Children's home run by Lytham Care Limited in Knowsley

Inspection report children’s home: SC482340 1 SC482340 Registered provider: Lytham Care Limited

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

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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 Good

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Good

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

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Good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC482340 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people benefit from personalised care provided by a dedicated and nurturing team. As a result, young people make continued progress.  Staff are skilled at developing positive relationships with young people. These relationships are helping young people to trust the staff and to feel safe in their home.  Young people have a strong voice because staff meaningfully engage them in decision-making. This also prepares young people for making decisions when they reach adulthood.  Partnership working with a range of professionals and specialist services is a key strength of this home.  Young people are safe because staff get to know the young people well. Staff are fully alert to potential dangers, taking effective action when necessary to minimise harm to young people.  An experienced and child-focused registered manager and deputy lead the team well. They lead by example and this is demonstrated by staff’s high standard of

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 The use of certain locks in the home undermines the homely, domestic atmosphere that staff and young people have worked hard to create.  Health plans do not demonstrate how staff support the young people with their sexual health and development.  Staff are not consistently signing and dating young people’s case records, which can hinder the monitoring of young people’s progress.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 20/07/2016 Full Good 29/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 27/05/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC482340 3

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all areas of the home portray a homely, domestic environment. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene, etc.). However, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standard’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, the lock on the living room door and type of locks (padlocks) used on storage cupboards.  Ensure that each young person’s day-to-day health and well-being needs are met. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standard’, page 33, paragraph 7.3) In particular, young people’s sexual health and well-being.  Ensure that case records are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standard’, page 62,

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Recommendations

paragraph 14.3) In particular, young people’s placement plans, risk assessments and behaviour management plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, staff have supported a young person to move on to semi- independent living. Staff made sure that they planned this significant change and included the young person’s wishes and feelings. Staff shared information and provided guidance on how staff at the new placement should support the young person. Furthermore, they ensured that the young person was equipped with the necessary skills to live independently, for example managing money, shopping and cooking for themselves. Similarly, staff have successfully supported a young person to move into the home. Staff ensured that they had all of the relevant information from the placing authority, which enabled them to complete the young person’s placement plans and risk assessments. As a result, the young person benefits from having personalised care provided by a team that knows and understands his needs well. Staff meaningfully involve the young person in all

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

aspects of his care, so that he can influence key decisions that affect his life, including keeping in touch with friends and family. With staff’s consistent nurturing care and support, young people make progress from their starting point. Staff have forged positive partnerships with education, health and safeguarding agencies to ensure that young people have access to a range of relevant services and support. Staff work particularly well with education providers and provide young people with continued support to encourage and enable them to reach their full potential. This is reflected in a teacher’s comments, ‘[name of young person] is an exemplary student and his attendance is exemplary, too. He is skilled and mature and a Inspection report children’s home: SC482340 4 great kid. All staff are good at keeping in touch and keeping me updated.’ Likewise, staff have worked closely with all health professionals. The children and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

adolescent mental health team have provided staff with guidance and information on how to work more therapeutically with young people in their care. Furthermore, staff have been successful at encouraging young people to attend their health appointments and this is helping to improve young people’s physical, social and emotional development. Staff can further enhance young people’s health by routinely including sexual health and relationships in their individual placement plans. Additionally, when staff prepare or update young people’s case records, such as placement plans, risk assessments and behaviour management plans, they do not consistently date or sign them. This hinders the monitoring of young people’s progress as it is difficult to review when young people’s needs were assessed and by whom. Young people feel well cared for and this helps them to develop positive relationships with their staff. A young person said, ‘Staff get things done. I would score them eight or nine

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

out of ten.’ Young people benefit from having regular targeted key-work sessions with the staff. This direct work aims to teach young people about how they can improve their life choices and lead a healthier life, for example by improving their diet. At times, staff struggle to inspire the current young person to take part in activities and this is largely down to the young person preferring to go out with their friends. However, staff refuse to give up and they try new ideas and ways, such as inviting the young person’s friends on activities. Young people are supported to keep in touch with their families in a safe and planned way. Staff ensure that individual contact plans are followed and that any restrictions due to safeguarding factors are enforced. This ensures that young people’s time with their families is safe and an enjoyable experience for all. Staff have worked hard to make the physical environment of the home welcoming. They

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

encourage young people to personalise the home to reflect their taste and interests. This includes helping staff to choose the home’s décor and putting up photographs of the young person and their family and friends. The registered manager and deputy acknowledged that some types of locks used in the home undermine the homely, domestic feeling that staff, and young people, have worked hard to create.

