Marydale Lodge

Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC022448 1 Marydale Lodge Registered provider name: Nugent Care 2019 Registered provider address: Blackbrook Road, St Helens, Merseyside WA11 9RJ Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this secure children’s home

This secure children’s home is run by a voluntary organisation and is approved by the Secretary of State to restrict children’s liberty. The home can accommodate up to 12 children aged between 10 and 17 years who are placed by local authorities under section 25 of the Children Act 1989. There were four children living at the home at the time of the inspection. All the children contributed to the inspection.

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Information about this secure children’s home

Admission of any child under 13 years of age under section 25 of the Children Act 1989 requires the approval of the Secretary of State.

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Information about this secure children’s home

The commissioning of health services in this home is the statutory responsibility of NHS England under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Education is provided on site in dedicated facilities.

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Information about this secure children’s home

There has been no registered manager since 3 January 2025.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

Children’s education and learning good Children’s health outstanding 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 secure children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good. Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC022448 2 Date of last inspection: 30 January 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC022448 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/01/2024 Full Outstanding 11/10/2022 Full Good 19/01/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/09/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC022448 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, five children have moved into the home and four have moved on. Currently, four children are living in the home. Inspectors met and spent time with all the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they like living in the home and that they can choose and cook their own meals. The home’s environment is relaxed, spacious and clean. Children are able to personalise their bedroom with homely belongings, which gives them a sense of security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff speak to children in a sensitive manner about lots of different matters. For example, when children are struggling to cope, staff help them explore what support they need. Staff respond to children in a non-judgmental way. Staff speak to children with compassion and give them strategies to help them to become more resilient.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are provided with information to aid their understanding of their vulnerabilities and risks. Staff support children to develop the skills that they need to help keep themselves safe and make informed decisions in the future. This alleviates children’s worries and enables them to reflect, learn and develop.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to make a complaint, and have done so. The manager then responds appropriately to the child and informs them of any actions that have been taken.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are offered mediation sessions to discuss their differences. When children choose not to attend, staff respect this and allow them more time to think about the session. When children do not want to participate, they either discuss what their differences are or move on naturally.

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Children’s education and learning: good

Children make good progress from their starting points. This progress is captured in exercise books, folders and portfolios from across the curriculum. Leaders and managers collect an appropriate range of information about children’s starting points. They use this information skilfully to match their teaching to the needs of the children.

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Children’s education and learning: good

The headteacher provides strong leadership. Leaders have an accurate understanding of the key strengths of each child’s progress and have remedied the main weakness identified at the previous inspection. Leaders know the children well and have positive relationships with staff.

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Children’s education and learning: good

Leaders provide children with a broad curriculum that prepares them well for their next steps. Leaders have developed an information and communication technology (ICT) Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC022448 5 curriculum that reflects what is important for children to know. Staff provide vocational learning opportunities that relate to children’s career aims, such as working with horses at a local equine centre.

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Children’s education and learning: good

Teachers use a variety of relevant, interesting and appropriately challenging resources and assessments. For example, in science lessons, teachers use models and demonstrations to explain the links between theory and practice. On occasion, in ICT lessons, teachers introduce course content through the education assessment requirements. Some children make slower progress due to the technical language that teachers use. Teachers use phonics to support children who require additional support. Teachers introduce children to fiction and non-fiction texts and are successful in encouraging reading for pleasure.

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Children’s education and learning: good

Leaders analyse, monitor and review children’s education, health and care (EHC) plans thoroughly. However, leaders do not help teachers to prioritise the targets in the EHC plan in their teaching. This means that a few children make slower progress towards the achievement of their EHC plan targets. Children would benefit from receiving bespoke career plans that are clear and accessible.

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Children’s education and learning: good

Teachers and teaching assistants work well together to support children to develop social skills and behaviour. Teachers know the children well and take action to maintain an appropriate and positive learning environment. Most children maintain their focus on learning in the classroom and have high attendance levels.

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Children’s education and learning: good

Staff have produced a personal development curriculum that prepares children well for adulthood. Teachers discuss the features of healthy relationships, money management and approaches to mental and physical health. Staff support children towards more independent lives through bespoke learning activities, such as washing clothes and improving personal hygiene. Leaders provide children with access to timely independent careers advice and guidance. However, children’s career plans are not written in simple and clear language so that they are accessible to all children. In addition, the suggested actions are too broad.

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Children’s health: outstanding

Children’s health needs are identified and addressed by healthcare professionals who engage positively with children. This means that children’s health and well-being significantly improve as a result of the meticulous and attentive care they receive. Physical health and mental health nurses, and occupational and speech and language therapists, work alongside psychologists and a psychiatrist to provide exceptional care to children in the home. This means that children benefit from having all their physical health needs met without delay, and mental health support when they need it. Medication management processes are robust, which means that children receive their medicines in a safe and timely way. Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC022448 6 When children arrive, they are supported by the health staff to access specific healthcare interventions for any previously unmet or emerging needs. This includes

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Children’s health: outstanding

ensuring that all children receive up-to-date immunisations, dental care and optician appointments. Children have good access to autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder assessments if there is an indicated need. Staff support children to engage in the assessments and make reasonable adjustments when required. For example, the dentist played basketball with a child to build a trusting relationship, which helped the child to accept dental care. This proactive approach means that children receive targeted and appropriate support for their needs, which improves their well-being.

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Children’s health: outstanding

Children benefit from a strong psychology health team, whose members work collaboratively with all staff in the home to provide care and treatment in a compassionate, focused and therapeutic way. Staff interact with children and speak about them in a positive, trauma-informed way, with children at the centre of everything that they do. Children said that the health team members were kind and were always around to talk to or to help them when they needed anything.

