Lagom Residential Care Limited

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Lagom Residential Care Limited 1 Lagom Residential Care Limited Registered provider: Lagom Residential Care Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This supported accommodation service is operated by a private provider in North West England. The provider can accommodate up to two children in two shared or group living houses not limited to accommodating looked-after children and care leavers.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, two individuals were being accommodated. Two of them were looked-after children aged 16 or 17.

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provider

The provider has been registered with Ofsted since 2 October 2024. The registered service manager has been in post since the service was registered. They also hold other responsibilities, which include the nominated individual and director.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 13 October 2025 and started that day. The inspector was on site 15 and 16 October 2025.

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Outcome

Inconsistent quality of service delivery adversely affects some children’s experiences, and this may limit their progress. Leaders and managers must make improvements. The next inspection will be within approximately 18 months.

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Summary of findings

Children are happy in their homes and feel supported by a consistent staff team. They are encouraged to be active, which has supported them to feel settled.

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Summary of findings

Children have detailed support plans and risk assessments in which their voice is clear throughout.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers accommodate children outside the scope of the regulations, which has meant that some children have needed a high level of staff care for a considerable time. The children’s needs have exceeded those which supported accommodation can meet. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Lagom Residential Care Limited 2 Accommodation is of a good standard; however, not all maintenance issues are resolved in a timely manner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to develop their life skills and the focus for staff is children being active in the community. They support children with a range of activities, such as accessing the local gym, trekking up mountains and fishing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff complete detailed support plans for children and review them regularly. They include the child’s wishes and feelings. They also complete regular key-work sessions with children that are relevant to their support needs and explore a variety of current topics, such as gang culture and knife crime. However, there is lack of consistency in recording these sessions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to consider different education and training opportunities and are aspirational for them. They understand children’s experiences of trauma and how these experiences may affect their engagement with services. Children access education, employment or training, and staff advocate and work with external services to support children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

All children are registered with local health services and staff ensure that this occurs soon after children move into their accommodation. Staff support children to attend their health appointments. Managers and staff work with children and their social workers to help them to access other services, such as mental health services. One mental health practitioner said: ‘They have consistently demonstrated a willingness to engage with [name of service], showing openness to advice and collaboration and have been readily available when needed.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Leaders and managers strive to work hard as part of a multi-agency team. They communicate well with external services, which means that information is shared with agencies involved in children’s support. Social workers and other agencies have been positive about the communication between them and the provider. One social worker said: ‘I cannot thank these guys enough.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children live in homely, well-maintained accommodation where their dignity is respected, and their bedrooms are a private space for them to enjoy. One property had a significant mark on the upstairs carpet which detracted from the homeliness of the accommodation.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers record safeguarding concerns and share them with relevant agencies. However, leaders and managers do not notify Ofsted of all serious events that occur. This affects Ofsted’s oversight of how the provider responds to safeguarding situations to protect children from harm. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Lagom Residential Care Limited 3 Staff complete detailed risk assessments and individual crisis management plans. These documents are easy to read and accessible. The plans include known vulnerabilities for children, including contextual safeguarding, and detail how staff should respond to these risks. Managers review these plans and note any further actions for staff to follow.

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How well children are helped and protected

When children are missing from home, staff take action to locate them by contacting friends, family and known contacts. Children are offered return home interviews by an independent service. As a result, children feel cared for and welcomed back to their home. However, there is a lack of consistency when completing documentation relating to children going missing from home. For example, staff do not record clearly who was notified and what action, if any, was taken.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff restrict children’s access to equipment for daily tasks, such as knives. There are clear safeguarding reasons why these restrictions are in place and staff know this; however, this is not recorded in the children’s risk assessments.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff complete a wide range of safeguarding training to help them support children effectively. Training is in line with children’s individual needs. Leaders and managers actively seek additional training for their staff when new risks emerge.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers use safer recruitment processes to ensure that adults can work safely with children. The provider has a permanent staff team, which means that children are provided with consistent support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of risks and issues for children currently placed in the accommodation. However, they accept children at the referral stage with complex needs without fully assessing their suitability for supported accommodation. As a result, these children require a higher level of staffing and support and are not suitable to live in supported accommodation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers provide staff with regular supervision. This means that staff can discuss their well-being, development and progress within the service. As a result, staff feel valued and listened to by managers. One member of staff said: ‘Management and the founders are very hands-on, very approachable, and I genuinely see the committed to the well-being and progress of the young people.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers do not provide yearly appraisals to their staff team. Managers have identified the need to develop this moving forward to support staff development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have a workforce development plan in place. However, this is not updated in accordance with the regulations. For example, it does not include the current staffing structure or the managerial arrangements for oversight of the premises. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Lagom Residential Care Limited 4

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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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including 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 supported accommodation undertaking that puts children first and prioritises their wellbeing and development.

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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

lead and manage the supported accommodation undertaking in a way that is consistent with the ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the undertaking’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that arrangements are in place to manage referrals of children to the supported accommodation undertaking and admissions of children to premises used as supported accommodation, including, where relevant, emergency referrals and admissions.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 4 (1) (2)(a)(f)) 11 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) in relation to each child accommodated by the supported accommodation undertaking which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 2,

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all significant information is stated in documents relating to incidents, episodes of going missing from home and significant conversations documentation. 11 December Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Lagom Residential Care Limited 5 The registered person must notify the CIECSS and any relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child and the registered person considers that incident to be serious. (Regulation 27 (3)(b)) 11 December

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose sets out what the service offers and how it can meet needs of children who may be accommodated in the service, and how it is set up and equipped to meet those needs. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 45)  The registered person should ensure that supported accommodation is homely and welcoming, and that relevant maintenance repairs are completed. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 29)  The registered person should ensure that all staff working in their service have annual appraisals. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 51)  The registered person should ensure that the workforce development plan includes the current staffing structure and the managerial arrangements for oversight of the premises. The plan should also include how staff support children

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Recommendations

when there is on-site or floating support and how staff promote continuity of support. The plan should also include the induction and probationary period as well as how often supervision takes place and how the service manages poor performance. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 47)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Lagom Residential Care Limited 6

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Lagom Residential Care Limited

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: Suite 217 Queens Dock Business Centre, 67–83 Norfolk Street, Liverpool L1 0BG

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Andrew Owens

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Inspector

Helen Fee, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Lagom Residential Care Limited 7 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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Inspector

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