Children's Home run by Lioncare Ltd Operating as The Lioncare Group in Brighton and Hove

Inspection report children‟s home: SC482548 1 SC482548 Registered provider: Lioncare Ltd operating as The Lioncare Group

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

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

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted on 5 September 2014.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 12 December 2018

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC482548 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/12/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 18/07/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 21/02/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/09/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC482548 3

p.2

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that— the health and well-being needs of children are met; children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff help each child to— understand the child‟s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child‟s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child‟s age and understanding; take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child‟s health and well-being needs. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(ii)(iii)) 31/07/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)) 31/07/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)) 31/07/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC482548 4

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of nurturing relationships with children and use their training in the home‟s model of therapeutic care to inform how they work with the children. Children say they feel supported by the staff and can see how this support has helped them to develop during their time living in the home.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are committed to providing consistency of care for the children, especially when the child‟s behaviour may present as challenging to them. Staff undertake additional work to reduce the need for the use of agency workers; this provides continuity of care and reduces the number of staff children have to get to know. Through a whole-team approach to supporting children, each child‟s individual needs are well understood. The home provides permanence for children where this is the agreed plan for the child. Effective planning by the staff team supported one child to move on from the home successfully.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Collaborative working between the staff team and specialist agencies supports children‟s progress. The staff team maintains good communication with each child‟s school to ensure that their learning needs are met. The individual health needs of children are understood and addressed by staff. However, support for the emerging needs of one child was not accessed in a timely way.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress through the support that staff provide. Children are encouraged and assisted by staff to explore their interests and their developing identity. The staff team understands the importance of family relationships and actively promotes these. Children have been enabled to re-establish links with siblings and previous carers through the proactive work by staff. There are particularly strong examples of this practice, which is led by the registered manager and is based on good safeguarding knowledge.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a homely environment, with their photographs and artwork displayed throughout the house. This, together with the new furnishings in the home, shows children they are valued.

p.4

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

Staff have a good understanding of the known risks for each child. The risk management plans provide effective strategies to minimise potential risks. Staff have utilised the contextualised safeguarding training they have undertaken to inform their practice. This resulted in an effective response from the staff team when a child went missing from the home on four occasions. Through putting their training into practice, staff were able to identify emerging risks, which helped to safeguard the child. Inspection report children‟s home: SC482548 5 Safer recruitment practice is in place for new employees. Staff are provided with a comprehensive training programme which continues to be developed. While training in physical intervention is covered in staff inductions, the recording of physical interventions used does not provide sufficient clarity. This failure was not identified by the management team.

p.4

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

Supervision for staff is detailed and provides a regular space for staff to reflect on their practice. The management of staff performance is effective. The disciplinary process used for one staff member was thorough and resulted in a proportionate response.

p.5

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

Staff ensure that safeguarding concerns raised by children are reported to the appropriate agencies and that the children receive specialist support to meet their needs. These disclosures did not relate to the home. There have been a small number of allegations about staff which have later been withdrawn by children. The management of these allegations has been effective. There was good liaison between the management team and the designated officer, with no further action taken. However, these allegations have not been notified to Ofsted and the registered manager also failed to report to Ofsted an incident involving the police.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is aspirational in her vision for the home, staff team and care provided to children. She has developed monitoring systems which help her to better understand the impact of the quality of care provided. The monthly monitoring visits by the independent visitor are used to inform the monitoring systems in place. The deputy manager and registered manager work well with agencies to ensure that the right support is in place for each child. With a clear understanding of each child‟s progress, they support the staff team to provide a good quality of care.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children‟s views are actively sought by the registered manager through individual and group meetings. The group meetings are child-led, and children have helped to develop consultation tools which are being embedded in practice. Both the registered manager and responsible individual are strong advocates for children and staff. There are good examples of robust challenge by both, including the effective use of external agencies‟ formal complaint processes, where appropriate. The management team is committed and nurturing in its approach to the care of the children in the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager understands the home‟s strengths and areas for development well. She has ensured that the requirements from the full inspection have been met, and has utilised these to develop the practice of the staff team. Together with the responsible individual, she has developed the training provided to staff, recognising the need to respond to emerging safeguarding issues. Staff feel supported by the registered manager and responsible individual and feel that their work is valued by them. Inspection report children‟s home: SC482548 6

p.5

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.

p.6

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: SC482548 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Lioncare Ltd operating as The Lioncare Group

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Inspectors

Maria Lonergan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC482548 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.

p.7

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, 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 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspectors

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

p.8

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8