Children's Home run by Seaside Child Care Ltd in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2780495 1 Registered provider: Seaside Child Care Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private provider. It provides care for up to two children who experience emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager registered with Ofsted in May 2024. This was the first inspection for the home.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home and was spoken with by the inspectors.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2780495 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive, caring and trusting relationships with staff. Staff know the children well, invest time in them and promote their well-being through shared activities and celebrating their achievements. Children have a strong sense of stability and security. One child said, ‘Safety is the main thing that makes me like living here. If I had the ability to change anything, I don’t think I’d need to.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from having a consistent care team. Staff invest in children and have their best interests at the centre of their practice. Staff build trusting and nurturing relationships with children. These relationships support children to make progress in different areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff celebrate children’s individuality, and their achievements are celebrated. Managers and staff have positive relationships with external agencies. The manager respectfully challenges other professionals on behalf of the children to ensure that their needs are met, which has contributed to children’s good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consult with education tutors to support children’s participation in education. As a result, children are making good progress in education, which will support them when they start to attend formal education after long periods of absence. However, staff do not ensure that the daily activities undertaken by children link to educational experiences when they are not in a mainstream education setting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health. Staff support them to attend all health appointments. Managers advocate on behalf of children to ensure that they have the support in place to meet their individual health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their families. This encourages children to stay connected with people who are important to them and supports their identity and sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from children’s families and professionals highlights consistent good progress for children. This is evident in the progress in children’s education and learning and the reduction in children’s risk-taking behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers do not always ensure that they have access to the most up-to-date local authority care plans for children when they move into the home. This does not enable managers and staff to make risk assessments and respond to the individual needs of children effectively. Managers have requested missing care plans without success. Inspection report for children’s home: 2780495 3

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

Staff understand children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities. Risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated. Staff communicate regularly with children about any safeguarding concerns and risky behaviours, which helps children understand how to keep themselves safe.

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

Consistent rules and boundaries are in place that are tailored to children’s age and stage of development. Staff work hard to support children to understand the impact of their behaviours through focused work and reflection. This has led to a reduction in risk-taking behaviours.

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

Staff prioritise the safety of children. Staff understand and follow safeguarding protocols, policies and assessments to ensure that children are safe.

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

Staff understand and follow the home’s missing-from-home policy. They are proactive in seeking the safe return of the children when they are missing from home. When children return home, they are welcomed warmly by staff. This is achieved through strong multi-agency partnerships.

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

Managers ensure that staff are safely recruited, and training is completed before staff commence working with children in the home.

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

Positive recognition and praise outweigh negative consequences. The home uses a restorative approach to encourage understanding and learning from incidents rather than the use of consequences, where possible. The manager evaluates consequences, ensuring that they are proportionate and restorative in nature, with clear conclusions. Children are involved in this process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced, skilled and child focused. He is supported by experienced team leaders. The manager works collaboratively with staff and is supported by the responsible individual. Team leaders work well together and provide consistent leadership to the team in the absence of the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children seek the manager out to ask questions and to spend time with him. The staff team is well established, and agency staff are not used in the home. Managers and staff are enthusiastic, empathetic and understanding of children’s needs. Children are looked after by staff who know them well, care about them and are focused on providing them with the best quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff advocate for the needs of children, escalating any concerns to ensure these are addressed. The manager has advocated for a solo placement period for the child living at the home, reflecting the child’s individual needs and demonstrating that the manager listens to their voice and wishes about remaining at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2780495 4 Leaders and managers prioritise the training, learning and development of staff. New staff have a thorough induction and training plan. Additional training is provided to staff to help them meet the specific needs of the children in their care, such as children’s specific health needs. However, the manager does not evaluate staff’s learning from training and ensure that this is incorporated in their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The voice of children is central in the home. Leaders, managers and staff ensure that the children’s views, wishes and feelings are sought, documented and acted on. This has helped to develop a warm and family focused home environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers monitor staff practice through regular team meetings and supervision. Supervision is thorough and reflective of staff development. Staff are encouraged to contribute to the children’s files to ensure that their progress is tracked. Inspection report for children’s home: 2780495 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, The 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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Requirements Due Date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirements Due Date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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Requirements Due Date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirements Due Date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirements Due Date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when children move into the home, they have access to the most up- to-date local authority care plans.

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Requirements Due Date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when children move into the home, staff are provided with internal care plans that set out clear expectations of how children must be cared for in the home. These must also incorporate the actions set out in the most up-to-date local authority care plans. 10 September

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Requirements Due Date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirements Due Date

To complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirements Due Date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirements Due Date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirements Due Date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. 5 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2780495 6 (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirements Due Date

In particular, ensure that when completing a quality of care review, an action plan is included and the report is submitted in a timely manner.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that learning takes place for the child, and they should ensure that learning progress logs incorporate daily activities and events. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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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: 2780495 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Seaside Child Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 54 Wood Street, Lytham St. Annes FY8 1QG

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Inspectors

Paul McKay-Smith, Social Care Inspector Andrea Foreman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2780495 8 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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