Children's home run by Lytham Care Limited in Knowsley

Inspection report for children’s home: 1234432 1 Registered provider: Lytham Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private provider. It provides care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left the home on 10 January 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

An interim manager is running the home. They are also the registered manager for another of the provider’s children’s homes.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 7 September 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

This children’s home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 7 September 2021. A suspension notice was issued on that date, with immediate effect.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Ofsted subsequently visited the setting on 20 October 2021, 24 November 2021, 17 January 2022 and 15 February 2022 to carry out monitoring visits. The focus of the visits was to monitor and review the actions taken by the registered provider since the previous full inspection, and to check compliance with the suspension notice that Inspection report for children’s home: 1234432 2 was issued on 7 September 2021. The suspension notice was lifted on 8 April 2022 with immediate effect.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

On 11 April 2022, Ofsted imposed a condition that the provider must inform the chief inspector of its intention to accommodate children at the home at least three months before any child is accommodated.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit took place on 2 November 2022. The inspector found that the registered provider was able to care for children at the home. A registered manager and suitable staff team were in place, and the house now provides a homely environment. Therefore, Ofsted agreed to remove the condition imposed on 11 April 2022. Inspection report for children’s home: 1234432 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/09/2021 Full Inadequate 10/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 03/07/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1234432 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child was living at the home at the time of the inspection. The child lives in a welcoming, pleasant and well-maintained environment. Staff support the child to personalise and decorate the home. This helps the child to feel comfortable and relaxed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build positive relationships with the child. They understand the child’s individual needs and respond to them effectively. Consequently, the child is settled and making progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child spends time with their family and friends. This includes staying overnight with their friends. Staff help to make sure this is a safe and positive experience. This is important to the child and helps them retain a strong sense of identity. The child’s parent is happy with the support provided by the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff listen to the child’s wishes and feelings and act on them. The manager finds creative ways to communicate effectively with the child. They have found that using text messages helps the child to process information and to understand the reasons why decisions have been made. The child uses text messages to initiate conversations with managers and staff to let them know their views and how they are feeling. Using text messages helps the child to develop positive relationships with staff in ways that the child finds comfortable.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is not currently in education. The manager works well with the placing authority and virtual school. They make sure that every effort is being made to find the child an appropriate school that can meet their needs. They listen to the child’s views and advocate on behalf of their wishes and feelings. Staff help the child to prepare for their return to full-time education. They support the child to work with a tutor and learn informally through activities, including visiting museums, an airport and going to a zoo and farms to find out about animals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager had not considered the child’s specific cultural needs in their plans. It is important that these needs are recognised and understood to ensure that the child’s identity needs are met consistently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite the child taking part in lots of activities, staff are not encouraging the child to keep photos and memorabilia as a record of their memories and achievements. This helps the child understand their experiences and progress while living at the home.

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

The child lives in a safe and supportive environment. They see managers and staff as trusted adults and tell them when they are worried or upset. The child feels comfortable with staff to talk to them about their previous traumatic experiences. Inspection report for children’s home: 1234432 5 Staff provide the child with the emotional warmth that helps them develop a strong sense of safety.

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

Staff protect the child from the risk of significant harm. Staff understand the child’s vulnerabilities and identified risks. They are vigilant and curious. They recognise the signs that children may be at risk of harm. Staff always act in accordance with safeguarding procedures when they have concerns about children’s welfare.

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

Staff help the child to be aware of their own safety, how to protect themselves and know how to ask for help. They take reasonable precautions to allow the child to take appropriate risks as part of their development.

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

Staff and the child have ongoing conversations about healthy lifestyles, the potential risks from using social media and the internet, and keeping in touch with staff when they are seeing their friends. Staff are supportive when the child has made risky choices. They help the child to learn from what happened and think about what they should do in the future.

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

The manager and staff do not always continually assess the risks to the child. The manager did not review the home’s location risk assessment to consider risks from the child witnessing violence in the local area and the arrangements for protecting the child from any potential harm.

