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 manager registered with Ofsted in December 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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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

Date of last inspection: 8 February 2023

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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: 1234432 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/02/2023 Full Good 07/09/2021 Full Inadequate 10/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 03/07/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1234432 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from individualised care from a committed staff team. This has helped children to develop trusting and positive relationships with staff. As a result, children remain settled and make good progress in all aspects of their lives. One child told the inspector, ‘It feels all fluffy and nice in here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children speak positively about the staff and their experiences of living in the home. Children feel safe, nurtured and well cared for. They are confident to explore their identity and be who they want to be.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has advocated for children to access education placements relevant to their needs. However, when the children refuse to go to their education provision, there is no plan in place for staff to follow. This means that, sometimes, children are not supported to engage in learning and have a largely unstructured day. This has the potential to hamper the children’s engagement with education and limit progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health and have access to services relevant to their needs. When children struggle to attend appointments, the manager seeks advice from professionals. This means that children’s health needs are not overlooked.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to, and their views are acted on, as appropriate. Children’s meetings take place regularly. This helps promote communication and understanding between the children and staff, and ensures that the children’s views are heard and that they can take an active part in decisions about their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment reflects that children are valued. It is homely, with a good standard of decoration and furnishings. Staff take pride in making the house a home. It is evident that the needs of the children have been put first. An external professional said, ‘It truly does have that warm feeling of a loving family home.’

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

Children are settled and feel safe living in the home. They are cared for by a competent and stable staff team. Staff are compassionate and provide good support. Children have trusted staff who they can talk to and share their worries. Staff have an in-depth understanding of children’s complex needs and know how to manage and support these needs effectively on a day-to-day basis.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff keep detailed records. Staff actively look for children and share information received with relevant agencies. Children engage in their return home interviews and conversations with staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 1234432 4 The use of physically holding children is minimal, which is evidence of staff’s skills and ability to form positive relationships with children. Furthermore, rewards and sanctions are used effectively to enhance children’s learning and understanding.

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

When there are concerns for children, room searches are undertaken in a timely manner. These are proportionate and help to keep children safe.

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

Children who self-harm or misuse substances receive appropriate support. The manager is quick to respond appropriately and ensures that staff have the relevant training to support the children. Children also have access to appropriate services and engage with them.

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

Procedures around the storage and administration of medication are thorough. Staff undertake daily audits, and the manager undertakes weekly audits. The manager has a robust system in place to ensure that procedures are being followed.

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

Recruitment and vetting procedures are secure, which means children are cared for by suitable adults. This keeps children safer.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a qualified and experienced manager. She is dual registered and manages her time effectively between the two homes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals report very good working relationships with the manager and staff team. A social worker said, ‘The staff and the manager see beyond the child’s behaviour and focus on the child. They have stickability.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff expressed their joy in working at the home and supporting the children to progress. They value the support of leaders and managers. Staff are encouraged to gain qualifications to continue their professional development. For example, one staff member has been enrolled on courses to gain qualifications in a variety of outdoor pursuits, such as rock climbing. These qualifications will benefit the children to have more healthy outdoor activities, which they said they enjoyed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. Those spoken with during the inspection said that they find supervision supportive and that it helped them when working with the children. Team meetings are held regularly and support staff to work in a consistent way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring systems provide effective oversight of the children’s welfare. The manager responds to any recommendations made by the independent person to improve the home. The registered manager has a clear development plan in place for the home. Staff have received good-quality training to meet the needs of the children. However, the training matrix does not reflect this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight is generally good. Records are monitored regularly by the manager with meaningful evaluation and comment. Internal and external monitoring Inspection report for children’s home: 1234432 5 systems are used to review progress. This oversight ensures that ongoing improvements are made. However, some records did not contain the correct date. Staff do not consistently use language that is helpful to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All professionals report that there is excellent communication with the home’s staff, and that staff are proactive at seeking and sharing information to benefit children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has met the requirements from the previous inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 1234432 6

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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 should ensure that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(vi)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children who are temporarily out of education or refusing education engage in constructive activities during the school day. 30 April 2024

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Recommendation

 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 staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. In particular, ensure that children’s care plans reflect the correct date and are written in a way that will be helpful for children should they read their records now or in the future. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children’s home: 1234432 7

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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 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Lytham Care Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Elaine Allison, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1234432 9 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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