Children's Home run by Lancashire County Council in Lancashire

Inspection report children's home: SC359836 1 SC359836 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 children’s home offers care for up to six children. The provider states in their statement of purpose that they provide care for children who may have experienced different forms of abuse or the trauma of a family breakdown.

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Information about this children’s home

Children are supported by an experienced registered manager who has been in post since September 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 06 October 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and children, taking into account

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good

How well children and children 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/07/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/11/2018 Full Outstanding 09/08/2017 Full Good 12/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC359836 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and children: good

Children receive well-planned care that is supported by a range of external agencies such as the looked after children’s nurse and the child and adolescent mental health service. In addition, children have access to an online digital counselling and support service should they wish to access support independently of the home. A child said, ‘I get all the help I need. The staff are great, and I am settled here. I would stay forever if I could.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and children: good

Information about children such as their religious background, ethnicity and sexuality is recorded, and key-work sessions take place to help children understand their unique self. However, some records do not contain the details of how the staff help children facing family conflicts arising from their individual choices. This important information will be valuable for the child in later years. A recommendation is made to address this matter.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and children: good

Children benefit from a structured daily routine where education is now promoted and prioritised. As a result, previous issues with non-attendance are diminished. Overall, children attend education regularly and make good progress towards the completion of final exams. Staff work hard to assist children in their continued learning by helping with homework and school projects and, where necessary, offering additional learning support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and children: good

Children are consistently consulted about the care they receive in the home. They regularly complete the children’s home surveys, attend children’s meetings and have regular one-to-one discussions with their key workers. This enables children to develop a sense of ownership regarding the decisions being made about their individual care. A young person said, ‘I can talk to staff about anything. They always help and support me. I trust them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and children: good

Individual children’s records are regularly reviewed by key workers and kept up to date. However, there is little evidence that children are provided with an opportunity to review their records or include comments on the progress they make. This information would be extremely valuable should a young person wish to review their files now or in the future. A recommendation is made to address this matter.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and children: good

Children are helped and supported to try out new activities and develop hobbies in accordance with their individual interests. For example, one child enjoys spending time building vehicles using plastic model kits. Another child enjoys painting and drawing. Each of these activities helps the children to develop key life skills such as patience and concentration, and a sense of achievement. Their completed work is proudly displayed around the home. Inspection report for children's home: SC359836 4

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How well children and children are helped and protected: good

Comprehensive safeguarding arrangements are in place. Children’s risks are routinely assessed, and effective measures are in place should a concern arise.

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How well children and children are helped and protected: good

Behaviour management is both supportive and effective. This is because staff have built strong and compassionate relationships with children. Staff understand how particular life experiences have an impact on children’s emotions and how, in turn, this can be displayed through children’s behaviour. Clear and consistent guidance enables staff to help children express their emotions in a positive and safe environment.

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How well children and children are helped and protected: good

The staff are trained in the use of de-escalation strategies and physical intervention techniques. Records of physical intervention that have taken place detail that they are suitable, proportionate and brief. Each child is provided with a key-work session to discuss the triggers for the behaviour leading to the intervention and this helps the child to identify self-regulation strategies.

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How well children and children are helped and protected: good

However, children are not consistently provided with a debrief after a physical intervention. A debrief provides the opportunity to ensure that children have not sustained an injury and that they understand why the intervention was necessary, and it provides an opportunity for children to express their views and feelings about the incident. A recommendation is made to address this matter.

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How well children and children are helped and protected: good

Children rarely go missing or absent themselves from the home. On the occasions when this has occurred, staff were swift in their response. This means that children are returned to the home quickly. Children are provided with an independent return home interview to ensure they have an opportunity to talk about the reasons they left the home. Any concerns arising from this interview are shared with the home’s manager and included in an updated missing-from-home plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post since September 2020. He has a number of years’ experience working with children in a residential setting. The registered manager is supported by an experienced staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last full inspection in July 2019, three children have been discharged from the home. One child successfully transitioned to foster care and two other children were discharged to smaller residential children’s homes. The registered manager has further developed the criteria for admissions to the home. This demonstrates the manager’s reflective practice and learning regarding previous admissions that were not suitable for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This purpose-built children’s home has been refurbished to a high standard. Children’s bedrooms are designed and decorated to reflect their personalities. A child said, ‘I love my bedroom and my new flat-screen television. It is just how I wanted it.’ Inspection report for children's home: SC359836 5 However, the communal areas of the home are not always accessible to children. For example, areas such as the kitchen and living room are locked during the day and after children’s bedtimes. Locked doors restrict children’s movements around the home and creates an institutional environment. A requirement is made to address this concern.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Good internal monitoring systems provide the home with a clear approach to the overall monitoring of care. Records highlight areas for development and reflect some of the matters identified within this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monthly trend analysis meetings provide the management team with an opportunity to review the emerging patterns and trends evident in the home, for example identifying potential triggers for a child’s behaviour. This detail has proven to be highly valuable in further developing children’s plans and how staff work with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home employs a committed and enthusiastic staff team, with the majority of staff suitably qualified at diploma level. The training of staff at this level ensures that they are suitably qualified in the care and management of children. Likewise, staff receive ongoing training, including mandatory training and relevant online focused training. A staff member said, ‘Training is great. We are really well supported in the work we do with children. If we need anything more specific, it is always sorted out. It’s relevant to the work we do, and it makes for a better and stronger team.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive good support from the manager. Formal supervisions take place regularly and informal support is available on a daily basis. A staff member said, ‘The manager is always available should we need advice or support. He has great relationships with both the children and staff.’ Inspection report for children's home: SC359836 6

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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 privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure the removal of locks to communal areas of the home. 17 December

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s care plans reflect that they are receiving care which meets their needs and promotes their welfare, taking into account the child’s gender, religion, ethnicity, cultural and linguistic background, sexual identity, mental health, any disability, their assessed needs, previous experiences and any relevant plans. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2)  The registered person should ensure that any child who has been restrained is given the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of the restraint as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. In some cases, children may need longer to work through their feelings, so a record Inspection report for children's home: SC359836 7

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Recommendations

that the child has talked about their feelings should be made no longer than 5 days after the incident of restraint. Children should be encouraged to add their views and comments to the record of restraint. Children should be offered the opportunity to access an advocacy support to help them with this. (Guide to the children’s home regulations, including the quality standards, page 50, paragraph 9.60)  The registered person should ensure that children are actively encouraged to read their records and to add further information to them. Children should be regularly reminded of their rights to see information kept about them and be given information about how they might be supported to access their records in later life. (Guide to the children’s home regulations, including the quality standards, page 62, paragraph 14.6)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and children, 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 for 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

Maria McGranaghan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC359836 9 to achieve excellence in the care of children and children, 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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