Children's home run by Lioncare Ltd Operating as The Lioncare Group in Epping Forest

Inspection report children’s home: SC014235 1 SC014235 Registered provider: Lioncare Ltd, operating as The Lioncare Group Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to seven children who have social, emotional and mental health difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 25 February 2016.

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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

Date of last inspection: 12 September 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC014235 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/10/2017 Full Good 19/10/2016 Full Good 20/07/2016 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: SC014235 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by a nurturing and committed staff team. The individual needs of each child are understood well by staff, following the introduction of a new approach to care in the home. This reflects the existing therapeutic model of care. By using the new approach and effective teamwork, staff have ensured that children are provided with consistent care. Children all spoke positively about how staff care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand how children’s feelings are communicated through their behaviour. Children seek the support of staff when they are worried or feeling upset. Through their improved therapeutic understanding of children’s individual needs, staff have developed new ways to support children, who may be struggling with past trauma. There has been a reduction in the use of physical intervention by staff. This has directly impacted on children’s lived experiences, with children feeling more settled in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The learning needs of each child are well supported through staff working effectively with the respective school. Helpful individual plans are in place to support children to re- integrate to school, if they are on a reduced timetable. Staff support children well through informal learning and encourage children’s participation in after-school clubs and activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individual physical and emotional health needs are supported through staff working with specialist health services. These links are important in helping children to process previous difficult experiences which might otherwise continue to impact negatively on their physical and emotional health. Staff understand each child’s needs well and advocate for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Consultation with children has improved significantly following the last inspection. The registered manager now meets individually with each child to seek their views. Staff support regular group consultations in the home. The children’s meetings are a particular strength. They are child led and empower each child to voice their views. Children can see how they are influencing the home’s development. This helps children to develop a sense of their own agency.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The cultural needs of each child are fully supported by the staff team. Staff have supported one child to observe their faith and religious practices. This was appreciated by the child and helped them to explore their developing sense of identity. The time that children spend with family members is thoughtfully planned by staff. Staff consider the impact of this on the child’s well-being.

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

Staff understand the identified risks for each child. The strategies to minimise these risks are effective. Children are supported by staff to understand how to keep themselves safe. Children actively participate with staff in assessing the level of risk. This is an Inspection report children’s home: SC014235 4 example of the day-to-day approach that was observed during the inspection and is important, due to a small number of significant incidents in the home since the last inspection. Through the use of effective risk-management plans, staff are able to safeguard children better. Overall, the new approach to care has strengthened staff practice in this area.

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

Children feel able to share safeguarding concerns with staff, who respond appropriately. Staff have undertaken sensitive work with children, where children have made disclosures relating to the past. Staff have worked effectively with the police and the child’s social worker. The manager and senior leadership team’s response to allegations about staff, working with the designated officer, has been effective. There have been no further actions needed where investigations have been undertaken. Children have been supported in a sensitive and age-appropriate way by the senior leadership team and the local police to understand the impact of allegations.

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

Staff use a restorative approach with children where there have been isolated incidents in relation to bullying. This approach has helped children to develop skills in repairing relationships. Children have responded well to changes in the approach to their care.

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

Safer recruitment practices are in place for prospective staff. The home’s manager has focused appropriately on ensuring that the right staff are recruited to meet the children’s needs. This has resulted in greater stability in the staff team since the last inspection. Training enables both new and existing staff to be well equipped to undertake their caring role. Staff have shown how the training has informed their practice. Managers have developed safeguarding training to increase staff knowledge of potential risks in relation to contextualised safeguarding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Following a small number of significant incidents in the home, the registered manager and responsible individual have systematically reviewed the quality of care. Together, they have developed a new approach to the home’s therapeutic model of care. This approach has been developed further to meet the needs of the children more effectively. The registered manager has promoted a child-centred culture in the home. The focus on the voice of the child continues to be embedded across all staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported and value the leadership provided by the management team and the responsible individual. The registered manager, together with the deputy manager, has helped the team members to fully understand their individual roles and responsibilities. This has resulted in a more cohesive approach to the quality of care provided by the team. The registered manager continues to monitor how this affects the quality of care provided to children and is appropriately reflective in analysing this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Individual supervision is provided regularly to all staff. This is reflective in nature and focuses on the needs of the children. There is a strong focus on reflecting on how staff are supported in their caring role. Staff have been very well supported through group consultations provided by the organisation. The responsible individual ensures that bespoke group support is put in place, where this is identified as being needed. Inspection report children’s home: SC014235 5 The requirements and recommendations from the last inspection have all been met. There has been a positive change in culture due to the new approach adopted in the home since the last inspection. This process of change has been managed well by the registered manager and deputy manager, who work together effectively. The support from the responsible individual has been the key to this. The registered manager has been supported by the responsible individual in developing effective monitoring systems.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This has included monitoring the physical environment of the home. Ongoing maintenance and renewal work is underway, including replacement of hallway carpets. Inspection report children’s home: SC014235 6

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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 difference 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: SC014235 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Lioncare Ltd, operating as The Lioncare Group

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 58a Livingstone Road, Hove, Sussex BN3 3WL

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Inspector

Maria Lonergan, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC014235 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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