Children's home run by Lancashire County Council in Preston

Inspection report for children’s home: SC039673 1 SC039673

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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 home is owned and managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to 6 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 5 children were living at the home. Four children spoke with the inspectors about their experiences of living at the home.

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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: SC039673 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/05/2024 Full Good 14/06/2023 Full Good 15/06/2022 Full Good 25/01/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: SC039673 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, five children have moved out of the home, four have transitioned to semi-independence and one child returned home. These children moved in a planned, child-centred way. Staff and managers ensured that the children felt valued and that transitions reflected their wishes and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care that makes them feel valued and secure. Staff have built strong relationships with children and are therapeutic and nurturing in their interactions. Social workers are extremely positive about the care the children receive. They report that staff promote children’s health, education and family time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children are currently attending school. However, staff are proactive in supporting them back into education and are working with relevant professionals to find solutions to the challenges. There are clear routines and structures in place for children during the day and staff encourage children to complete schoolwork and engage with tutors.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers fail to provide children with appropriate help and guidance regarding their health needs. As a result, there is no evidence of referrals being made to the appropriate agencies for one child to ensure that they receive advice and support about his vaping, despite the child having previous chest concerns. Two children have not had their annual statutory health assessment in the required timescale. These shortfalls mean that children’s health needs are not being fully met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are offered a wide range of activities. These include playing football, go-karting, visits to the cinema, walking and trips out to places of interest. These varied activities enable children to have positive experiences and fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff complete room searches when concerns arise. However, the manager does not consistently have oversight of these searches and social workers are not always informed about them. This lack of oversight and transparency means that it is not clear whether room searches are being carried out safely or proportionately.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff fully support children to stay in touch with their families and have a good understanding of their background history and relationships. Some children have made significant progress in improving these relationships. Staff work proactively with parents and partner agencies to ensure that family time is safe, enjoyable and promotes continuity of care.

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

Staff know and understand children’s vulnerabilities and the risks that some behaviours may pose to their welfare and safety. Good levels of supervision and support, alongside Inspection report for children’s home: SC039673 4 good-quality risk assessments, are used to protect children and minimise the risk of harm.

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

Assessments to manage risk are routinely reviewed and updated to identify and include information relating to any new risks. The assessments detail the methods and strategies to be used by staff to support children in making safe and informed decisions.

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

Children who go missing from the home are protected by good reporting procedures that are shared between social care services and the police. However, the managers oversight and monitoring of incidents do not evaluate staff practice. This is a missed opportunity to review staff practice and improve the strategies used to manage children’s behaviours.

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

Physical intervention is rarely used to manage children’s behaviour. When interventions do occur, they are appropriate and proportionate. Incidents are recorded in detail and provide a thorough account of the events. However, on one occasion the manager did not identify that a child had not received a debrief following an intervention. This means that the child’s views about the physical intervention were not considered and the staff did not have the opportunity to reflect on the incident or identify learning to help prevent similar situations from reoccurring.

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

Relationships between the children are generally positive. However, it is not clear how staff help children to develop positive relationships with each other. Incidents of challenging behaviour between the children are not appropriately responded to. Although staff intervene, there is a lack of effective follow-up work undertaken to address these behaviours.

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

The staff recruitment and selection process is thorough. The manager does not confirm any new staff appointments until all checks have been completed. These measures positively promote the safety of the children by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. He is passionate about his role and aspires for children to achieve success in their lives. These beliefs and values are shared with staff, who work together to create a positive environment for children to live in.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers fail to monitor and review records of room searches, missing-from-care incidents and physical interventions. Managers’ lack of effective oversight prevents them from identifying and acting on shortfalls in staff practice, patterns and trends in the provision of care and from making improvements to the way that staff manage children’s challenging behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with the training needed to undertake their roles effectively. They have the skills to meet the needs of the children in their care. Staff say they like Inspection report for children’s home: SC039673 5 working at the home and are enthusiastic about their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are managed effectively and benefit from effective support through regular practice-related supervision. The manager is supportive of staff practice and ensures that staff feel supported in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly. These are child-focused reflective meetings that provide staff with opportunities to share key messages about practice and promote a consistent approach to caring for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager builds collaborative working relationships with partner agencies. This helps to ensure that children receive a strong, focused multi-agency response to meet their specific needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC039673 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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the child’s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child’s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child’s age and understanding.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that referrals to the appropriate agencies are made for children to receive medical support and guidance and ensuring that children’s statutory medicals are scheduled. 27 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults. 27 April 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC039673 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff supporting children to resolve conflict with others in the home.

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the manager’s oversight of room searches, missing-from-care incidents and physical interventions is carried out to improve care in the home. 27 April 2026

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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: SC039673 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lancashire County Council, PO Box 100, Preston PR1 0LD

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Inspectors

Dave Carrigan, Social Care Inspector Samantha Cooper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC039673 9 regulates 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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