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

Inspection report for children's home: SC482548 1 SC482548 Registered provider: Lioncare Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care for up to five children who experience social, emotional and mental health difficulties. There were four children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since 1 November 2023.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/03/2023 Full Good 10/08/2021 Full Good 27/04/2021 Full Inadequate 22/01/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC482548 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences vary in quality and there are shortfalls in safeguarding practices and management monitoring and oversight.

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improvement to be good

Interactions between children and staff are usually warm and nurturing. One child said they liked everything about the home. However, incident records show that there have been occasions when some staff responses to children who are distressed have been poor. This has caused children’s behaviour to escalate, placing them at increased risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Most children are engaging in education, however, one child is struggling to access education because of their current emotional health needs. Appropriate referrals have been made to seek support for the child. However, deteriorating relationships between some staff and the child are having a negative impact on staff’s ability to encourage the child to attend appointments. Another child is waiting for specialist support to improve their physical health. In the meantime, the child’s health and well-being are not being fully promoted by staff.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to have a say in the way the home is run. Regular children’s meetings take place where children can talk about any worries they have. However, some children say they do not feel confident that their voices are being heard. This particularly relates to the current group of children struggling to live together harmoniously, leading to some children isolating themselves away from the group.

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improvement to be good

The processes that are followed when children move in to and out of the home are thorough and thoughtful. Comprehensive care and support plans provide information for staff on how to care for children. However, when speaking with staff these plans are not always understood and implemented.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risks are not fully understood by staff, which undermines their ability to prioritise children’s safety. Written risk assessments are not comprehensive or routinely updated. As a result, they do not provide reliable information for staff on how to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Not all staff are able to confidently manage children’s behaviour and there have been several instances when police have been called to the home. One child’s social worker said that there are occasions when police callouts are made too readily. The presence of police in the home causes distress for some children because of their traumatic early life experiences. Inspection report for children's home: SC482548 4 There has been a failure to notify Ofsted of serious events. This limits the regulator’s ability to monitor the management response to incidents which have placed children at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to make a complaint if they are unhappy about any aspect of their care. Complaints are rare and when they do occur, they are taken seriously and acted on. However, there is one example of a child’s complaint not being fully investigated by the previous manager. Not reviewing staff conduct in a timely way risks poor practice becoming embedded.

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improvement to be good

The environment is spacious, well presented and homely. However, fire safety procedures are not adequate to ensure that the home is safe. One child who recently moved into the home has never been involved in a fire drill.

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improvement to be good

There are high staffing levels. Key-work sessions are regular and recorded well. They help to address children’s vulnerabilities with them in a collaborative approach.

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good

The previous registered manager left the home recently. The current manager has moved to this home from one of the organisation’s other homes.

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good

Monitoring and oversight of the home have been poor during a challenging period. Managers have not ensured that children have plans with goals which are clearly aligned to those in their care plans prepared by their placing authority. As a result, there are missed opportunities to consistently capture the progress children are making towards achieving all the goals that are important to them.

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good

Staff recruitment files demonstrate that safe recruitment practices are understood and implemented by the manager and the staff responsible for this area of practice. This reduces the potential for unsuitable adults to be employed at the home.

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good

Staff receive training that is relevant to the needs of the children that they are looking after. They have regular supervision which they said provides helpful opportunities to reflect on their practice.

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good

The organisation maintains the statement of purpose, which clearly describes the home’s intended aims and objectives. Managers submit updates to Ofsted as required and are in the process of updating the statement of purpose to reflect the change of manager. Inspection report for children's home: SC482548 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(viii)(ix)(xi)) 31 December

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if 31 December Inspection report for children's home: SC482548 6 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare.

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(b)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(h)) 31 December Inspection report for children's home: SC482548 7 If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(1) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b)) 31 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(e)) 31 December

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that each child’s day-to-day health and well- being needs are met. Staff should work to make the children’s home an environment that supports children’s physical, mental and emotional health, in line with the approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3)

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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: SC482548 8

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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

Jane Balfe, Social Care Inspector Harby Bashir, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC482548 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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