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

Positive relationships with staff, comprehensive risk assessments and a well-trained and knowledgeable team are the key elements to successful safeguarding practice at this home. Staff are alert to all potential risks and they receive ongoing training on a range of safeguarding matters. Therefore, staff’s knowledge and understanding of risk helps them to tackle high-risk behaviour and protect young people from potential harm. Staff manage incidents of missing from home, criminal exploitation, substance misuse and offending behaviour extremely well. They ensure that young people get the specialist support that they need from other safeguarding services. As a result, young people benefit from professional drug counselling and crime prevention services. These services provide Inspection report children’s home: SC482340 5 young people and staff with expert guidance and support. Furthermore, staff’s unwavering

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

encouragement and support is pivotal to ensuring that young people willingly engage with these services and get the specialist support that they need. Staff’s ability to build and maintain positive and trusting relationships is key to their success at managing difficult behaviour. Staff approach challenging situations in a calm and non-confrontational way. Young people feel listened to, valued and respected by staff and this helps them to accept staff’s guidance and support. Positive praise and reward systems are the team’s preferred behaviour management methods. Consequently, staff have not had to use physical intervention measures, such as restraint. The home’s physical environment is safe. Health and safety processes are robust and, as a result, the team is able to take all necessary steps to enhance young people’s safety in the home. Staff recruitment is safe. The registered manager makes sure that no member of

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

staff takes up employment unless all checks are satisfactorily undertaken. The home’s location assessment accurately reflects potential risks and hazards within the local community. This means that staff and young people are alert to potential risks in the local area and that staff have strategies in place to safeguard young people while out in the community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced and suitable qualified registered manager leads the service well. She provides ongoing support to other registered managers within the organisation. Her efficient time management skills and ability to prioritise tasks ensure that she is able to carry out all of her roles and responsibilities successfully. An experienced, efficient and enthusiastic deputy manager supports the registered manager with the daily running of the home. The management team is caring and committed to helping young people to progress and achieve. Young people’s progress and successful transitions to and from the home demonstrate this. The registered manager has established strong links with the local community police officer, safeguarding agencies, schools, colleges and health services. This ensures that all relevant partners are working together to promote and protect the young people’s welfare. Staff commend the registered manager’s support and leadership skill and the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

stability of the staff team reflects this. Staff receive regular professional supervision. Staffs’ supervision records demonstrate sufficient support as well as appropriate challenge and scrutiny. Team meetings are well attended and discussions are young person-focused. These meetings provide staff with an opportunity to reflect on their practice, update each other of any changes and share ideas and learning, which also enhance continuity in care. The team benefits from working in an environment where reflective practice and ongoing learning is valued. A wide range of training, including specific training in response to young people’s changing needs, ensures that all staff are knowledgeable and capable of undertaking their roles successfully. Internal and external quality assurance systems are further improving young people’s Inspection report children’s home: SC482340 6 progress and safety, as well as sustaining a high standard of care in the home. The

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

current young person’s care and progress is tracked through monthly monitoring by an independent visitor. Additionally, the managers proactively seek feedback from the young people and other stakeholders to ensure that their views and experiences inform service monitoring and development. The registered manager has a clear understanding of the home’s strengths, which include a dedicated team, effective team working, consistent care and strong partnership working. She demonstrates a good understanding of the young people’s needs and makes sure that they receive appropriate support from a range of services.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

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 children’s home: SC482340 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Lytham Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lytham Care, 400 Longmoor Lane, Fazakerley Liverpool L9 9DB

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Inspector

Marina Tully, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC482340 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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