Children's home run by Lasting Threads Care Limited

Inspection report children's home: 2677411 1 Registered provider: Lasting Threads Care Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and is registered to provide care for up to three children who experience emotional and/or social difficulties and/or learning difficulties. Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2024.

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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 children's home: 2677411 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/04/2023 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 2677411 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in the home are happy and settled. Staff care for children with empathy and warmth and develop strong and trusting relationships with the children to enable them to feel safe and secure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff reflect on how they interact with the children. They adapt their practice to meet the children’s needs and use alternative communication styles for each child. This means that children can express themselves in a manner that they feel comfortable with.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to understand children’s vulnerabilities and difficulties. They understand how children’s underlying needs impact on their behaviour and respond well. Staff spend time getting to know children. They work in partnership with children to develop support plans. This means that responses to children are in line with their preferences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in their education settings. Staff support children to recog- nise their individual talents and have high aspirations for children’s futures. Staff work in partnership with school staff to promote children’s attendance and engagement. Regular communication with school professionals means that children are provided with con- sistent care at home and at school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. When health issues arise, staff seek medical advice and attention for children without delay. Staff involve children’s families to support them to attend health assessments when there is reluctance to engage. The use of weekly meal plans and activity trackers support children to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to enjoy a variety of activities. Staff promote new and exist- ing hobbies for children. One child has received support to maintain his role as a swim- ming coach.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff develop good working relationships with children’s families and those important to them. Parents and family members are updated on a regular basis and staff work in partnership with them to support children. One parent commented that her relationship with their child has significantly improved since they moved into this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to complain. Access to complaint forms is easily accessible throughout the home. Prompt action is taken when children raise any concerns. Children say that they feel listened to.

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

Safeguarding is a strength of the home. Professionals say that staff go above and be- yond to safeguard children. Staff have a good understanding of children’s risks and needs in respect of exploitation. Inspection report children's home: 2677411 4 The manager is a strong and assertive advocate for children who are at risk in the community. She challenges professionals to ensure that support is provided to children to keep them safe. Robust support plans are developed in partnership with external agencies and professionals. This means that there is a strong multi agency approach to keeping children safe, both in the home and the community.

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

Staff get to know children’s friends and associates so that they are aware of who chil- dren are spending time with. Staff are proactive in identifying areas where children spend time and the risks associated with these areas. They liaise with outside agencies and local police forces to obtain and share information relating to risks posed to children in the community.

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

Plans are developed in partnership with external agencies to safeguard children outside of the home. When incidents of children going missing from home occur, staff are proac- tive. They search local areas and communicate with friends and family to identify their whereabouts. However, on two occasions staff did not follow plans in reporting children as missing. Prompt action was taken by the manager to address this with staff.

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

Staff develop strong relationships with children. They understand children’s needs and behaviours. This means that they are able to de-escalate incidents of challenging behaviour well. As a result, incidents of physically holding children are rare.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted through incentives and positive praise. Leaders and man- agers celebrate children’s achievements through personalised monthly newsletters and rewards.

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

Assessments of risk and behaviour management plans provide clear guidance for staff to follow. Staff know children’s individual needs and vulnerabilities. Staff are vigilant in managing children’s risks. However, the quality of recording of children’s known risks and incidents is variable.

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

Children are cared for by an established and settled staff team. The manager has worked hard to develop a committed team. However, senior leaders have not consist- ently identified shortfalls in pre-employment checks for new staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a qualified and experienced manager. She knows the children well and has high aspirations for them. The manager has good oversight of the care pro- vided to the children. Development plans for the home are detailed and identify required areas of improvement. However, the statement of purpose has not been updated to re- flect changes in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager values the staff team. She is committed to investing in their progression and development. Staff have access to regular coaching and mentoring sessions with the Inspection report children's home: 2677411 5 manager. This provides opportunities for the manager to address any practice issues with staff. She supports them to develop in specific areas of their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager welcomes independent scrutiny of the home. She seeks regular feedback from professionals involved in the children’s care. The manager has identified that regu- lation 44 reports do not consistently identify shortfalls or areas of development. Further- more, feedback from children’s families or wider stakeholders is not consistently sought. This means that the independent scrutiny of the home is not robust.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision and appraisals. Staff new to the home are pro- vided with additional support to help them settle into their roles. The introduction of weekly drop in sessions provides all staff with the opportunity to seek advice and guid- ance in respect of their roles. This also provides staff with opportunities to support them in their career progression and completion of qualifications.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with training opportunities to meet all the children’s needs. In-house workshops and consultations take place with staff when there are delays in accessing formal training programmes. This provides staff with the knowledge and understanding required to meet the children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a strong advocate for the children. Professionals speak highly of her commitment to the children and her approach to multi agency working. One professional commented ‘the communication from the manager is exceptional’. Inspection report children's home: 2677411 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The registered person may only— employ an individual to work at the children’s home

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). The requirements are that— full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that the registered person ensures that safer recruitment processes are followed when recruiting new staff to the home. 07 June 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which— include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that the registered person ensures that children’s records, plans and risk assessments are up to date and accurate. 07 June 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 07 June 2024 Inspection report children's home: 2677411 7

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Recommendations

 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 64 paragraph 15.5)

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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 children's home: 2677411 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Lasting Threads Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 30 New Lane, Aughton, Ormskirk L39 4UD

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Inspector

Claire Hobbs, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 2677411 9 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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