Children's home run by Lytham Care Limited in Knowsley

Assurance visit report: SC482340 1 SC482340

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care and accommodation for one child or young person who may have emotional and/or behavioural needs or special educational needs.

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Information about this children’s home

There has not been a registered manager since April 2019. The current manager started work at the home on 20 July 2020 and has made an application for registration with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection judgement: Declined in effectiveness

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Information about this visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), Ofsted suspended all routine inspections in March 2020. As part of a phased return to routine inspection, we are undertaking assurance visits to children’s social care services that are inspected under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF).

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Information about this visit

At these visits, inspectors evaluate the extent to which:  children are well cared for  children are safe  leaders and managers are exercising strong leadership.

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Information about this visit

This visit was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, following the published guidance for assurance visits.

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Information about this visit

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s social care system has delivered child-centred practice and care within the context of the restrictions placed on society during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assurance visit report: SC482340 2

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Findings from the visit

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance visit.

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The care of children

The child currently living at the home is happy and settled living at the home. Her social worker said that ‘this is the child’s longest and most stable placement. At times, things have been very difficult and challenging, but the manager and staff have stood by her and not given up.’

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The care of children

The child and staff enjoy positive and trusting relationships. The manager and staff listen to the child’s views and respond to them appropriately.

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The care of children

The manager and staff clearly know the child very well and provide her with the support that meets her needs. Their nurturing and understanding approach has helped the child gain a sense of belonging and emotional security.

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The care of children

The child said that staff have helped her to understand the COVID-19 pandemic. They continue to provide reassurance and help her to keep safe and healthy. During the pandemic, the child has continued to keep in touch with important people in her life.

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The care of children

The manager and staff understand the child’s educational needs. The manager acts as an effective advocate for the child’s education, as any good parent would do. The manager is working actively with education providers to make sure that the child receives the right education and support to help her reach her potential.

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The care of children

The child has opportunities for informal learning at home to develop her knowledge, skills and interests. For example, the child has arranged and run successfully a coffee morning for a cancer charity. This involved the child designing the artwork, baking cakes and managing the money.

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The care of children

Staff understand the child’s history, previous adverse experiences and complex needs. They monitor carefully the child’s emotional health and have sought professional advice when necessary. Staff encourage and support the child to talk with her therapist by telephone. The manager and staff have recognised that the child is struggling with this arrangement and are advocating for her to have face-to- face support.

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The safety of children

The child feels safe and is protected from harm. The manager and staff understand their roles and responsibilities for safeguarding children. They recognise the signs of abuse, neglect and exploitation and know how to manage risks safely. When the manager and staff have concerns about the child’s safety, they inform the Assurance visit report: SC482340 3 safeguarding agencies promptly and act to protect the child from any immediate risks.

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The safety of children

The child trusts the manager and staff. She feels safe enough to talk to them freely about her worries, concerns and previous experiences. She knows that the manager and staff will listen, take her seriously and try their best to help her.

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The safety of children

Staff are well prepared and supported to deal with any challenging situations safely. They understand that children may communicate their experiences of trauma, abuse and neglect, and their current feelings through their behaviour.

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The safety of children

Staff are insightful enough to see beyond the behaviour. Their calm and sensitive approach is helping the child to talk about what is upsetting her and to find ways to manage her feelings safely. Consequently, the child is becoming more able to show her emotions by talking and crying rather than through aggression.

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The safety of children

This way of supporting the child still needs to be embedded consistently into practice. Staff would benefit from training and guidance in trauma-informed practice to build their skills and confidence in helping the child to understand and manage her feelings and experiences.

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The safety of children

The organisation follows thorough safer recruitment practices that minimise risks to children. They gather and verify all the relevant information about a person to enable them to make an informed decision about their suitability to work with vulnerable children. The organisation reports any concerns it may have about a person appropriately to the designated officer and other safeguarding agencies.

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Leaders and managers

The manager has suitable experience and relevant qualifications. Since her appointment, the manager has brought stability to the leadership and management of the home.

