Children's Home run by Lancashire County Council in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: SC359836 1 SC359836 Registered provider: Lancashire County Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six children or young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural needs. The home is operated by a local authority.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 28 November 2018

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC359836 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/11/2018 Full Outstanding 09/08/2017 Full Good 12/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/09/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC359836 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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

The education standard The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(i)) 16/08/2019

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(iv)) 16/08/2019

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous 16/08/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC359836 4 improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(b)) 16/08/2019

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Recommendations

 Children must be consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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Recommendations

 The children’s home must produce a children’s guide. The children’s guide must be made available to all children when their placement in the home is agreed (or on arrival at the home if the placement is made in an emergency) and must be age appropriate, provided in an accessible format and explained to each child to make sure they understand it. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.21)

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Recommendations

 Specifically relating to staff de-briefing; records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59) Inspection report children’s home: SC359836 5

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, a number of young people have moved out of the home on to independent settings. These moves were well planned and well supported.

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improvement to be good

Several young people have been admitted to the home. Some of their admissions have not been planned effectively or well managed. As a result, the stability of the home has declined. In addition, some young people have experienced unpleasant events, due to negative behaviours of their fellow residents.

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improvement to be good

Most young people have developed positive relationships with staff. One young person said, ‘The staff are all really nice. They are easy to talk to and always there for us.’ Staff show good insight into individual young people’s needs and the support they require on a day-to-day basis.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the importance of education and encourage young people to engage in their learning programmes. However, progress is mixed, and some young people’s attendance is erratic. Young people’s individual education targets are not always detailed in their internal care plans and their progress is not monitored effectively. This means that their support may be inconsistent and not in line with their individual needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a good understanding of young people’s interests and likes. Opportunities to engage in fun and fulfilling activities are provided. One young person was excited to be on her way to a short break in London, the highlight of which was a trip to Harry Potter World. She explained that this was a place she had long wanted to visit.

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improvement to be good

Children are given opportunities to share their views about their care and the daily routines of the home. There is evidence that staff attempt to act on young people’s requests where possible. However, some records fail to demonstrate that staff have responded appropriately when young people have raised concerns about matters such as other young people’s behaviours.

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improvement to be good

All staff are provided with safeguarding training at the start of their employment. The training is regularly renewed, which helps to ensure that staff maintain their knowledge and skills. Staff are aware of their responsibility to safeguard young people and demonstrate knowledge of reporting procedures.

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improvement to be good

Some young people experienced bullying in the home over a period of several months. There were some unpleasant incidents during which young people were subject to physical assaults, verbal abuse and name-calling. This had an adverse impact on their Inspection report children’s home: SC359836 6 general well-being. One young person spoke of these experiences and said, ‘It was really bad, I hated being here.’ The situation is now resolved due to the perpetrators no longer living at the home. However, while it was ongoing, insufficient action was taken to monitor and address incidents of bullying.

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improvement to be good

Some shortfalls were identified in relation to risk assessment and risk management. Young people’s risk assessments do not always fully reflect areas of concern and sometimes lack pertinent information. In addition, managers do not always make effective use of impact risk assessments, which has resulted in young people being admitted to the home who are not well matched.

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improvement to be good

Some young people who live at the home do, on occasion, go missing. There are clear protocols, which inform staff of the actions they must take to safeguard young people at these times. A social worker commented that he found the staff very proactive in contacting and locating missing young people. Improved efforts are now made to ensure that return home interviews are completed, so that the views of young people about why they go missing are understood. This helps to inform future risk assessments.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a good understanding of young people’s emotional responses and are able to de-escalate most challenging situations. As a result, incidents of restraint are infrequent. When such incidents do occur, they are recorded and monitored in a satisfactory manner. However, processes for recording staff debrief following an incident of restraint require some improvement, to evidence that appropriate reflection and learning has taken place.

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improvement to be good

Sanctions are not always recorded. The effectiveness of the sanction is not always explored, and children’s views are not consistently reflected. There are examples of sanctions which are not relevant to the matter being addressed or proportionate. Some improvement is required to ensure that young people benefit from a consistent approach that helps them to develop safer behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is a manager in post who has been registered with Ofsted since August 2017. At the time of the inspection the registered manager was on leave.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

When considering whether to admit new young people, managers have failed to make effective use of impact risk assessments. This means that young people who are not well matched to the home have been admitted. A high number of emergency admissions have been made without appropriate planning. This has had a negative impact on the progress and experiences of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the care and support that young people require. However, young people’s care plans are not consistently person-centred. They lack important information about young people’s individual needs and fail to outline proactive strategies. Improvements are required to help ensure that young people benefit from consistent, well-planned support. Inspection report children’s home: SC359836 7 Staff are carefully recruited. All staff are either qualified to the appropriate level or are currently undertaking the relevant course. A range of training is provided, which helps to ensure that staff have the appropriate skills and knowledge. Regular supervision is in place so that staff have the opportunity to meet with a manager and discuss areas such as performance, development and any concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are processes in place that enable the registered manager to monitor standards of safety and quality on a continuous basis. However, these are not used in a consistently effective way. Some shortfalls were noted in the monitoring of areas, including young people’s progress in education and bullying. More effective monitoring is required to help ensure that areas in need of improvement are promptly identified and addressed.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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’. Inspection report children’s home: SC359836 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: PO Box 78, County Hall, Fishergate, Preston PR1 8XJ

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Inspector

Marie Cordingley, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC359836 9 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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