Children's Home run by Coastal Quality Care Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2775641 1 Registered provider: Coastal Quality Care Limited

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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 organisation. The home is registered to care for 2 children with social and emotional difficulties. Both children spoke to the inspectors.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a new interim manager in post from January 2026, and they have applied to register with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2775641 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/06/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2775641 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, 1 child has moved into the home. Children’s needs are considered as part of the referral process and when planning visits. Although one child moved into the home sooner than planned and without visiting beforehand, this was considered in the best interests of the child. This meant that stability could be achieved at the earliest opportunity.

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improvement to be good

Several areas in the home are showing signs of wear, including walls and communal areas such as the kitchen, which reduces the overall quality of the living environment. During the visit, the organisation’s maintenance team was in the home carrying out some repairs. There is a plan for identified areas of the home to be painted.

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improvement to be good

Children are not currently in formal education. The manager is working with the placing authority and education professionals to secure appropriate education or training opportunities in line with children’s needs. Tuition is available. However, staff success in engaging children is variable. Consequently, children do not benefit from clear daily routines or sufficient informal learning opportunities to support their learning and development.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are well understood, and they are supported to access universal health services when required. Specialist assessments and therapeutic intervention, including life-story work, are advocated for when needed. This supports children to better understand their lived experiences and support their emotional wellbeing.

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improvement to be good

There are plans in place to ensure that children remain connected with their family and people who are important to them. Children’s family time plans have progressed in line with their needs and age.

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improvement to be good

Children have positive relationships with staff and can identify trusted adults they can speak to and are encouraged to share their wishes and feelings. Staff engage children in conversations about staying safe when out and the impact of drug misuse. This helps children to better understand risks and make informed choices.

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improvement to be good

Some opportunities to strengthen safeguarding and learning are missed. Physical intervention is used only when necessary to manage risks. However, staff do not routinely check with children whether they have sustained injuries. Additionally, when the manager has been involved in holding a child, incidents are not reviewed by an appropriate independent person. Inspection report for children’s home: 2775641 4 The manager ensures that risk management plans for children are in place and are reviewed. The plans identify relevant risks; however, guidance for staff on how to manage these risks is not clear. As a result, staff do not always have the information needed to respond consistently, reducing the effectiveness of safeguarding arrangements. Despite this, staff responses to incidents show appropriate practice to support children.

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improvement to be good

Missing-from-home episodes are managed and responded to promptly by staff. Staff follow the missing-from-home protocol and understand what actions to take. Staff search for children and collect them when they are ready to return home.

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improvement to be good

When children raise concerns about staff conduct, the manager takes concerns seriously and refers them to the relevant professionals, including the local safeguarding designated officer. Most staff are aware of how to escalate safeguarding concerns.

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improvement to be good

There are currently risks regarding criminal exploitation. The manager is working with other agencies, and there is effective information-sharing to try and keep the child safe. One social work team manager said, ‘The criminal exploitation concerns are being managed and has reduced.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is a new manager in place who has been promoted from within the organisation. The previous registered manager is taking up a new role in the organisation and is providing support to the manager during a period of handover to ensure continuity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff have access to a wide range of training to support their practice and development. However, there are gaps in areas directly linked to the specific risks and children’s needs. This limits staff’s understanding and their ability to manage some risks effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff have been recruited from a variety of backgrounds, with some staff having experience and being qualified in childcare. New members of staff complete an induction before being enrolled to attain a recognised childcare qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Supervision sessions are held regularly, and there is a clear structure to them. However, records do not evidence that these provide opportunities for staff learning and reflection on their practice. This is a missed opportunity to improve the quality of care provided. Team meetings take place regularly. However, not all documents were available at the time of inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home has experienced some staffing challenges. These have been mitigated by existing staff completing additional shifts and the manager stepping in to provide cover. As a result, the need for agency staff has been kept to a minimum. Two members of staff are deployed from another home in the organisation while recruitment is ongoing to provide consistency for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2775641 5 Management oversight of incident records is not consistently in place. This reduces the manager’s ability to identify patterns and assess whether practice is proportionate and effective, while also considering the impact on the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2775641 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

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f)(g)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they all have the skills to provide good-quality supervision sessions for staff, which allow them to reflect on their practice and the needs of children assigned to their care.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that when incident records are evaluated, they take into account any learning outcomes that can be put in place to support the development of staff and service development. 5 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2775641 7 In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff working in the home are suitably qualified, experienced and competent to carry out their roles effectively and lead a team to deliver high-quality care.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, leaders and managers must ensure that staff are trained to meet the children’s needs.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

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

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally; and

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(x))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that when children are not in formal education, they are provided with an alternative planned routine and structure of learning. 5 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out— 5 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2775641 8 how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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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. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(vii)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that following any physical intervention, staff promptly check the child for any signs of injury, including asking the child directly whether they are in pain or have any injuries regardless of whether an injury is immediately visible.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, leaders and managers must ensure that the oversight of the incident is carried out by someone who was not involved in the physical intervention to provide appropriate independent scrutiny.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that reactive strategies for managing children’s presenting behaviours are clearly outlined in risk management plans and behaviour support plans to inform staff practice. (‘Guide to The Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) 

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Recommendations

 The registered person should that the home is maintained to an acceptable standard, and repairs and painting are carried out in a timely manner. (‘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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2775641 9 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: 2775641 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Coastal Quality Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Scott House, Clarke Street, Poulton Industrial Estate, Poulton-Le-Fylde FY6 8JW

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Inspectors

Shauna Morley, Social Care Inspector Sonja Vega, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2775641 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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