Children's home run by Lancashire County Council in Preston

Inspection report for children's home: SC039689 1 SC039689 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

At the time of this inspection, 4 children were living at the home, and 3 children spoke with the inspectors.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2026.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 22 October 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

This home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 21 and 22 October 2025. Shortfalls were identified in the arrangements to safeguard children and the effectiveness of the management arrangements of the home. Two compliance notices were issued under section 22A of the Care Standards Act 2000. The compliance notices were in relation to Regulation 12, the protection of children standard, and Regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. At the monitoring visit on 10 December 2025, Inspection report for children's home: SC039689 2 it was determined that the steps outlined in compliance notices issued under Regulation 12 and Regulation 13 have been met. Inspection report for children's home: SC039689 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/10/2025 Full Inadequate 23/07/2024 Full Good 26/09/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/10/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC039689 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from warm and nurturing relationships with staff. They describe the home as settled and say staff have more time for them now. One child said, ’[Name of staff] takes time to listen when we are having a bad day and never makes us feel judged, which really helps when things are tough.’ Children are confident, articulate and feel listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are regularly sought through meetings, direct conversation and involvement in improving the home environment. Children say that the mix of children living at the home is better and that the home feels calmer.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress. One child is preparing to return home, and another is moving successfully towards semi-independence, having secured paid employment. Children who have left the home continue to visit the home for special occasions, such as Christmas dinner, which demonstrates the level of emotional security they feel at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Robust behaviour support plans help to improve children’s behaviour. Children help to prepare their plans and include their thoughts about what works well for them. The plans outline the strategies that help them feel calm and behave well, which is a positive, empowering and child-centred approach.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans are brief and lack important detail. Some content is out of date and refers to issues that are no longer relevant. This means that staff do not always have the most up-to-date information about children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Direct-work records vary in quality. Some sessions lack focus, and staff do not consistently provide children with informal learning opportunities. In addition, some important issues that would be helpful to children are not routinely discussed with them.

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

Children say that they feel safe living at the home. Staff have taken steps to promote and maintain children’s safety. As a result, children rarely go missing from home. There have been no incidences of physical intervention, and children appear settled in the company of staff who know them well.

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

Medication arrangements are safe and well organised, with no medication errors recorded. One child is being supported to take responsibility for some of their own medication as part of their independence plan.

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

Staff are not consistent in their understanding of one child’s relationships outside of the home. This has made it difficult for them to complete a thorough and well-informed Inspection report for children's home: SC039689 5 assessment of the potential risks to the child. Staff have taken steps to seek further information, but this is not clearly recorded.

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

Room search documentation is inconsistent. While staff are carrying out searches in response to emerging concerns, the associated records do not always include staff signatures, detailed rationales or follow-up actions. In addition, the frequency of searches is described differently across documents, which has created some confusion.

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

Some staff have not completed training relevant to their role, which compromises the care and support provided to the children. Furthermore, the manager does not have access to an up-to-date staff training matrix. This prevents the manager from effectively monitoring staff training needs and compliance.

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

Staff receive regular supervision that covers areas such as well-being, rota planning, performance and training. However, these sessions do not always include discussion about the children. When children are discussed, there is a lack of reflection on their progress. This means that staff do not have the opportunity to reflect on their work with the children.

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

Some significant incident and missing-from-home records do not include management oversight or evaluation. Therefore, shortfalls in staff practice and responses to children are not consistently reviewed or addressed. As a result, there are missed opportunities to learn from incidents and improve staff practice.

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

Team meetings are held regularly and are child-focused. They include discussions about children’s progress, safeguarding and consistency of staff practice. The manager uses these meetings to explore staff confidence in managing safeguarding incidents, which promotes shared learning across the staff team. Staff report feeling positive about their roles and the support they receive, and they note that the atmosphere at the home has improved recently.

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

Staff say that they feel supported and report that any issues they raise are responded to promptly by leaders and managers. Inspection report for children's home: SC039689 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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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. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)(v)(vi)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff carry out regular, planned, meaningful direct work with children. 6 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC039689 7 In particular, the registered person must ensure that each child has a meaningful and detailed care plan.

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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

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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there is adequate management oversight of incidents and room searches.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must have systems in place so that they are assured that all staff have completed the relevant training. 6 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff receive regular practice-based supervision that includes meaningful discussions about the children in their care. 6 March 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC039689 8

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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: SC039689 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lancashire County Council, PO Box 78, Preston PR1 8XJ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Claire Rose-Dudley

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Inspectors

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Sophie Thomson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC039689 10 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 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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