Children's Home run by Lancashire County Council in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC440309 1 SC440309 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

The home is registered to provide care for up to six children who have experienced adverse childhood events that have led to associated trauma and presenting complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2020. There is an acting manager in charge at the home.

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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: 30 November 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC440309 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/11/2021 Full Outstanding 30/07/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/01/2019 Full Outstanding 09/11/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC440309 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, there have been several changes to who is living in the home. When children move, they have been supported to do so sensitively. Staff take great care in the planning and transition process; they ensure that individualised direct work is completed. This helps to ease any anxieties or worries that children may have. Children who have moved on from the home often stay in touch with the staff and managers. As a result, children continue to feel valued and cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have their own bedrooms and are given the freedom to personalise them. On most occasions, before children move into the home, their bedrooms have been redecorated, providing a fresh personalised space. However, for one child, this was not the case. The child has lived in the home for four weeks, and the redecoration was still incomplete at the time of the inspection. Overall, the home environment is clean, tidy and welcoming. However, there are locks on some internal doors. Although children say that these are not locked, this makes the home feel less like a family home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in the home have built trusting and secure relationships with staff. Staff invest time in children, and they listen to them, protect them and promote their welfare. Staff are proud of children’s progress and achievements. As a result, children can develop a sense of permanence and belonging. One child commented, ‘If I am feeling low, the staff make a fuss over me. They ask me to come for a walk or put on a face mask. I know this won’t change how I feel, but it makes me feel like they care about me, which they do, and it is nice.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers promote education in the home, and they are proactive in their approach. When there are concerns about attendance, the staff support children to overcome challenges and encourage them back into education. Staff are ambitious for children and their educational development. One child has been supported to complete a traineeship in a coffee shop. This has been a positive experience for the child, and as a result, the child has successfully secured employment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively promote children’s health needs and frequently advocate on behalf of them. There have been occasions when some children have struggled with their mental health and well-being. The staff and managers have ensured that appropriate referrals are made to external agencies to seek additional support. As a result, children are receiving specialist help that is individualised to their needs.

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

Children can identify a trusted adult that they can talk to about any worries or concerns they may have. Children know how to make a complaint and can identify who to complain to if they were to ever have any concerns. Inspection report for children’s home: SC440309 4 Holding a child to keep them safe is used as a last resort in line with the home’s policies and procedures. Most documents completed are detailed and contain the relevant information. However, some records are not as objective as others, and as a result, it is not always clear why staff have initiated a safe hold.

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

Some children have been missing from care. Individual risk management plans provide staff with the appropriate strategies to support them to locate missing children. Completed incident reports are detailed and evidence the steps that staff have taken to locate a missing child. The acting manager works closely with other professionals to identify alternative strategies and actions to embed into practice. Consequently, missing-from-care incidents have remained low and well managed.

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

When there have been allegations or suspicion of harm, these have been shared with the appropriate agencies. Allegations are handled fairly and in accordance with statutory guidance. Investigations completed are thorough. They are also completed by a suitably qualified and experienced senior manager. Managers ensure that support is given to the person making the allegation and the person who is subject to the allegation.

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

The acting manager and staff team know the children’s risks and understand them. Together, they identify and appropriately assess new risks. When children display risk-taking behaviours, these are well managed, and they receive high levels of support from the staff. The acting manager ensures that effective liaison takes place with relevant professionals to ensure that the most appropriate safety plans and support are implemented. As a result, children are helped to stay safe, and their risks are reducing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has not been present in the home since October 2022. There is currently an acting manager in post who has a good level of management oversight. She knows the children well, and she is ambitious, child-focused and passionate. As a result of this, she is influential in changing the lives of the children who live in the home. The acting manager ensures that the home is properly staffed and resourced to meet the needs of children, and staff provide stability and continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

On most occasions, notifications of significant events that relate to the welfare and protection of children are made to the regulator in a timely manner. However, there have been occasions when there has been a delay in notifications being submitted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive supervision monthly in line with the home’s statement of purpose. The supervision sessions are well planned and structured, and they provide staff with opportunities to reflect on their practice and focus on their development with support. However, not all staff receive supervision from a suitably trained, experienced or qualified supervisor. Inspection report for children’s home: SC440309 5 The home is properly staffed and resourced to meet the needs of the children. Staff are suitably vetted. Recruitment procedures are robust, and most staff are qualified. As a result, children are provided with high-quality care by experienced staff. However, not all staff have achieved their relevant qualification by the relevant date, and there are some gaps in training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a safe area report in place, which is up to date. This takes into consideration the local risks and hazards. However, the manager has not consulted with relevant agencies, such as the local police in the community, to obtain their views. Inspection report for children’s home: SC440309 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

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 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that internal locks on the communal doors are removed. 24 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— 24 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC440309 7 the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff that work in the home in a care role have obtained their relevant qualification by the relevant date.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff are up to date with their training, specifically in relation to self-injurious behaviour training. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that children are provided with appropriate furnishings in their bedroom. Specifically, they must ensure that broken furniture or fixtures in the home are replaced or repaired. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.19)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Specifically, this is in relation to clearer recording when completing incident reports. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

Inspection report for children’s home: SC440309 8  The registered person should ensure that there is a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should cover the action that should be followed if the event arises at the weekend or on a public holiday. The notification must include details of the action taken by the home’s staff in response to the event. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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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: SC440309 9

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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, Preston PR1 8XJ

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Inspector

Kimmy Feeley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC440309 10 regulates and inspects 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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