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

Medication records do not show the dates when the child had decided not to take their prescribed medication. Furthermore, there was no record of what staff did in response or if they had taken advice from a health professional about the possible implications for the child’s health.

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good

The registered manager left the home in January 2021. The registered person acted promptly to appoint a new manager to run the home. The new manager is an experienced and competent leader. They are the registered manager for another of the organisation’s children’s homes. The manager will be permanently in charge of both homes.

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good

This manager has brought stability and effective leadership to the home. Staff are now working effectively as a team. The manage has created a positive working environment and improvements in the standard of care that the child receives. The manager takes prompt action to deal with shortfalls in staff performance.

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good

The manager has established a positive relationship with the child. They take the child’s views seriously. They consider the child’s views about staff to make sure that the child’s existing positive relationships with staff are sustained.

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good

The manager has built positive working relationships with the child’s family and the professionals involved in the child’s care. They are assertive and challenge partner Inspection report for children’s home: 1234432 6 agencies to provide the child with the right assessments and support at the right time.

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good

However, the leadership and management of the home is not consistently good. There are shortfalls in the induction, supervision and performance management of managers and staff. Unless these weaknesses are addressed, they may have an impact on the quality of care that the child receives.

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good

Senior managers do not ensure that inexperienced managers receive high-quality induction, supervision and support to enable them to understand and conduct their roles and responsibilities effectively. Inexperienced managers do not have suitable development plans or opportunities to build their confidence and skills to manage the home. For example, a manager did not receive adequate guidance to help them to manage the poor performance of staff.

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good

Senior managers do not ensure that inexperienced managers receive supervision in accordance with the home’s supervision policy. Senior managers have not provided the manager with the opportunity to discuss the needs and progress of the child in supervision. Although senior managers recognised the emotional impact of the work on the manager, they did not manage it well. The senior manager and the manager receiving supervision have not signed the records of their meetings to show that they have read records and agree that they are accurate.

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good

Senior managers do not always address the poor performance of managers and staff with a timely plan to bring about improvement.

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good

The arrangements for recruiting staff do not include procedures for managing situations when a person applying to work at the home has a personal relationship with someone already working for the organisation. Therefore, it is not clear what role the existing member of staff should have in the recruitment and interview of the person wishing to work at the home.

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good

Senior managers do not make sure that the home’s records are up to date and are accurate. Poor administrative practice means that recruitment records do not include the correct information about staff. Training records do not show all the training that staff have completed. Staff do not always keep a record of when social workers come to the home to see the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 1234432 7

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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 make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that a record is kept of when a child refuses to take medicine that is prescribed for them and what managers and staff do in response. 12 March 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager must undertake such continuing professional development as is necessary to ensure that the registered manager has the skills needed for managing the home. (Regulation 29 (4))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that new and inexperienced managers have opportunities to develop their confidence and skills to manage the home effectively. 12 March 2023

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that managers and staff receive high-quality induction and support to enable them to understand and carry out their roles and responsibilities effectively. 12 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1234432 8 The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff, including the manager, receive effective supervision and that the emotional impact of the work is recognised and well managed. Both the person giving the supervision and the employee should read and sign the record of each supervision in accordance with the home’s supervision policy. 12 March 2023

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that a record is kept of the visits to the home by social workers to see children. 12 March 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that training records are kept up to date for all staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that the recruitment procedures consider potential conflicts of interest when a person applying to work at the children’s home has a personal or family relationship with someone already working for the organisation. This should include what role the existing member of staff should have in the recruitment and interview of the person wishing to work at the home. In addition, staff recruitment records should include accurate information about the member of staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 69, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that managers and staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child in local area and the arrangements in place

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Recommendations

to protect them, including reviewing the safe area assessment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that plans for each child’s care identify and consider their cultural needs and identity and show how these needs are promoted and met. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2) Inspection report for children’s home: 1234432 9  The registered person should make sure that staff keep and encourage children to keep photos and appropriate memorabilia of their time spent living at the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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 for children’s home: 1234432 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Lytham Care Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rachel Springford

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Inspectors

Nick Veysey, Social Care Inspector Jenni Gadsby, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1234432 11 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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