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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Full inspection 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 post has been vacant since May 2025. There has been a new manager in post since August 2025, who plans to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspection started on 1 October 2025. Inspectors returned on 21 October 2025 to gather additional evidence in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded. The care and experiences of children and young people are poor, and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 4 February 2025

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/02/2025 Full Good 05/03/2024 Full Good 08/03/2023 Full Good 06/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC064735 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Concerns about the effectiveness of safeguarding practices and the quality of leadership and management are negatively affecting the experiences of all children living at the home. One professional said, ‘[Child’s name] no longer sees it as his home anymore and that is really sad.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not support children to adopt and sustain good daily routines effectively. Children’s days lack structure, and they spend long periods of time unoccupied. Two children do not attend school regularly and one child is not in education, employment or training (NEET). When children are not accessing education, there are no structured plans in place for alternative education within the home or attempts to engage them in seeking employment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Two children currently spend limited time at the home, only staying overnight occasionally. The manager had arranged for all children’s bedrooms to be redecorated and refurnished, involving the children in the process to help create a space that feels comfortable and welcoming. However, one child’s bedroom door was significantly damaged, and repairs were not arranged in a timely manner. This posed a fire safety risk and detracted from the homely environment staff were trying to create. The fire door was repaired during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There have been some changes in the staff team over the past year, with bank and agency staff being used to cover shifts. In addition, changes to management arrangements in the home have contributed to some inconsistencies in the quality-of- care provided to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

When one child moved on from the home, they experienced a planned move to semi- independence. Staff completed work with the child to prepare them for independent living, helping them develop skills such as budgeting, cooking, travelling and household chores. This ensured that the child had the skills to live independently. The child’s time at the home was celebrated with a meal, and thoughtful gifts and keepsakes of their time spent in the home. The staff worked with other professionals to provide a structured transition. This provided the child with a level of stability from trusted adults at a time of significant change.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The manager and staff plan activities during the school holidays to promote positive interactions and strengthen relationships between the children and staff. Children have enjoyed mini breaks in log cabins and caravans, day trips to theme parks and BBQs and garden games at home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC064735 4

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

Staff do not always take effective action to safeguard children. For example, one child was taken to an unauthorised address in the early hours of the morning because staff were unable to manage the child’s behaviour in a positive way. There are no records of any checks made by staff to ensure the safety of this decision or evidence that senior managers were informed of their actions. Furthermore, the manager has not taken action to address this with the staff involved.

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

There have been a high number of incidents of children missing from the home. Staff do not always follow children’s missing from home protocols and take effective action to locate children quickly. For example, when one child was missing from home overnight, staff did not undertake a physical search for the child until the following day. This lack of action compromises the safety of children.

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

Waking night staff do not always effectively monitor children. This has led to two children gaining access to the home's car keys and driving the car undetected, placing them and others in danger. Additional security measures have been put in place to minimise the risk of reoccurrence.

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

Some children have issues with substance misuse. Although discouraged, they can facilitate each other's addictions, which results in negative and disruptive behaviours at home. Staff struggle to manage challenging situations and support from the police has been required to keep everybody safe. When children use substances, staff do not always seek medical advice to support them to keep children safe and well.

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

Children have been referred to and have received support from substance misuse services; however, services withdraw their support when children do not engage or meet progression targets. This does not get escalated or challenged resulting in children not receiving the support they require.

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

Children's risks are often viewed as individual without considering the impact on other children at the home and there is a lack of guidance for staff to manage children's collective risks. Staff can say how they would respond to keep children safe, however, due to a lack of guidance, they are not consistent in their approach to care and support children, which results in inconsistent messages and care for children.

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

Reports of some significant incidents lack detail about the actions staff have taken to safeguard children. This hinders the manager’s ability to evaluate whether staff are taking appropriate and effective action to protect children from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staffing within the home has been subject to significant change. The previous manager left in May, alongside four staff members. The home is currently managed by a new manager and a responsible individual. The new manager has applied to register with Ofsted. Inspection report for children’s home: SC064735 5 Management oversight and monitoring systems are ineffective. Leaders and managers do not have sufficient oversight of the care provided to children. For example, the manager has not identified when staff have not followed missing-from-home procedures. The manager does not record his oversight of significant incidents at the home and not consistently identified or challenged poor practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Care planning processes for children’s moves into the home are not robust. Leaders and managers do not consider the needs of children moving into the home, alongside the needs of the children already living there or the skills and experience of the staff team. Additionally, these considerations are not reviewed or reassessed following significant incidents at the home. As a result, managers lack awareness of how the complexities of individual children's needs are impacting the overall experiences of all children at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not review children’s placements following significant incidents or when children are persistently absent from home. They do not consider the ongoing suitability of placements or how they can best meet the children's needs in consultation with the child's placing authority.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff receive regular supervision which is supportive and focuses on reflection of practice and planning for children. However, new staff feel that induction programmes do not provide them with the guidance and support they need to carry out their role effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not always follow safer recruitment checks. References from employers are not always requested.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The responsible individual took immediate steps during the inspection to safeguard children and improve the management arrangements at the home. 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, 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered, so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)) 07 December 2025

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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

promotes their welfare. 07 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC064735 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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

ensure that the home's workforce provides continuity of care to 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;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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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;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that arrangements are in place to— 28 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC064735 8 manage and review the placement of each child in the home;

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Requirement Due date

that the child's placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child's relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child's needs;

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Requirement Due date

the child is, or has been, persistently absent from the home without permission;

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 14 (1)(a)(2)(a)(b)(ii)(e)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must carefully consider the care needs of children alongside the needs of the children already residing in the home, and how staff will meet these needs before accommodating them into the home. These considerations should be reviewed following any incidents that impact other residents in the home.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, leaders and managers must ensure that they manage and review the placement of children, considering the suitability of the placement with the child's placing authority, particularly following significant incidents or when children are persistently absent from home.

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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; 07 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC064735 9 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.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that there are structured plans in place to support and enhance children's learning when formal education falls short of the required 25 hours. Additionally, leaders and managers must ensure that structured plans are in place for alternative learning and engagement when children are not accessing education.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished, so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that the home is maintained to a good standard, and repairs are made in a timely manner. This includes replacing broken guttering and maintaining the homes garden. 28 December 2025

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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

The requirements are that— full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that they follow safer recruitment practices, including requesting and verifying references from previous employers. 28 December 2025

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC064735 10

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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 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Preston PR1 8XJ

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Inspectors

Renee Sims, Social Care Inspector Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Sophie Thomson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC064735 12 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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