Oak House New Spring Residential Centre

Inspection report for residential family centre: Oak House New Spring Residential Centre 1 Oak House New Spring Residential Centre New Spring Family Care (Preston) Limited 74 Pedders Lane, Ashton-On-Ribble, Preston, Lancashire PR2 1HN Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this residential family centre

This residential family centre is registered to accommodate up to 5 families at any one time and is privately owned.

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Information about this residential family centre

At the time of the inspection, 5 families resided at the centre.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and parents, taking into account good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and parents are helped and protected good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The residential family centre provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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Overall experiences and progress of

Date of previous inspection: 23 January 2024

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for residential family centre: Oak House New Spring Residential Centre 2

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Summary of findings

The residential family centre is led by an experienced registered manager, responsible individual and care manager who provide visible leadership and create a positive working environment.

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Summary of findings

Staff say they feel valued and supported. They enjoy, and are commitment to, their roles. Staff build positive relationships with families and use these to deliver purposeful, individualised support.

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Summary of findings

Assessments are thorough and informed by a wide range of information sources. Families feel supported and understand what is expected of them during their assessment. Feedback from external professionals is overwhelmingly positive, reflecting effective partnership working and strong advocacy on behalf of families.

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Summary of findings

Staff benefit from regular learning and development opportunities. However, weaknesses in management oversight mean that staff practice and the management of known risks are not consistently monitored. In addition, managers have not ensured that an effective complaints procedure is embedded in practice, or that surveillance arrangements are assessed against families' individual needs and are no more intrusive than necessary.

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Summary of findings

Managers responded promptly to the inspection findings and took immediate action to address the identified shortfalls. Inspection report for residential family centre: Oak House New Spring Residential Centre 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Staff build positive relationships with families and demonstrate a thorough understanding of their individual needs and circumstances. These relationships underpin the delivery of purposeful and individualised key-work sessions, helping families to understand expectations and engage meaningfully in the assessment process.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Managers and staff work proactively to meet families' individual needs, including facilitating access to specialist services and supporting important family and social relationships. Families are encouraged to contribute to the running of the centre through regular house meetings. They also benefit from a wide range of activities and programmes that are tailored to their individual placement plans and support their development and wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Parenting assessments are completed in a timely manner, and any delays are appropriately accounted for. Assessments are evidence based and provide clear recommendations to inform decision-making about children's futures. Parents are encouraged to contribute their views throughout the assessment process and assessing social workers work closely with managers to ensure that parents understand the findings, evidence and any recommendations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Families moving into the centre benefit from carefully planned transitions. Where parents or children have additional emotional, physical or health needs, managers ensure that appropriate support and resources are in place. Staff support families to leave the centre in a planned and positive way, helping them to prepare for the next stage of their journey and settle successfully into their new home environment. When assessments end unexpectedly, managers work closely with the wider professional network to ensure that children's welfare remains the primary consideration. Managers also undertake reflective reviews with staff to identify learning and promote continuous improvement in practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Complaints raised by families are not consistently recognised, investigated or responded to through the complaints process. As a result, families do not always understand how their views have been considered or acted on, and managers are unable to fully evaluate how verbal complaints may inform service improvement and the support provided to families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and parents: good

Managers operate a supervised family time service from the premises for families not residing at the home. This is not in the scope of the centre's registration and reduced residents' access to parts of the home. Managers had not ensured that risk management arrangements relating to this activity were consistently followed. During the inspection, managers ceased operating the service from the premises. Inspection report for residential family centre: Oak House New Spring Residential Centre 4

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff have a good understanding of families' individual risks and vulnerabilities. Up- to-date, individual risk assessments provide staff with the information they need to identify, manage and reduce known risks. Managers ensure that risk management arrangements, including staffing levels and supervision arrangements, are regularly reviewed and reduced where appropriate and safe to do so.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of their safeguarding responsibilities and take prompt and appropriate action when concerns arise regarding a child's welfare. Medication is stored securely and administered in line with prescribed arrangements. Staff support parents to take measured and appropriate risks that promote the development of their confidence, independence and parenting skills. This includes supporting parents to access opportunities in the community and develop practical life skills, such as cooking and managing daily routines.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Staff work proactively with parents to help them understand the risks identified during assessment and to develop strategies to manage these effectively. Families report that the programmes and interventions provided by staff are relevant and beneficial. Staff adapt their approach and tailor the content of interventions to meet individual learning needs, ensuring that information is accessible and supports meaningful engagement.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Managers ensure that comprehensive assessments are completed to consider the needs of prospective families alongside those already living at the centre before decisions are made about admissions. Managers and staff have a good understanding of family dynamics in the centre and respond promptly to de-escalate conflicts when they arise. They provide clear and consistent guidance to parents about their expectations of behaviour and relationships with other families, helping to promote a safe and respectful environment and ensuring that parents understand what is expected of them.

