Children's home run by Lily Residential Services Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2672242 1 Registered provider: Lily Residential Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and run by a private provider.

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Information about this children’s home

The home can provide care for two children with social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, no children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager registered with Ofsted on 15 May 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 requires improvement to be 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: 29 January 2024

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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: 2672242 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/01/2024 Full Good 11/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2672242 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At this inspection, there were no children living at the home. The inspector reviewed the experiences of the children who had recently left the home and the children who had lived at the home since the date of the previous inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the previous inspection, two children have successfully moved from the home into two of the organisation’s other children’s homes. There was a clear rationale in place for these moves, in line with each child’s need and their future development. Both moves were well planned and included some of the children’s key staff moving with them to support continuity of care and to help them settle into their new homes. The staff successfully enabled both children to re-engage in education, with one returning to full- time education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Another child’s placement was ended due to concerns around their safety. The team knew the child’s needs well because they moved in from one of the organisation’s other homes, along with some of the staff from that home. However, the child’s needs changed and the team was not able to meet them in the longer term. The registered manager is currently carrying out an analysis of this placement so that lessons learned can be used to prevent such a reoccurrence in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Currently, the home is being refurbished and redecorated in advance of children moving in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s plans were current during the time they were living at the home. These plans reflect each child’s needs and the progress they made and include amendments to support and enhance further progress. Plans provide clear guidance for staff and are frequently updated to reflect children’s emerging needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector met the social worker for the child whose placement was ended as they were delivering a card and chocolates to the staff team to say thank you for all the care and support they had provided. The social worker said that despite what happened the child had made progress. Feedback was sought from the other professionals who have had children staying at the home, but none was received.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector also tried to speak with a child who used to live at the home, but they declined.

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

Safeguarding incidents have been well managed, including the swift referrals to the relevant agencies and professionals when needed. Safeguarding records document the actions taken by staff and the outcomes for children. These actions helped to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2672242 4 Behaviour is managed well by staff. Their approach to behaviour management is based on the relationships staff build with the children and staff’s understanding of the children’s needs. Staff share information about which strategies are successful, and which are not, effectively. This information is used to develop a cohesive and consistent approach. In addition, good-quality meaningful conversations take place with children after incidents, which supports their understanding of their behaviours, including the development of self-management strategies.

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

When physical restraint has been used, it has been proportionate and used to keep the child and others safe. The manager reviews records of these incidents and uses information from their analysis to enhance the child’s plans and staff’s approaches.

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

There is a lack of consistency within some records of behavioural incidents. The majority are detailed, providing a clear picture of the antecedence, the incident and following the incident, but a few lack the detail required. There is also some evidence of vague and emotive language being used, which reduces the clarity and meaningfulness of these records.

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

Since the previous inspection, the new manager has successfully registered with Ofsted. They have a clear understanding of the strengths and areas for development, with a plan in place to support the required improvements. This links to the manager’s clear vision for the home.

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

The current staff team consists only of the registered manager and the deputy manager. Recruitment is currently underway, with some new staff successfully completing their interview and currently being on-boarded. The registered manager is clear that it will take approximately 10 to 12 weeks for the home to be ready to take any children as all new staff need to go through induction and training. The registered manager has created a comprehensive induction package for new staff to support their arrival and ongoing development.

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

Leaders and managers do not always ensure that notifications to Ofsted are completed as required.

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

Records about children are maintained and kept up to date. However, in some records, there is evidence of institutionalised, vague and emotive language. This reduces the clarity of these records and could reduce the child’s understanding of their time living in the home.

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

Staff feel valued and well supported by the manager. They also praised their peers for how supportive they are. Staff receive regular supervision, which is of an appropriate quality and supports their development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2672242 5 Currently, reports from the independent visitor are not being received in a timely manner as required. Leaders and managers have already identified the need for the robustness of these reports to improve to support the development of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2672242 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph requires the registered person to— ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d)) 31 May 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

HMCI. (Regulation 44 (1) (4)(a)(b) (7)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the independent visitor should ensure their report is received by HMCI before the end of the month that follows the month in which the visit took place. 30 April 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13) Inspection report for children’s home: 2672242 7  The registered person should ensure that all staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. In particular, leaders and managers should ensure staff do not use vague, emotive or institutionalised language in children’s records as these records must always be in a form that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2672242 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Lily Residential Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Spirare Ltd, Mey House, Bridport Road, Poundbury, Dorchester DT1 3QY

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Inspector

Wendy Anderson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2672242 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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