Children's Home run by Associated Wellbeing Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2753204 1 Registered provider: Associated Wellbeing Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider and may provide care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 31 January 2025 and is also registered to manage another home run by the provider.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

An assurance inspection was carried out on 6 August 2024, where serious and widespread concerns were found. Following the inspection, two compliance notices were issued under section 22A of the Care Standards Act 2000. These related to Regulation 12, the protection of children standard, and Regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. Inspection report for children’s home: 2753204 2 An unannounced monitoring visit was completed on 9 September 2024 to evaluate the provider’s progress in meeting the steps in the compliance notices. It was determined at a case review following the monitoring visit that the compliance notices had been met. A further assurance inspection was completed on 22 November 2024 following concerns brought to the attention of Ofsted. There were no serious or widespread concerns found, and further requirements were made. Inspection report for children’s home: 2753204 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/06/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2753204 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved in and out of the home, and one child has moved out of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both of the children living in the home have made progress and say they like living there. Staff have developed positive relationships with the children and encourage them to talk about things that are important to them. This helps the children to build self- confidence and explore their individualities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the value of supporting children to take part in activities in the local community. One child struggled to leave their bedroom when they first moved into the home. Staff were committed and compassionate in their support, and the child now attends their local Cadets meeting twice a week. The child is growing in confidence as well as enjoying valuable social experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff identify opportunities for children to develop their independence skills. The children living in the home were given the experience to interview for and carry out maintenance roles for the provider. The children work together to complete ‘DIY’ tasks, which they enjoy, and are developing essential skills for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff create learning opportunities for the children. When children struggle to attend formal education, staff work with education professionals to identify how they can support the children’s education. As a result, one child has achieved their formal qualification, which increases their opportunities in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before living in the home, one child experienced several hospital admissions due to their health needs. Managers and staff work closely with healthcare professionals as well as ensuring that the child is supported to voice their preferences on their method of treatment. As a result, the child’s health has stabilised, and they manage aspects of their healthcare safely and successfully.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children live in a home which has areas for them to socialise together as well as relax individually. Staff have supported the children to personalise their bedrooms to reflect their individual tastes. Issues with the carpet in one child’s bedroom were addressed by the registered manager during the inspection.

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

Staff understand children’s risks and vulnerabilities. Leaders and managers provide staff with risk plans tailored to children’s individual vulnerabilities. The provider has commissioned a therapeutic service, which provides clear guidance to ensure that children’s plans are trauma informed. This ensures that staff are providing care that helps children to feel emotionally safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2753204 5 Staff regularly hold conversations with children to help them understand the risks in their wider environment. Children gain a sense of independence as well as learning how to keep themselves safe. Consequently, incidents of going missing from this home have significantly decreased for one child.

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

Leaders and managers identified that there were some shortfalls in professional curiosity from staff during times leading up to incidents of self-injurious behaviours by two of the children. They reflected on the incidents and have taken steps to minimise the risk of reoccurrence and to identify learning for the team.

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

Opportunities to review and record incidents of physical intervention effectively have been missed. Records do not consistently reflect the time frame for each intervention or include follow-up conversations with children and staff. This reduces internal and external oversight of interventions and does not ensure that they are used safely.

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

Leaders and managers provide staff with a range of training to ensure that their care is individualised to each child. However, a child who was subject to a deprivation of liberty order was admitted to the home. Although managers had discussed the implications of this with staff, they had not provided them with the opportunity to attend sufficient training. As a result, some staff were unsure of the full implications of the order for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is experienced in residential childcare and, together with the responsible individual and deputy manager, is establishing a strong culture of reflective practice. Together, they have introduced a number of positive changes to the home that they are continuing to embed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have reorganised the staffing structure of the home. This led to several staff leaving and the recruitment of new staff. Changes in staffing have now settled and the children speak positively about the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular audits are carried out by leaders and managers to identify shortfalls in staff practice. For example, medication records are routinely monitored so that managers can identify areas of development for staff to prevent the occurrence of medication errors. This ensures that staff are managing children’s medication safely.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s moves into the home are well planned and take into consideration the children already living there. However, leaders and managers do not evaluate children’s needs in respect of the care they can provide effectively. One child moved into the home but staff, despite their commitment, were unable to support their needs. Consequently, the child left the home after a short period.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to regular team meetings that have a positive impact on their practice. Managers encourage staff to take part in role-playing scenarios and provide Inspection report for children’s home: 2753204 6 them with helpful feedback. This ensures that staff have a safe and supportive environment in which to develop their skills in managing challenging situations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers value the external scrutiny the independent person provides in improving their care of the children. Managers recognised when there were missed opportunities in identifying shortfalls in previous reports and took action to appoint a new independent person. This supports leaders and managers to continually improve the care provided to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2753204 7

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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

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure they thoroughly evaluate that the risks and needs of a child can be met within the range of care that the home can provide. 18 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration; 18 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2753204 8 details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. When children are subject to a deprivation of liberty order, managers should ensure that staff are offered relevant training to support the implications of the order for the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.1)

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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: 2753204 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Associated Wellbeing Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 5, Salesbury Hall Road, Ribchester, Preston PR3 3XR

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Inspector

Sarah Gilbert, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2753204 10 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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