Children's Home run by Lancashire County Council in Lancashire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC039248 1 SC039248 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 home is operated by a local authority. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six young people, who may have social, emotional or behavioural needs.

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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: 5 February 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC039248 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/02/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/06/2018 Full Inadequate 26/07/2017 Full Good 31/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC039248 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 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; help each child to understand how to keep safe; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home‟s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i-iv)(vii)) 30/08/2019

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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— lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‟s statement of purpose; ensure that the home‟s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; 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 improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 30/08/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC039248 4

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(e)(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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home‟s statement of purpose. Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)) 30/08/2019

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Requirement Due date

Behaviour management policies and records The registered person must ensure that— within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— the name of the child; details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person

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Requirement Due date

to do so (“the authorised person”)— has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i-viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 30/08/2019

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Requirement Due date

Notification of a serious event The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 30/08/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC039248 5 a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation; an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; a child protection enquiry involving a child— is instigated; or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a- d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Recommendations

 The use of external agency staff can be a positive choice to complement the skills and experiences of the permanent workforce. The use of agency staff should be carefully monitored and reviewed to ensure children receive continuity of care. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 54, paragraph 10.16)  The registered person is responsible for ensuring that each child‟s day to day health and well-being needs are met. Children‟s‟ internal care plans should clearly reflect their needs, to enable staff to support young people‟s physical, mental and emotional health, in line with the approach set out in the home‟s Statement of Purpose. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 33, paragraph 7.3)  Regulation 19(2) details sanctions that are prohibited in behaviour management. Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to

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Recommendations

help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 46, paragraph 9.38) Inspection report children‟s home: SC039248 6

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improvement to be good

Young people have made mixed progress since their admission to the home. They have developed some positive relationships with staff and enjoyed some good experiences. However, they have also lived through some negative day-to-day events.

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improvement to be good

Relationships between young people are difficult, and this has resulted in some negative behaviours towards each other. There is evidence that one young person‟s behaviour and progress have declined due to the influence of other young people she lives with.

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improvement to be good

One young person has made good progress in education. She has recently taken her GSCEs and has been successful in securing an apprenticeship in her chosen field. Other young people‟s progress is less positive. Staff continue to encourage them to attend education regularly and engage.

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improvement to be good

There are shortfalls in the planning of young people‟s day-to-day care. For example, young people‟s needs in areas such as health and medication are not clearly documented. This means that there is a risk that young people will not receive appropriate care and support.

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improvement to be good

Young people have opportunities to take part in fun and fulfilling activities. Staff are aware of each young person‟s likes and arrange activities in response to young people‟s individual requests.

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improvement to be good

Staff support young people to develop independence skills such as shopping, budgeting, cooking and cleaning. However, young people‟s individual needs and progress in this area could be monitored more effectively. This would help to ensure that young people‟s support is in line with their individual strengths and needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff failed to follow safeguarding procedures on two recent occasions. As a result, concerns raised by a young person were not addressed properly. This did not promote the young person‟s safety or well-being and did not help them to be confident to report any future concerns.

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improvement to be good

Shortfalls in risk assessment and risk management plans mean that, in some cases, guidance for staff lacks clarity. Young people‟s risk assessments do not consistently reflect known concerns and sometimes lack important information. This may result in staff not having a full understanding of the actions needed to keep young people safe. Inspection report children‟s home: SC039248 7 Young people sometimes go missing from the home. Greater efforts are now made to ensure that young people speak with an independent person on their return. Information from these discussions can be used to inform future risk management. However, missing from home protocols require improvement to ensure that staff are fully aware of the action that they must take to help safeguard a young person when they are missing.

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improvement to be good

Young people‟s behaviour towards each other has been problematic. There have been some incidents of verbal and physical aggression between young people. There is guidance in place for staff about how to manage the risks young people present to each other. However, this guidance is not consistently followed by staff. In addition, incidents are not sufficiently monitored to enable staff to identify patterns or trends.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that young people‟s good behaviour and achievements are celebrated. Young people are regularly rewarded by praise and special treats. However, more direct work needs to be carried out with young people to help them to understand the impact of their negative behaviours. Consequences for negative actions are used at times, but these do not tend to be restorative and are not monitored for effectiveness.

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improvement to be good

On occasion, it is necessary to restrain a young person to protect them or those around them from harm. When such incidents occur, they are recorded and monitored in a satisfactory manner. However, records do not provide evidence that young people or staff have a debrief following an incident of restraint. Debriefs are an opportunity to raise concerns, reflect and identify potential learning and, therefore, must be carried out consistently.

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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 April 2014. At the time of the inspection, the manager was on leave. Some information was not available as a result of the manager‟s absence. This included staff training, appraisal dates and complaints information. Arrangements should be in place to ensure that such information is available at all times, to ensure that effective monitoring can take place.

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

The home‟s statement of purpose gives an undertaking that a robust risk assessment and careful matching will take place prior to any young person being admitted to the home. However, during this inspection it was identified that, when considering whether to admit new young people, managers have failed to make effective use of impact risk assessments. This has resulted in young people who are not well matched to the home having been admitted.

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

There has been an increased use of casual or agency staff at the home in recent months. This was commented on by a young person who said that they find it uncomfortable when a staff member they do not know works at the home. Staffing needs and resources should be reviewed to help ensure that young people benefit from Inspection report children‟s home: SC039248 8 improved consistency and stability.

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

It was identified during the inspection that the monitoring of young people‟s progress is not consistently effective. Some examples were noted of young people‟s progress being described in a highly positive manner, when this was not the case. For example, one young person‟s progress report states that since their admission they have made „huge progress‟ in reducing episodes of going missing, when in fact these have increased from their previous placement.

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

Processes to monitor safety and quality across the service are not consistently effective. Shortfalls were noted in the monitoring of areas such as adverse incidents, bullying incidents and behaviour management. This means that opportunities to make improvements are not always identified.

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

It was identified during the inspection that several significant incidents have occurred that have not been notified to Ofsted. This undermines the ability of the regulator to monitor and assess risks and does not promote young people‟s safety and well-being.

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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: SC039248 9

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Marie Cordingley, social care inspector Jessica Forshaw, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC039248 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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