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Children’s health: outstanding

Health staff praised their leaders and colleagues for the support that they receive. Up- to-date and regular supervision sessions are meaningful and support the team to provide good care. Collaborative working with all staff across the home is a significant strength. The effective and timely sharing of health information in regular meetings supports the ongoing review of each child’s needs and risks. This enables high-quality individualised care to be delivered, promoting children’s ability to thrive physically and mentally and to build positive, trusting relationships.

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Children’s health: outstanding

Children benefit from comprehensive transition plans when moving in or out of the home, which are completed by the designated transition worker in the home. Ongoing support is available for two months after children leave the home to ensure that they can continue to access health services.

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

Children say that they have positive relationships with staff and that they feel safe at this home. Children rarely experience bullying, but when this does occur, it is well monitored and sensitively addressed. Staff help children to talk and to discuss their feelings with each other. This supports children to feel safe and secure.

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

On the rare occasion that children go missing from the home or abscond when out in the community, staff follow the risk plans that are in place to ensure that the child is found as quickly and safely as possible. When children return to the home, staff speak to them so that they can understand the reasons for them leaving and address any risks or concerns.

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

When allegations are made, managers share information with professionals, including the local authority designated officer, in line with safeguarding guidance. Children are spoken with and are provided with response letters that are written in a child-friendly Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC022448 7 manner and outline the actions taken to keep them safe. There are several occasions when allegations have not been notified to Ofsted. While this does not currently have a direct impact on children, a greater level of oversight would be beneficial in the event that there are concerns arising.

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

Children’s risk assessments provide detailed information about children’s vulnerabilities and events that impact on them. These documents provide staff with clear guidance that is individualised to the child’s needs and preferences. Staff are effective in implementing these plans. There is a focus on de-escalation techniques and on using methods such as pacing up and down or listening to music, which some children find soothing in moments of distress.

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

The use of physical intervention, managing away and single separation (where a child is locked into an area alone due to significant risk), is well recorded, and the use of any measure is proportionate and necessary. When possible, staff use relationship-based care to overcome challenging situations and to reduce the time children spend away from their peers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The previous registered manager recently left. The home has not been without management oversight, as there is now an interim manager in post. She speaks with enthusiasm about the home and the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, leaders have made the decision to limit the number of children currently living in the home while recruiting more staff. There has been a change in management, and new staff, and this has unsettled some staff. Two children have also moved out as staff could not meet their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers acknowledge the recruitment difficulties and have been creative in their approach to recruitment. Effective safer recruitment processes are in place that assess staff’s suitability to work with vulnerable children. In addition, structured induction processes ensure that new staff have a well-planned introduction into the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are some areas for development in the management oversight and quality assurance of incidents and debriefs. On occasion, there have been missed opportunities to identify and implement helpful changes to practice, which would promote staff’s confidence and ensure a more consistent response to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The acting manager has an action plan in place to improve the service provided and to address shortfalls in the home. This plan contributes to the learning and development of the current cohort of staff and addresses the need for placement stability. Leaders and managers are aware that some changes need to be made. Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC022448 8 Staff said that they enjoy working at the home. They spoke kindly about the children they support and how they help each child to experience positive outcomes. Staff focus on children’s strengths and abilities. The team celebrates all successes with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is good collaborative working between leaders and partner agencies. Leaders and managers confidently challenge external services when appropriate, to ensure that the best possible outcomes for children are achieved. The ‘admission exploration meeting’ is a positive forum to discuss children potentially moving into the home, looking at current risks and covering pertinent areas for the child, including diversity and any religious needs. This approach contributes to greater stability, reducing the likelihood of placements ending.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive regular supervision sessions, which reflect on their practice with children. Records demonstrate that supervision sessions are supportive of staff’s health and well- being. Staff also have regular access to a highly skilled therapeutic team to support their emotional well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff development is encouraged. Staff complete mandatory training, such as safeguarding and health and safety. Supplementary learning is also available, which supports staff to develop their knowledge and enhances their ability to meet the needs of the children and young people in their care. However, the impact and effectiveness of training is not always assessed. This means there are sometimes missed opportunities to identify helpful changes to practice from learning. Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC022448 9

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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 must comply within the given timescales.

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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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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

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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)(a)(b) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to managers reviewing the effectiveness of training and taking action when needed.

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Requirement Due date

The manager must improve their oversight and quality assurance of incidents, identifying the context and triggers for incidents, and take full account of the feedback from children and staff involved in the incident. 17 June 2025

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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

the name of the child; 17 June 2025 Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC022448 10 details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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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;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the duration of any measure used is recorded and that children and staff are given the opportunity to speak to someone to debrief and reflect after an incident. Any gaps in the recording need to be addressed as part of management oversight.

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Recommendations

 The manager should notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if an allegation against staff occurs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10) Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC022448 11  The manager should ensure that children are supported to achieve the targets in the EHC plan and that career plans are clear and accessible to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 26, paragraph 5.2)

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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 secure children’s home: SC022448 12

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Secure children’s home details

Registered provider address: Nugent, 99 Edge Lane, Edge Hill, Liverpool L7 2PE

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Inspectors

Thirza Smith, Social Care Inspector Tash Williams, Social Care Inspector Gemma McDonnell, Social Care Inspector Martin Ward HMI, FES Thomas Davis, Care Quality Commission (CQC) Inspection report for secure children’s home: SC022448 13 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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