Children's Home run by Lancashire County Council in Lancashire

Inspection report for children's home: SC039683 1 SC039683 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

The home is owned by a local authority and is registered to provide care for up to 6 children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

There were 4 children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2025.

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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: 27 January 2026

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC039683 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/01/2026 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/10/2025 Full Inadequate 06/08/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/12/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC039683 3

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Summary of findings

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home and 2 children have moved in. There are currently 5 children living in the home.

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Summary of findings

Children experience inconsistent standards of care. Variability in rules, routines, rewards and consequences creates confusion and frustration for children.

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Summary of findings

Staff relationships with children are variable. Inspectors observed some confrontational interactions, and unhelpful language is recorded in children's records. Direct work with children and the quality of recording are inconsistent.

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Summary of findings

Staff do not consistently understand or manage children's risks and vulnerabilities. Individual risk management plans are not routinely read or fully understood, resulting in gaps in practice. Online safety, device use and emerging risks, including exploitation and substance misuse, are not sufficiently explored or monitored.

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Summary of findings

Managers do not have effective oversight of the quality of care, resulting in inconsistency in practice and insufficient preparation of children when new children move into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home is generally welcoming; however, parts of the environment show signs of wear and tear. Communal areas are mostly well maintained, but some children's bedrooms are poorly presented. Staff do not consistently support children to maintain acceptable standards of cleanliness, resulting in poor hygiene, insufficient clean clothing and unsuitable living conditions. Management oversight is ineffective, and staff expectations are unclear.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children's daily routines are poor. Some children are awake during the night and sleep during the day. Children often eat meals alone in their bedrooms and spend limited time with staff. House rules are unclear and applied inconsistently by staff, particularly in relation to daily routines. This lack of consistency causes frustration and uncertainty for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff encourage children's education and training, but this is not well managed. Although the manager has recently introduced weekly planners, these are not yet used consistently or effectively. While some progress is evident, children's engagement in education and structured activity is variable. The manager does not yet have effective oversight of children's access to learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children do not have trusting relationships with all staff. While children feel supported by the manager, they raise significant concerns about inconsistency in the staff team. Inspection report for children's home: SC039683 4 Children receive markedly different responses to their needs, including some confrontational approaches by staff. Children are inappropriately exposed to staffing issues, which undermine their sense of safety. Children are not provided with the stability and nurturing care they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children are not consistently prepared for significant life changes. Staff complete some work to support children to develop independence and life skills; however, this work is not well planned, coordinated or recorded. Children are not routinely prepared for new children moving into the home, which increases their anxiety about change. Children experience uncertainty and worry.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children attend routine health appointments and are appropriately referred to specialist services; however, missed appointments are not consistently followed up.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Direct work with children lacks depth and detail. While staff report having regular, meaningful conversations with children, the quality of recording is poor. Records are often brief and include language that is sometimes judgemental. This is a missed opportunity to provide children with purposeful support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children's time with their family and friends is supported appropriately in line with agreed plans.

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

The number and frequency of safeguarding incidents have reduced, and physical intervention has not been necessary. However, safeguarding practice remains inconsistent.

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

Children have individual plans that outline strategies to manage their risks. However, arrangements for sharing this information with staff are ineffective, and staff do not consistently read or fully understand these plans. This results in inconsistent practice and places children at ongoing risk of harm.

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

Children know how to raise concerns. They speak positively about the manager. However, not all children feel safe due to inconsistent staffing and poor relationships with the adults caring for them.

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

Staff use rewards and consequences; however, house rules are unclear and applied inconsistently. Staff do not consistently challenge vaping, despite the no-smoking policy, and are unclear about appropriate responses to this issue, including consequences. As a result, children do not understand expectations.

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

Children have continuous, unrestricted access to the internet. Staff do not complete online safety checks and do not know who children are talking to or what information they are accessing. Leaders and managers do not have an effective policy to protect children's safety online. Inspection report for children's home: SC039683 5 Staff take appropriate action to locate children when they go missing from home. They work appropriately with the police and other agencies to bring children home safely. However, there is some inconsistency in thresholds and timescales for reporting children as missing.

