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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2483691 1 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 home is privately owned and is registered to provide care for up to six children.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were three children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 15 November 2021.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2483691 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/06/2022 Full Good 12/05/2021 Full Good 18/02/2020 Full Good 19/12/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2483691 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by a skilled group of adults who know them well. Children are treated with kindness and respect. They make good progress because they feel safe and develop positive relationships with each other and adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a welcoming environment that is homely, spacious and comfortable. Children have helped to personalise their bedrooms and are involved in day-to-day decisions, such as meal and activity planning. They are supported by the adults to take part in meaningful and enjoyable activities at home, such as growing fruit and vegetables in the garden. This helps children to develop a sense of belonging and security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is run as a therapeutic community, and this supports children to make good progress in relation to their emotional well-being. Children benefit from daily children’s meetings and regular individual sessions with trusted adults and therapists. During daily meetings, children share successes and difficulties they have experienced during the day. The inspector joined one of the meetings and observed adults responding thoughtfully and respectfully when a child discussed an upsetting situation at school. Another child was appropriately praised for recognising her own good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are fully supported to engage and make progress in education. Meaningful joint working between adults in the home and children’s schools provides children with consistency and stability. A head of year told the inspector, ‘Communication is fantastic. The adults have daily handovers with teaching staff and attend all meetings.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can participate in activities that expand their interests and learning. For example, they go to drum, piano and singing lessons and play various sports. Cultural and religious festivals are celebrated as well as anniversaries and special occasions. This means that children have positive childhood experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Adults understand and implement children’s care and support plans. The progress children make is well documented, and success is celebrated.

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

Children are supervised closely by adults who are responsive to the risks that are present for children. Due to the positive relationships enjoyed between children and adults, the frequency and severity of behavioural incidents reduce over time.

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

All allegations against adults are thoroughly investigated. Safety plans and updated risk assessments are shared with the local authority designated officer and children’s social workers. Inspection report for children’s home: 2483691 4 Children know how to make a complaint if they are unhappy about any aspect of their care. Complaints are taken seriously, investigated and acted on. However, children do not always receive written feedback about their complaint.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted through helping children to develop self-control, resilience and an ability to learn new coping strategies. When behavioural incidents occur, staff use effective de-escalation techniques. Physical restraint is used only as a last resort. Following incidents of physical restraint, the registered manager completes debriefs with the children and staff involved. However, records do not clearly describe sound decision-making about seeking medical advice if a child reports that they have been injured during a physical restraint.

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

There is a robust response from adults to ensure that children return safely when they go missing from care. External safeguarding professionals are involved as necessary.

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

Regular health and safety checks of the building ensure that repairs are completed in a timely manner and the physical environment is safe and secure.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and is working towards the necessary qualification as required by The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015. He is well supported by the deputy manager. They, and adults working in the home, have high expectations for what children can achieve and are proud of the progress that children are making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Adults, including those employed from agencies, feel well supported by managers. Training is seen as useful and relevant, and adults speak positively about working for the organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and are well documented. Actions are agreed and reviewed. There is a clear focus on ensuring that children have positive experiences and make good progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Adults receive effective supervision from the manager and feel well supported by him and the deputy manager. However, staff appraisals are not being carried out at agreed intervals. As a result, there are missed opportunities to reflect on the development needs of the adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team has a well-informed awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and is committed to continuous improvement. Managers make good use of the independent person’s reports and an external adviser’s quality assurance reports to inform service developments. Inspection report for children’s home: 2483691 5

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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, The 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 ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c)) 30 June 2023

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Requirement Due date

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—

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(viii)) 30 June 2023

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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: 2483691 6

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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: Lioncare House, 58a Livingstone Road, Hove, Sussex BN3 3WL

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Inspector

Mike Simmonds, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2483691 7 regulates and inspects 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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