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How well children and parents are helped and protected: good

Managers ensure that the recruitment of staff is robust and only suitable individuals work with children and families. Managers maintain oversight of recruitment activity to ensure that safer recruitment requirements are consistently met. This helps to ensure that families are supported by staff who have the skills, experience and integrity required to undertake their roles safely and effectively.

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good

The centre is led by an experienced registered manager, responsible individual and care manager who are ambitious for both the staff team and the families they support. Managers actively seek feedback from families, professionals and staff, using this information to inform service development, strengthen practice and Inspection report for residential family centre: Oak House New Spring Residential Centre 5 monitor the quality of support provided to families. Managers are visible and have a detailed understanding of each family's needs, progress and assessment plan.

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good

Managers create a positive working relationship with partner agencies to promote a coordinated approach to supporting families. Where necessary, managers provide appropriate challenge to other professionals to ensure that children's needs and welfare remain central to decision-making.

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good

Managers ensure that sufficient staff are available to meet the needs of families living at the centre. Staff morale is high. Staff say that they enjoy their work and feel well supported by managers. Staff also benefit from regular supervision and a range of learning and development opportunities, which support their professional growth and the delivery of high-quality support to families.

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good

Some records relating to families do not consistently capture key information, including occasions when staff challenge parents about their behaviour. Information is stored across multiple recording systems and locations, making key information difficult to locate. In addition, managers have not ensured that accurate records are maintained of staff presence in the centre, including when staff leave the premises.

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good

Management monitoring systems have not consistently identified occasions when staff have not followed plans designed to reduce known risks to families, resulting in these issues continuing. This includes circumstances relating to management of external visitors and measures to minimise children's exposure to passive smoking.

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good

Managers have adopted a generic approach to the use of surveillance, which is not routinely reviewed or tailored to the individual needs of families. Managers have not ensured that surveillance arrangements are informed by an assessment of each family's specific circumstances or that they are no more intrusive than necessary.

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good

Managers took prompt action during to the inspection to address the identified shortfalls. However, these changes are not yet embedded in practice. Inspection report for residential family centre: Oak House New Spring Residential Centre 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 Residential Family Centre Regulations 2002 and the national minimum standards. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6) and any requirements for electronic monitoring imposed by a court under any enactment, the registered person must ensure that electronic or mechanical monitoring devices for the surveillance of residents are not used in a residential family centre, except for the purpose of—

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Requirement Due date

safeguarding their welfare, or that of other residents accommodated in the centre; or

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that any use of such devices is subject to the following conditions:

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Requirement Due date

its use is no more intrusive than necessary. (Regulation 21A (1)(a) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the arrangements for surveillance are informed by an assessment of residents' individual needs and no more intrusive than necessary. 29 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person shall use reasonable endeavours to ensure that the residential family centre is conducted so as to—

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Requirement Due date

promote and make proper provision for the health including physical, mental and emotional health and welfare of residents;

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Requirement Due date

make such provision for the care, treatment, education and supervision of residents as is appropriate to their age and needs. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff follow plans in place to safeguard the welfare and health of residents, including measures to mitigate risks associated 29 July 2026 Inspection report for residential family centre: Oak House New Spring Residential Centre 7 with visitors to the centre and minimise children's exposure to passive smoking.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that an effective procedure for considering complaints is embedded into practice, regularly reviewed and implemented consistently to ensure that complaints are appropriately responded to. ('Residential family centres: national minimum standards', page 29, paragraph 19.8)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records are clear, up to date and contribute to an understanding of the parents' and children's life. ('Residential family centres: national minimum standards', page 30, paragraph 20.1)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and parents 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 Residential Family Centre Regulations 2002 and the national minimum standards. Inspection report for residential family centre: Oak House New Spring Residential Centre 8

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider: New Spring Family Care (preston) Ltd

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Residential family centre details

Registered provider address: 316 Blackpool Road, Fulwood, Preston, Lancashire PR2 3AE

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Residential family centre details

Email address: manager@newspringpreston.co.uk

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Inspectors

Sally Griffiths, Social Care Inspector Shauna Morley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for residential family centre: Oak House New Spring Residential Centre 9 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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