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

Staff do not demonstrate sufficient professional curiosity about children's experiences and risks. Risks identified following missing episodes have not been robustly explored or followed up. Records are sometimes inaccurate and lack critical detail. While relevant referrals have been made, and some management oversight of incidents is evident, staff practice does not fully safeguard children from exploitation and other emerging risks.

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

Safe recruitment procedures are in place. However, records are difficult to navigate, which limits effective oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not have effective oversight of the quality of care. They have failed to ensure consistent practice and clear boundaries, resulting in significant shortfalls in children's daily experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children do not yet receive consistent, high-quality care. Although staffing levels are sufficient, staff, children and professionals identify significant inconsistency in practice. The lack of stability in the staff team negatively impacts routines, boundaries and children's sense of safety and security.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Supervision arrangements are inconsistent and ineffective. Records do not evidence regular supervision, some are missing and the level of detail varies significantly. While staff welfare is prioritised, supervision does not consistently include reflective discussion about children's needs or practice. Important issues raised about children are not robustly explored or challenged. Formal oversight of staff practice is insufficient.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff complete training; however, this is not effective in improving practice. Learning from training is not embedded and there is limited evidence that leaders evaluate its impact on practice or children's experiences. Shortfalls in staff's understanding and application of policies and procedures continue.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers follow complaints and allegations procedures, with appropriate oversight and independent investigation. Children are informed of outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff now attend team meetings and development days to focus on improving practice. While these meetings are beginning to provide greater clarity around expectations, their impact on staff practice and children's experiences is not yet fully embedded. Inspection report for children's home: SC039683 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 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child's relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must make sure that there are clear policies and procedures in place for protecting children's online safety.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must make sure that staff know what they need to do to keep children safe online. 14 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC039683 7 The registered person must ensure that staff provide consistent day-to-day care, which keeps children safe.

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Requirement Due date

Staff must provide children with consistent rules, boundaries and standards of care.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make sure that staff care for children with empathy, curiosity and respect.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make sure that staff understand how to identify escalating or emerging risks and know how to respond.

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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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

The registered person will have systems in place that allow them to keep good oversight of day-to-day care.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person will make sure that children are cared for by a consistent team, who all know how to care for children and keep them safe. 14 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC039683 8 Staff will understand children's plans and apply them consistently.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that all monitoring systems are used effectively to identify and address shortfalls in the care that children receive.

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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

understand and apply the home's statement of purpose; ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home's statement of purpose; protect and promote each child's welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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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

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children personal items that are appropriate for their age and understanding; and 30 July 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC039683 9 make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child's relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice;

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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)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must make sure that children enjoy a positive daily structure. When children are not engaged in full-time education, they should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable, structured activities.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make sure that staff support children to keep their bedrooms clean and tidy.

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The registered person must make sure that children are provided with consistent care from staff who show them respect and empathy.

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The registered person must make sure that there is a consistent approach to rewards and consequences, of which they maintain effective oversight.

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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

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and 30 July 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC039683 10 that each child's relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make sure that children are sufficiently prepared and supported for other children moving into their home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make sure that children's plans provide staff with clear guidance about what their day-to-day care looks like. The registered person must make sure that staff understand these plans and apply them consistently.

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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.

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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

meet each child's behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child's relevant plans;

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strive to gain each child's respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children's previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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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)(i)(vii)(ix)(x)(b)) 30 July 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC039683 11 The registered person must make sure that staff hold children in high regard and treat them with respect in all situations.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must make sure that staff receive regular supervision, which is reflective and helpful.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make sure that staff have regular, helpful conversations with children about important topics that help them to learn. The records of these conversations must be detailed enough to be helpful to the child.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make sure that children's records are free of judgemental language.

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: SC039683 12

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Children's home details

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

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Claire Rose-Dudley

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Inspectors

Nicola Shaw, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Samantha Cooper, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC039683 13 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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