Children's home run by Lytham Care Limited in Knowsley

Good

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

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Young people make exceptional progress in relation to their individual starting points across all aspects of their welfare, physical, social, emotional and behavioural development. They benefit from effective, high-quality support from staff that contributes to significant change and improvement in their lives.  Staff maintain positive partnerships with the police, social workers, therapists and the providers of young people’s education to meet their specific needs and to ensure that they benefit from the best possible help, protection and wraparound support. Young people benefit from exceptionally well-planned, highly personalised care that promotes their needs effectively.  Staff work with young people effectively and with great effort and enthusiasm. They have excellent, trusting relationships with the young people. They actively listen to them and involve them in all aspects of their care.  Young people are kept safe and have a strong sense of personal safety.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

They become increasingly safer as a result of the actions that staff take to support and protect them. Risks associated with young people are well known and understood by staff.  The home is managed efficiently and effectively by a full-time registered manager who demonstrates strong and effective leadership of the home. The registered manager is consistently ambitious and energetic about sustaining the home’s improvement. The home meets the aims and objectives of its Statement of Purpose and provides a high-quality service for young people, their social workers and families.  There are no breaches in regulation. However, there are two recommendations made in relation to securing long-term therapy for young people and a pathway plan for eligible care leavers.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Encourage children to take a proactive role in looking after their day-to-day health and well-being. Where children have specific health needs or conditions, they should be supported to manage these, subject to their age and understanding. When a child needs additional health or well-being support, staff should work with the child’s placing authority to enable proper and immediate access to any specialist medical, psychological or psychiatric support required, and challenge them through regulation 5 – engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met – if this doesn’t happen.(‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.10)  Where the placing authority or another relevant person does not provide the input and services needed to meet a child’s needs during their time in the

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Recommendations

home or in preparation for leaving the home, the home should challenge them to meet the child’s needs (see regulation 5(c)). Staff should act as champions for their children, expecting nothing less than a good parent would. This relates specifically to the development of a pathway plan for eligible care leavers and access to therapeutic support for young people when needed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.8)

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for one young person who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties or learning disabilities. The home is privately owned and managed.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

29/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

There have been no new admissions, placement breakdowns, disruptions or failures since the last inspection. The young person enjoys living at the home, is kept safe and has developed a real sense of permanence and belonging. Staff provide the young person with continuity of care so that they have consistency and stability in their lives. The young person enjoys excellent relationships with staff and sustains their positive attachments. The young person benefits from the safety and stability this home provides them. The young person has made considerable progress in relation to their starting point across all aspects of their welfare, physical, social, emotional and behavioural development. There is evidence of significant change and improvement in their life. The young person benefits from effective, high-quality support from staff that contributes to their positive self-view and is sensitive to their gender, identity, age,

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Good

history and sexuality. As a result, the young person feels unconditional acceptance and warmth from staff. Staff positively and proactively involve the young person in all aspects of their care so they can influence key decisions that affect their lives. Consequently, the young person can have a say in how their needs are met and their daily life is managed. The young person benefits from exceptionally well-planned, highly individualised care that promotes their needs effectively. The young person enjoys good health and has access to the services they need to promote their physical well-being. They are registered with a doctor, dentist and optician and had access to regular professional therapy, which they engaged in really well. However, therapy is no longer available or provided for them. As a result, the young person is not accessing the specialist help they need to promote their emotional and psychological well-being.

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Good

A forensic psychologist reports, ‘My role was the undertaking of the psychological assessment over several weeks. My experience of the staff team was a positive one in regards to the staff fully supporting the young person’s engagement with the psychological assessment and them presenting a positive attitude towards this, which in turn helped the young person to engage meaningfully. The staff appeared motivated to enhance their understanding of her presentation and to help her positive progression. They seemed very engaged with her and collaborated well with the assessment process. I found that they were receptive to collaborating with external professionals and responsive to the feedback and recommendations outlined from the assessment report.’ Another therapist reported, ‘At this stage there are no plans for any further involvement.’ The young person attends education on a regular basis, with excellent support and

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Good

encouragement from staff. Staff are ambitious about and have consistently high aspirations for the young person. They work effectively and proactively with the provider of the young person’s education to promote their educational achievement. They go the extra mile and are actively supporting the young person at college, on a day-to-day basis, to support their learning and positive behaviour. A tutor reports, ‘The young person has made great improvements due to excellent communication between their provision and college. We are kept informed of any changes, regular review meetings are held and parents’ evenings are attended by staff. The support staff are aware of the young person’s triggers and anticipate any challenges, acting accordingly to defuse these situations, giving advice and support to teaching and support staff where necessary. They deal with any issues discreetly and professionally at all times. The young person has made good

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Good

progress this year both academically and socially.’ The young person actively participates in a broad range of constructive and enjoyable activities both at home and in the wider community. They enjoy dancing and making videos of themselves, cooking, arts and crafts and visiting various venues and theme parks. The young person reports, ‘I like a lot of the staff. They’re nice and they make me feel at home. The staff are very caring… I do fitness DVDs and I like dancing and practise in my room. I make my own videos.’