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Leaders and managers

The manager has dealt with the restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic appropriately. The manager and staff have placed the well-being and safety of the child at the centre of their practice and decision-making.

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Leaders and managers

The manager works effectively with partner agencies to make sure that the child has the right support at the right time to meet her needs. The manager has challenged partners appropriately when there are shortfalls in the service they are providing the child.

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Leaders and managers

The shortfalls found at the last inspection in safeguarding practice, recording and reporting of serious incidents, training in restraint, safer recruitment, and the quality of the manager’s monitoring of practice and the home’s records have been addressed. Assurance visit report: SC482340 4 The manager is building a skilled, qualified and competent staff team tailored to the needs of the child. The manager and staff are developing a consistent and effective way of supporting the child and meeting her needs. Staff are well supported by the manager and have opportunities for developing their skills through training.

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Leaders and managers

However, the responsible individual has not made sure that staff with equivalent qualifications to the required management and residential childcare diplomas have completed any additional units to fill any gaps in their skills and knowledge.

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Leaders and managers

The manager makes sure that there are always enough staff available to meet the child’s individual needs and to provide her with continuity of care. Any temporary staff work alongside a permanent member of the team, so the child is always looked after by someone that she knows well.

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Leaders and managers

The manager monitors and reviews the running of the home. She has a clear understanding of the things that are working well and the areas that need to improve. The manager evaluates any serious incidents carefully and identifies effective practice, and any patterns, and responds promptly to any issues of concern. She uses this information effectively to improve the quality of care the child receives.

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Leaders and managers

However, the manager and responsible individual have not completed a review of the quality of care provided by the home. This would help them to gain a fuller understanding of the impact the care is having on the child’s experiences and outcomes and identify areas for improvement.

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Leaders and managers

The independent person carrying out the external monitoring of the home does not always consult with children’s families, social workers and other professionals to help them to assess children’s safety and how well their needs are met.

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Leaders and managers

The records of the manager’s supervision with her line manager do not provide a detailed account of the discussion that took place or any reflective practice, and do not show a clear action plan for the manager’s practice and development.

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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 registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months. 30/11/2020 Assurance visit report: SC482340 5 In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(4)(a)(b)(5))

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Recommendations

 Children will have varied pre-care experiences. A large proportion of children come into care for reasons relating to trauma, neglect and abuse. The registered person should ensure that staff are prepared and able to listen to children who want to talk about their past experiences. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15–16, paragraph 3.11) In particular, staff should have training and guidance in trauma-informed practice, and the skills and confidence to help each child to understand and manage any adverse experiences. Assurance visit report: SC482340 6  All managers working in a children’s home must have the qualification in regulation 28(2) within the relevant timescales listed in regulation 28(3). All staff in a care role, including external agency or bank staff, must have the qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). The

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Recommendations

term ‘equivalent’ as used in the Regulations in relation to qualifications will be a judgement for the registered person based on whether the content of any qualifications held by the individual closely corresponds with the qualifications set out in regulation 28(2)(c) (for managers) or regulation 32(4) (for those in a care role). Annex A outlines further detail about how NVQ and other qualifications can be compared with the QCF Diploma qualifications. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraphs 10.12–10.14) In particular, the registered person should keep a record of the information they have considered to establish ‘equivalence’. Where a registered person identifies gaps in qualifications, they should act to ensure that relevant units or qualifications are completed in a timely manner at an appropriate level.  A record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The

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Recommendations

record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). It is good practice for a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraphs 13.3 and 13.4) In particular, supervision records should provide a detailed account of discussions, including reflections on practice, performance and children’s progress, and clearly identify any actions required.  Any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page

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Recommendations

65, paragraph 15.5) In particular, the independent visitor should seek the views of children, parents and relatives, professionals and other stakeholders about the quality of care provided. Assurance visit report: SC482340 7

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Pamela Constance

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Inspector

Nick Veysey, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: SC482340 8 to 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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