Children's Home run by Lancashire County Council in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: SC039683 1 SC039683 Registered provider: Lancashire County Council 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 children who may have emotional and/or behavioural needs. At the time of the inspection, there were five children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a manager in post who registered with Ofsted in 2007.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 10 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC039683 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/02/2020 Full Good 19/07/2018 Full Good 04/07/2017 Full Good 05/01/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC039683 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good care from a consistent staff team. Children are making good progress. For example, they are achieving in education and enjoy increased physical and emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children reported that they have very positive relationships with staff. One child described the staff as ‘brilliant’, and said that she wanted them all to have rewards. Children show pride in their home and are encouraged to be fully involved in maintaining it to a high standard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between children have been problematic at times. There have been some incidents of children displaying negative behaviour towards each other. Staff are alert and monitor relationships effectively. Restorative work is undertaken when challenging relationships between children emerge. This helps children to build positive relationships and learn from their experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy good experiences, such as holidays and activity breaks. Staff also encourage children to engage in their local community. Children and staff have recently completed a charity walk and made gift boxes for some of their older neighbours. This positive engagement gives children a sense of belonging and purpose.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff advocate strongly for children. Children are encouraged to express their views and when they do so, staff act upon them where possible. Children are encouraged to express their individuality, and their diversity is celebrated.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are safe as a result of the care and support they receive from staff. Children said that they feel safe living in the home, and all have a trusted adult who they can speak to if they have any worries. One child said, ‘Nothing bad happens here.’

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children rarely go missing, but when this happens the staff are responsive and ensure that the child’s missing-from-home protocol is adhered too. Children experience a timely return interview which is clearly recorded. An in-depth conversation takes place each time, which offers reflection to help children learn from their experiences.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are clear about the risks to children, what action needs to be taken and where to look for guidance. Risk assessments are clear and personalised to individual children, and are updated when a new risk emerges. However, in a small number of examples, there is a lack of clarity in the strategies for managing risks. A recommendation has been made to support improvement in this area. Inspection report children’s home: SC039683 4 There are clear boundaries in place and all children have individualised goals to achieve. This increases their self-esteem and well-being. Physical restraints are not used, which demonstrates the staff’s ability to manage behaviours effectively. Staff are empathic towards children’s lived experience, which means children receive nurturing care that is responsive to their needs.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Lots of good-quality direct work has taken place with children, which is meaningful to their individual challenges. This helps to build relationships, improve children’s sense of self and ultimately keep them safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a manager in post who has been registered with Ofsted since 2007. The manager has extensive experience and demonstrates a strong commitment to improving outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has a very low turnover of staff, which means that children receive their care from a consistent and stable staff team. Staff speak extremely highly of the leadership of the home and express confidence in managers. One staff member said of the manager, ‘She leads the team by striving for improvement and this has rubbed off on the team, as we all strive for the best for children.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from a comprehensive training programme which helps to ensure that they have the necessary skills and knowledge to provide safe and effective care. Training is carefully monitored and the manager is proactive in ensuring that all staff remain up to date with their learning programmes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records demonstrate that managers and staff receive supervision on a regular basis. The manager uses supervision effectively to ensure that any staff needing additional support receive this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager makes good use of internal monitoring tools. This helps to ensure that any shortfalls are quickly identified and addressed. The manager’s review of the quality of care is completed to a good standard and includes children’s views and those of other stakeholders.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External monitoring requires some improvement. The independent visitor has carried out remote visits throughout the pandemic, but has not made any physical visits to the home for several months. This means that their ability to provide an accurate account of children’s progress and identify any shortfalls in the home is limited. Inspection report children’s home: SC039683 5

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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 registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires; and

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

upon request, the local authority for the area in which the home is located;

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Requirement Due date

the registered provider and, if applicable, the registered manager; and

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Requirement Due date

the responsible individual (if one is nominated). (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)(b) (7)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)) 18 June 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Risk management plans should be regularly updated to reflect new information or Inspection report children’s home: SC039683 6 concerns. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC039683 7

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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 Rachel Springford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC039683 8 to 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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