p.7

Good

Staff promote the young person’s independence and are using a competency- based approach that develops the young person’s knowledge and independent living skills. The young person has excellent cooking skills and is encouraged to wash their own clothes and assist staff with the food shopping. However, the young person is now 17 years of age. They do not have a pathway plan to support their transition and preparation for adulthood. Additionally, the young person is not currently allowed any free time, which limits their growth and natural development. This is subject to a risk assessment that is kept under regular review. Staff promote contact for the young person within the constraints of any restrictions imposed by the placing authority. The young person is having some contact by letter and by phone. Staff act as mediators between the young person and their family to promote and facilitate contact.

p.7

Good

Staff consistently place the young person’s safety at the centre of their practice, irrespective of the challenges this presents. They have an excellent understanding of their specific needs and vulnerabilities and they take appropriate action to address them. Risks associated with the young person are well known and understood by staff. The young person is kept safe and feels safe at the home.

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Good

The use of behaviour management plans, clear risk assessment and safe working practice promote the young person’s safety, welfare and well-being. The young person is supported in accordance with their needs and in a way that limits their risk-taking behaviour. High staffing levels and close supervision mean that the young person has not gone missing. Should they do so, there are effective procedures and arrangements to promote their safe return. The young person has a risk assessment to alert the relevant authorities of their particular needs and vulnerabilities should they go missing.

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Good

Staff actively promote the young person’s positive behaviour. They treat them with respect and with unconditional positive regard. Staff share and implement the home’s ethos, approach and philosophy in caring for young people. They adopt a non-punitive and restorative approach. They have meaningful conversations with the young person. They support them to express themselves and teach them how to manage their feelings and emotions safely. As a result, the young person learns how to deal with conflict and can regulate their own behaviour. There have been no restraints, and the use of sanctions is kept to an absolute minimum. A tutor reports that the young person ‘is more able to listen to other people’s points of view and is more accepting of constructive criticism.’

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Good

A psychologist reported, ‘I found the staff to be keen to learn new techniques to work with the young person and motivated to work with her in the best way possible. They were knowledgeable and were able to reflect on her individual needs. Incentives and strategies discussed in staff meetings were put in place and used to full effect.’

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Good

Staff are well trained in child protection so that they know how to deal with disclosures and report any allegations of abuse. Significant incidents are reported to the appropriate authorities charged with a duty to protect young people. There have been no allegations of abuse and no referrals have been made to children and young people’s services since the last inspection. The young person is effectively safeguarded and protected. Staff employed are selected and vetted carefully. Consequently, the young person is protected from unsafe and unsuitable people.

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Good

The manager has completed a safe area location review. Consequently, risks associated with the home’s location are clearly understood by staff. The review is undertaken each year to ensure that the location of the home remains safe and suitable for young people. The police are consulted as part of the review in relation to local crime figures and crime types, including the risk of sexual exploitation.

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Good

Young people benefit from a warm, comfortable, physically safe and homely environment. They are actively involved by staff in personalising all aspects of the home and have developed a real sense of ownership. As a result, the young person feels at home and has a very real sense of belonging. Health and safety matters are addressed effectively to promote a safe environment for young people.

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Good

The home benefits from a well-qualified and extremely experienced registered manager, who exercises strong and effective leadership of the home’s day-to-day operations. The manager is consistently ambitious and energetic about sustaining the home’s improvement. They stimulate staff’s enthusiasm and they channel their efforts effectively. They lead the staff team by example and have high expectations of staff and the young people. Written development plans are used to promote the home’s continuing development and improvement. There were no requirements or recommendations from the previous inspection. The manager effectively prioritises the needs of young people. They maintain highly effective partnerships with all professional agencies to champion their needs and ensure that they benefit from the best possible help and all-round support. They escalate concerns and challenge underperformance when they believe this is

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Good

in the best interests of the young people. The home is consistently managed in a way that effectively delivers the ethos, approach and philosophy as outlined in its Statement of Purpose. The home is able to demonstrate the positive impact and difference it has made to the lives of young people entrusted to its care. Staff benefit from regular supportive and professional supervision. They have an annual appraisal of their practice and are able to reflect on their personal performance and development. They have their individual training needs effectively identified and met and have access to good-quality training that enables them to meet the specific needs of the young people. This includes access to specialist training, such as in gender reassignment and working with young people who display sexualised behaviour. A therapist reported, ‘I visited the home on a weekly basis to complete an hour of training with staff each week and an hour of therapy

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Good

sessions with the young person. I found the staff to be keen to learn new techniques.’

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Good

The home is visited each month by an independent person solely employed to scrutinise the quality of young people’s care. Reports are prepared for the home, Ofsted and the placing authority on request. Combined with the registered manager’s own internal monitoring activities, there are effective systems for the manager to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the service. This enables them to take appropriate action to eliminate any shortfalls and to secure improvement.

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Good

Case records reflect young people’s everyday life experiences and show the good work that is routinely undertaken with them. Staff actively encourage the young person’s positive and meaningful contribution to their plans, so that they understand their progress and achievements and know their plans for the future. Staff work creatively and enthusiastically with the young person to maximise their progress in all areas of their life.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against the ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children’s home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children’s home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children’s home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of children looked after is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place. However, the children’s home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children’s home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children’s home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults that make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. the guidance ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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