support to young people. She is visible and available to support her staff team well. Following one of the two recommendations made at the last inspection, the manager now ensures that the staff team receives regular supervision sessions as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. Staff confirm that this support, alongside the relevant and appropriate training opportunities that they are provided with, enables them to do their job well.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Although the manager is committed to ensuring that the young people are cared for by a consistent staff team, some staff changes have created some difficulties in maintaining this. In order to redress this, the manager covers a large proportion of these shifts herself to ensure that bank or agency staff are not used within this home. Although this enables the manager to have a great insight into how young people are cared for and assists her with her planning for young people’s futures, the amount of time in which the manager is providing day-to-day care and support for young people does hamper her ability to continue to expand upon and develop her thoughts and ideas to enhance further the experiences and progress for young people. This is because the management time that she has to complete these tasks is at times insufficient. The manager has suitably addressed the five requirements which were raised at

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

the last inspection. Commissioners and family members are now informed of the staffing arrangements for the young people within the home, as these details are now included within the home’s updated statement of purpose. Furthermore, the manager now ensures that a record is made of any complaints made against the home or persons working there. Full and thorough investigations are completed by the provider, and the manager ensures that all safeguarding agencies, including Ofsted, are now informed as is required. In addition, the provider has improved the external and internal quality assurance systems to aid her with developing the service further. A process is now in place to ascertain feedback from young people, their parents and professionals within the internal quality assurance process. This supports the manager to evaluate fully the impact that she and the staff have on improving the experiences and progress for young people and plan more effectively

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

for their future. The external quality assurance systems have also improved. The independent visitor now identifies what actions the manager needs to take within their written report. That said, due to the time constraints on the manager, she is not always in a position systematically to complete all the tasks that she is set within a timely manner. The manager recognises this and identifies that further improvements are required to improve the quality of the reports. The manager is in the process of exploring this further with the responsible individual and the independent visitor.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The one recommendation made at the last inspection has been suitably addressed by the manager. Young people’s case records, such as their healthcare plans, are now signed and dated by the author of each entry. This enables the reader to establish and confirm when and by whom these records have been reviewed and updated to include young people’s known and emerging health needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children and young people who have learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 12/07/2016 Full Good 08/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/09/2015 Full Good 19/03/2015 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 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. Whenever 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 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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