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 provides care and accommodation for one child between the ages of 10 and 17 years. As set out in the home’s statement of purpose, the home can care for children who have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties, and/or learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s manager is not yet registered with Ofsted. The new manager’s application to register is progressing.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 25 to 26 September 2018

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 7 November 2017

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC482340 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/11/2017 Full Good 17/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 20/07/2016 Full Good 29/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC482340 3

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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, 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(viii)) 09/11/2018

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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 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)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff are equipped with the knowledge, skills and guidance to respond to incidents of self- harm, and all potential hazards are removed, such as electrical cables. 09/11/2018

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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— 09/11/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC482340 4 lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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 has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; (Regulation 13 (2)(a)(c)(d))

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)) 09/11/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that a record is made of any complaint raised by a child, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 23, paragraph 4.13)  Ensure that medication records are accurate and robustly audited. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  Ensure that there is a strong safeguarding culture in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.8) In particular, ensuring that all visitors sign out of the home and are taken through the evacuation procedure.  Ensure that case records are clearly dated, including all review dates. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3) Inspection report children’s home: SC482340 5

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improvement to be good

The home is caring for a child whose needs are not within the range of needs for which the service is intended. Despite staff’s untiring efforts and commitment, they are not sufficiently trained to respond to all the child’s needs, in particular, her emerging mental health needs and self-harm behaviour. The child is not suitably placed, and this is undermining her progress and safety.

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improvement to be good

Although the team has worked closely with a range of education providers, including local schools, colleges and the virtual school, its members have struggled to secure an education placement that is suitable for the child’s needs. Consequently, the child is not engaging in any formal education. Neither is she benefiting from a clear, structured plan that involves consistent daily routines and educational activities. The staff team is missing opportunities to prepare the child for a successful return to education when a suitable provision is found.

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from carefully planned transitions into and on from the home. When possible, children visit the home before they move in. Additionally, staff decorate the home to reflect the child’s taste and choice. This makes the child feel welcomed and valued by the team, which helps them to settle and adjust to their new home and surroundings.

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improvement to be good

The team is skilled at building children’s confidence and promoting identity. The currently placed child has benefited from the staff’s nurturing approach to sensitive identity issues. Staff have forged good links with specialist youth groups that support children to explore and express themselves in a safe environment. Consequently, the child is developing a positive identity and increased self-worth.

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improvement to be good

The child’s physical health has improved since she moved into the home. Staff have supported her to attend all health checks, for example the dentist and optician. Additionally, the child is benefiting from weekly sessions with the company’s therapist, who supports her to address difficult feelings and childhood trauma.

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improvement to be good

Not all staff have received training in medication administration. Some minor errors found in the medication records highlight shortfalls in staff’s administration of medication practice and the auditing of these records. The manager has taken steps to improve this.

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improvement to be good

Staff are helping the child to develop her social skills at a pace that is suited to her needs. With staff support, the child enjoys exploring her local area, including regular shopping trips and planned activities to animal parks. Not only is this increasing her fun time in the community, it is also helping to improve her self-esteem and confidence.

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improvement to be good

The team has established positive relationships with the child’s mother. Its members Inspection report children’s home: SC482340 6 support the child to keep in regular contact with the people who are important to her in a planned and safe way. As a result, the child can maintain important family attachments.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide the child with a high level of support and supervision. As a result, high- risk behaviours, such as going missing from home and exposure to child sexual exploitation, have reduced.

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improvement to be good

However, significant gaps in staff members’ training undermine their ability and confidence to respond to some harmful behaviours, such as self-harm. This places the child’s and staff’s safety and welfare at risk. The manager fully acknowledged this serious shortfall and is taking steps to address the gaps in staff’s training.

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improvement to be good

Additionally, most of the staff have not undertaken training about child sexual exploitation, radicalisation or e-safety. Staff’s lack of training in important safeguarding matters undermines their ability to respond confidently to all potential risks.

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improvement to be good

Improved risk assessments provide staff with practical strategies to manage unsafe behaviours and situations. However, the strategies identified in the child’s risk assessments have not been consistently followed. For example, waking night staff have not always been available despite this being identified in the home’s risk assessment.

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improvement to be good

Complaints made by the child are not always recorded. This lack of recording makes it difficult to evaluate how the home responds when a child complains about the staff. Furthermore, this does not demonstrate to children that their opinions and views are taken seriously, which can potentially undermine the child’s trust in the manager and team.

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improvement to be good

Routine health and safety checks are making sure that the home is a safe place for children to live. However, some home safety aspects can improve, such as making sure that all visitors are routinely informed of the emergency evacuation procedures and that all visitors sign when leaving the home.

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improvement to be good

Excellent joint working between the home, the child’s social worker and therapist ensures that all relevant professionals are working collaboratively to support the child’s welfare.

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good

A new manager was appointed in May 2018. Her application to register with Ofsted is currently being processed. She has worked in children’s residential care for over 10 years; this has included some management responsibilities. Inspection report children’s home: SC482340 7 The manager is exceptionally child-focused. Furthermore, she is a reflective and responsive leader who demonstrates enthusiasm to make the necessary improvements in the home. Without a doubt, children are at the centre of her decisions and actions.

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good

Team members acknowledge that they are well supported. Regular professional supervision and team meetings provide staff with opportunities to discuss their practice and any concerns with their line manager. Consequently, consistent care and team working is a strength.

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good

Despite this, staff have not received all relevant training to enable them to undertake their roles competently. Additionally, the manager does not evaluate the effectiveness of training to help her to identify any shortfalls in the training or gaps in the staff’s knowledge. As a result, the manager is not fully informed of the team’s training and development needs.

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good

The home’s recording systems have improved. The child’s records provide a comprehensive picture of her strengths, needs and life experiences. However, the date that records are revised and amended is not always clear on the document. This makes it difficult to establish if the record is current.

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good

The home is very well resourced and maintained. The staff and child have created a homely and welcoming environment that mirrors a family home. The child enjoys having her own pets living with her and staff help her to care for them. This is helping the child to develop independent skills and accept age-appropriate responsibilities.

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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 8

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Pamela Constance

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Inspector

Marina Tully, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC482340 9 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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