Children's Home run by Lancashire County Council in Lancashire

Inspection report for children's home: SC064735 1 SC064735 Registered provider: Lancashire County Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since June 2024.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC064735 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/03/2024 Full Good 08/03/2023 Full Good 06/10/2021 Full Good 07/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC064735 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and have developed trusting relationships with them. Children are provided with warmth, nurturance and guidance. As a result, they are making progress from their starting points, which helps them to feel safe and cared for. One child said, ‘The staff are good, they are chilled. They are not too soft and not too strict. I know they have got my back.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work creatively to enrich the children’s experiences, interests and skills. Staff are committed to ensuring children are involved in activities. Children contribute to their local communities through activities such as cake sales. One child enjoys car boot sales and gives a percentage of their earnings to a local charity. This allows children to hve enjoyable experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, the manager has placed a strong focus on improving the home environment. Children have participated when changes have been made. The home is welcoming and homely, with fresh flowers and photos that capture children’s special occasions. Children’s bedrooms are personalised. If damage has been caused, repairs are quickly carried out. An area of the garden needs attention so that children can use this space and have pride in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff regularly talk to children about a variety of social issues and what is happening in their worlds. They ask questions to try to understand children’s decisions and experiences. Staff provide children with the information they need to make more balanced choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to develop their independence and life skills according to their individual needs. In preparation for their futures, children are supported through a package of sessions to develop their skills and knowledge. For one child, playing board games promotes their budgeting and problem-solving skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s educational achievements are varied. Some children’s progress has declined and this is not being proactively challenged. Planners for those children not engaging with their education are not structured. This hinders children’s opportunities to learn with their peers or reach their academic potential.

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

The manager and staff have a thorough understanding of the children’s specific needs. Risk management plans are personal and regularly reviewed, focusing on areas that are central to the children. Direct work with the children has helped children build trusting relationships with the staff caring for them. This has meant children’s risks have reduced. Inspection report for children's home: SC064735 4 Staff know what to do when children go missing from the home. They follow the children, search known areas and contact family and all involved agencies. Children are given a caring welcome on their return. Children also get the opportunity to speak to someone independent of the home about why they went missing from home and what happened while they were missing. Individual work is undertaken to help the children to make safer choices.

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

When children’s missing-from-home episodes have increased, the manager embeds safety planning and shares concerns to ensure there is a comprehensive multi-agency response. When safeguarding concerns are not acted on in a timely manner, the manager escalates these concerns. However, when timely responses are not received, further escalation is required to ensure that meetings to address concerns about one child’s missing-from-home episodes and safeguarding are held in a timely manner and that safety planning is appropriate for the child.

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

Staff help children to safely manage their feelings. They communicate well with children and support them to self-regulate. When children have displayed anger or upset and caused damage, staff respond in a nurturing manner. Direct work is carried out with the children to help them develop their ability to express themselves safely.

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

Staff listen to children’s views and use a balanced approach, in line with children’s plans and development. Children have had sleepovers and have time away from the home to spend with friends in the local area. This enables the children’s confidence to develop and gives them opportunities to take balanced risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a committed, experienced and reflective manager. The safety and well-being of children is central to her leadership. The manager is supported by two deputy managers. Managers have been proactive in building constructive trusting relationships with the staff and changing the culture of practice to actively improve the quality of care and experiences provided to the children. Staff have welcomed this approach and share this vision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have enabled staff to understand how their practice impacts children. As a result, children’s records are bespoke and written in a child-focused and nurturing manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s views and participation are a priority in the home. Managers and staff consult with children and seek their views to inform decisions, including about holidays abroad, decoration of the home or meal planning. One professional said, ‘Communication is excellent. They are really child focused. [Name of child]’s voice is heard.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly. These are purposeful and constructive, allowing for detailed discussions of the children, reflection on practice and collective learning. This enables staff to challenge their practice and remain focused on delivering the best quality of care to the children. Inspection report for children's home: SC064735 5 Staff receive regular supervision. Staff say supervision is supportive and beneficial, and they feel listened to and valued by the managers. However, staff are not encouraged to reflect on their practice with children, which impacts staff’s ability to improve the quality of care provided for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professional feedback is largely positive about the care that the children receive and the progress they are making, although one education provider felt that communication from staff could be strengthened regarding children’s absences from school. Inspection report for children's home: SC064735 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, 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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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if they consider a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must challenge and where necessary escalate to ensure that meetings to address concerns about a child’s missing-from-home episodes and safeguarding are held in a timely manner and that safety planning is appropriate for the child. 19 March 2025

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study; 19 March 2025 Inspection report for children's home: SC064735 7 understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(v)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that when children are not in education, there is clear structure and routine in place at the home to support independent study. They must also ensure that when there are concerns around lack of education and learning, that they can evidence what they have done to achieve engagement, including any actions taken to escalate concerns when relevant plans such as education, health and care plans and personal education plans are not reviewed in appropriate timescales.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and homely environment and that children can access and enjoy all appropriate areas and that these are well maintained, in particular the garden. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff are provided with good-quality supervisions that give them opportunities to reflect on their practice, the needs of the children assigned to their care and to discuss their ongoing development. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: SC064735 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: County Hall, Preston PR1 8XJ

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Inspector

Angeline Clarke, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC064735 9 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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