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:

 Care is well planned and implemented and practice is highly individualised to meet the specific needs of the young people at the home. Young people make measurable progress in relation to their individual starting points. They benefit from effective support that leads to change and improvement in their lives.  Young people attend school with good support and encouragement from staff. When school becomes difficult for young people, staff work closely with the providers of their education to overcome those difficulties, promoting regular attendance at school.  Young people are registered with doctors, dentists and opticians and have access to these services when they need them. The home maintains effective partnerships with health professionals and other specialist services to promote young people’s physical and emotional well-being.  Staff have a good understanding of the specific needs and vulnerabilities of

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The children's home provision is good because:

the young people and take appropriate action to address them. Young people are kept safe and have a strong sense of personal safety.  Young people benefit from a clean, physically safe, warm, comfortable and homely environment. Health and safety matters are addressed effectively to ensure a safe environment for young people.  The home employs sufficient numbers of qualified, trained and experienced staff. Those staff who are not qualified are undertaking an appropriate qualification. Staff have access to good-quality training and their individual training needs are effectively identified and met.  The home benefits from a suitably qualified, trained and experienced registered manager. The manager is enthusiastic about her role and is supportive of the young people and staff.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meets the Care Standards Act 2000, 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

16: Statement of purpose: (1) The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (‘the statement of purpose’) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. This relates specifically to including details of the relevant experience and qualifications of staff. (Regulation 16 (1)) 17/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

33: Employment of staff: (4) The registered person must ensure that all employees— (a) undertake appropriate continuing professional development; (b) receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and (c) have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c)) 17/10/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 Each child should have permission for staff to administer first aid and non- prescription medication from a person with parental responsibility for them recorded in their relevant plan. For children looked after, this permission should be sought and arranged by the child's social worker. Where appropriate, the child's family should be involved in supporting their child's health needs as well as in providing permission for treatment. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.14)  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps that the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. This relates specifically to ensuring

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Recommendations

that all young people have a risk assessment in relation to going missing from the home and a behaviour management plan to address their behaviour. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  Ensure that 'relevant plans' are obtained from the placing authority. This relates specifically to obtaining copies of the placing authorities care plan and personal education plan for young people. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.1)

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Information about this children's home

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

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement N/A

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Good

This is the home’s first inspection since its registration in June 2016. Since that time, there have been no placement breakdowns, disruptions or failures. Both young people currently living at the home are relatively new admissions. They have settled in quickly and are developing good relationships with staff and each other. Young people benefit from continuity of care and have stability and consistency in their lives. Young people make measurable progress in relation to their individual starting points and benefit from effective support that leads to change and improvement in their lives. Young people are encouraged to attend school with good support and encouragement from staff. When school becomes difficult for young people, staff work closely with the providers of their education to overcome those difficulties, promoting regular attendance at school. Young people who are currently without any form of education, are having suitable home tuition provided, until such time

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Good

as an appropriate educational provision is identified. However, neither young person has a personal education plan to promote their educational achievement. Young people report, ‘I get on with the other young person. We’re like mates and that, but he’s a male. I don’t like the rules sometimes but they’re there for a reason. School’s not that good at the moment but staff are sorting it out for me.’ Young people are registered with doctors, dentists and opticians and have access to these services when they need them. The home maintains effective partnerships with health professionals and other specialist services to promote young people’s physical and emotional well-being. The storage, safe keeping and administration of young people’s medication are managed safely by staff. However, not all young people have medical consent, including consent for the administration of homely remedies, to ensure that staff are clear about what health decisions and

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Good

responsibilities are delegated to them. Staff provide advice and support with any health issues and encourage the young people to lead and maintain a healthy lifestyle. As a result, young people are learning to take responsibility for their own health and well-being. Young people benefit from contact with their friends and families and this enables them to sustain their close relationships with the people who are most important to them. Young people benefit from enjoyable activities both at the home and in the wider community. As a result, they develop their social skills, friendships, interests and hobbies. Young people report, ‘It’s alright. Staff are dead nice and friendly. It’s a lovely house. We go out to the cinema and the park. We have pamper nights. Claire’s the best at makeup but I’m the best at hair. Gemma’s my key worker. She’s lovely. They’re both good fun.’ Young people are involved in key decisions and staff act on their reasonable

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Good

requests. They know how to make a complaint and their complaints are addressed effectively. Young people are listened to, consulted and able to influence and contribute to the running of the home.

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Good

Young people are protected from abuse, bullying and child sexual exploitation. Staff are trained in child protection so that they know how to deal with allegations and report suspected abuse. Significant incidents are reported to the appropriate authorities to ensure that young people benefit from effective support, help and protection. Staff have a good understanding of the specific needs and vulnerabilities of the young people and take appropriate action to address them. Young people are kept safe and have a strong sense of personal safety. Risks associated with young people are generally well known and understood by staff. However, the home’s most recent admission does not have a behaviour management plan to help staff address any challenging behaviour, should it arise. Additionally, they do not have a risk assessment to promote their safety should they go missing from care. As these are both recording issues, a recommendation is made in respect of the shortfalls.

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Good

Staff promote and encourage good relationships and positive behaviour within the home. They understand how young people’s uncomfortable feelings and emotions can be communicated through negative and/or challenging behaviour. They help young people to resolve their conflicts positively. There have been no restraints since either young person’s admission. Rewards are often used and the use of sanctions is kept to an absolute minimum. Young people report, ‘If I’m in [a] mood they take me out for a walk and help me calm down. They try their best to help me. It feels better when I talk to staff.’ There is evidence that the frequency and intensity with which young people go missing is decreasing. Staff actively look for young people if they are missing and follow appropriate procedures to promote their quick and safe return. They maintain effective partnerships with the police and other safeguarding agencies to

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Good

promote the safety of young people. Young people benefit from a clean, physically safe, warm, comfortable and homely environment. Health and safety matters are addressed effectively to ensure a safe environment for young people. Judgement grade

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Good

The home benefits from a suitably qualified, trained and experienced registered manager. The manager is enthusiastic about her role and is supportive of the young people and staff. They demonstrate effective leadership of the home’s operation and ensure that the home is well staffed and resourced. The home employs sufficient numbers of qualified, trained and experienced staff. Those staff who are not qualified are undertaking an appropriate qualification. New staff have completed their induction and have access to good-quality training to develop their specific skills and knowledge in caring for young people. The training needs of staff are effectively identified and met. However, supervision for less experienced staff is not taking place regularly. Supervision records do not routinely include staff signatures and the duration of their supervision. That said, staff confirm that they feel well led and supported.

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Good

The manager has completed a written development plan for the home. The plan is currently work in progress and is intended to set realistic yet challenging goals for the development of the home. A detailed safe area report is in place and this identifies local resources and risks associated with the location of the home. The location of the home is judged as being safe and suitable for young people. The manager makes good use of the home’s internal and external monitoring activities to improve the standard and quality of young people’s care. They have a good understanding of the strengths and they tackle any identified weaknesses to secure improvement. Independent scrutiny of the home’s performance takes place each month and this challenges the home’s continuing improvement. The manager acts in the best interests of young people. They escalate concerns and challenge underperforming services that fail to deliver the support or services

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Good

that young people need. This is particularly evident in the manager championing the young people’s education, to overcome any barriers that impede their progress and learning. The home meets the aims and objectives as set out in its statement of purpose. However, the statement does not include the specific details of the staff group’s relevant experience.

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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 ‘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 looked after children 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 that 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 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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . 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, workbased 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

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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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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