Children's Home run by Lancashire County Council in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC039248 1 SC039248 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 is a local authority children’s home. It provides care for up to six children. At the time of the inspection, there were four children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a manager in post who registered with Ofsted in January 2021.

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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: 21 February 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

This home was judged inadequate at the full inspection in February 2022. As a result of this inspection, five compliance notices were issued, in respect of regulation 12 (the protection of children standard), regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard), regulation 14 (the care planning standard), regulation 32 (fitness of workers) and regulation 35 (behaviour management policies and records).

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

At the monitoring visit on 29 March 2022, inspectors found that four of these compliance notices had not been met. As a result of that visit, four further notices were issued. Inspection report for children’s home: SC039248 2 Following the monitoring visit, a notice restricting accommodation at the children’s home was issued under section 22B of the Care Standards Act 2000. The notice was issued with immediate effect, from 31 March 2022 to 23 June 2022. Inspection report for children’s home: SC039248 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/02/2022 Full Inadequate 10/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 24/07/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/02/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC039248 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in this home have made good progress in education since the last inspection. One child has recently returned to school because staff have helped them to appreciate the importance of education and the value of achieving their qualifications. This child is now preparing to sit their final exams and considering further education. Another child has had 100% attendance since moving to the home last year. They have regularly attended revision sessions after school and are now well prepared to sit their GCSE exams this year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are being met by the staff at the home. When there is an identified need for further support, the staff do not delay in referring children to specialist agencies. Children are supported to attend routine health appointments and, with staff encouragement, one child has made significant progress in understanding and addressing their own health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain good relationships with people who are important to them. Visits with family members are supported and families are kept up to date with their child’s progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to take part in a range of activities with staff. Children are consulted about the types of activities that they would like to try. One child recently told staff that they enjoy classical music. They are now looking forward to a trip to a concert hall to listen to a classical orchestra. Children will also soon be enjoying a summer holiday. For some children, this will be their first experience of travelling by plane and exploring a different country.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been recent improvements to the home environment. Staff follow good routines to maintain a high standard of cleanliness throughout the home. However, children’s bathrooms require updating to ensure that these are homely and reflective of standards throughout the rest of the home.

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

Risk assessments provide improved clarity about the risks for children and the actions that staff should take to help reduce these risks.

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

The manager and staff work effectively with partner agencies in response to safeguarding matters. Risks for children have reduced because staff have taken swift and effective action to keep them safe.

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

Staff support children’s awareness of risks and help them to develop their understanding of how to keep safe. There have been risks for some children around substance misuse. However, the plans to minimise these risks and support children Inspection report for children’s home: SC039248 5 are robust. Staff are consistent in how they manage these risks and give appropriate advice to help children understand these risks.

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

Staff have received training in matters that are relevant to the needs of the children who live in the home, including training in substance and alcohol misuse. This training has improved staff understanding of how to support children to reduce these risks.

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

Staff use positive reinforcements and praise to support children’s behavioural development. Children have been involved in setting goals and targets for themselves, which has improved their engagement and helped them to recognise their own progress.

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

There have not been any incidents of restraint since the last inspection. The manager has reflected on previous shortfalls in the recording of restraints as well as shortfalls in behaviour management practice. The manager will continue the development of good practice through further training. This training is planned and will be beneficial for staff who work in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably experienced manager who is undertaking the relevant qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a low turnover of staff and the manager does not use agency staff. This means that children are cared for by a consistent team of staff who know them well. Staff say that they can speak to the manager about their concerns and feel supported in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions take place regularly. The manager has recently reviewed the supervision format and improved this to ensure that supervision sessions are reflective and focused on the needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and provide an opportunity for staff to discuss approaches and ensure that staff practice is consistent. The manager has also implemented additional management meetings. These meetings have given leaders and managers a forum to reflect on recent failings in the quality of care provided by the home. Through these meetings, the management team has developed a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Managers now have a clear plan to ensure there will be further improvements to the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has implemented improved systems to monitor the quality of care provided to children. Management oversight of significant incidents and children’s records has improved significantly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Following this inspection, a case review was held. It was the decision of the case review that the home had made sufficient progress to evidence that all four Inspection report for children’s home: SC039248 6 compliance notices had been met. A decision was also reached that the notice restricting accommodation at the home should be lifted. Inspection report for children’s home: SC039248 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff supervision must enable staff to reflect and act upon how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, Page 39, paragraph 8.15)  The registered person should ensure that staff should have the skills to respond to each child’s individual behaviour. When necessary they should manage conflict, maintain constructive dialogue and react appropriately if challenged by a child in their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, Page 39, paragraph 8.14)  The registered person should ensure that children should have access to a computer and the internet to support their education and learning, unless there are specific safeguarding reasons why this would be inappropriate. In such cases, the home should consider whether and how it can support the child to access a

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Recommendations

computer and the internet safely. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, Page 29, paragraph 5.19)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s homes is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene, etc.); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, Page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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 for children’s home: SC039248 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Lancashire County Council

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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

Emma Thornton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC039248 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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