Lyric House: statement of purpose

Our home is registered with Ofsted to support up to two children and provides a home for children for as long as is required, up until 18 years of age, including post-16 support where applicable.

Lyric House Children’s Home blends into the heart of Okehampton and is within walking distance to the town, local supermarket, schools and parks. Lyric House comprises of a three-bedroom detached house, set back from the road with parking and small approach path.

It is situated close to local shops and the town centre, which is called the gateway to Dartmoor.  There is a local gym and swimming pool, pharmacy, library, and cinema, with local attractions and outdoor pursuits and activities close by.

Further afield we have access to local beaches, countryside, sporting activities, amusement parks and more, giving great opportunities to children to socialise and exercise. Lyric House has a car to support exploring the beautiful surroundings. Okehampton has great transport links throughout Devon and beyond.

Okehampton has access to a wide variety of places of worship catering to many faiths within a 30-minute journey. We will always support children’s religious and cultural needs, working within the local community where appropriate, to ensure all young people’s needs are met.

The children have access to all areas of the home, except for the staff sleep-in room. The home has a kitchen, lounge and dining area and bathrooms. There are built-in appliances in the kitchen, where we have the facilities to teach home-based skills. The home has a lovely back garden area.

Children live here and will attend school from here with visits supported to the family homes and visits from family members in Lyric House if appropriate to do so, bespoke packages can be delivered where education outcomes are agreed and provided in the home, however we will always work closely with educational professionals in order to get the child the educational placement that they require and are entitled to. We meet with parents and carers, providers, schools where applicable and other professionals involved in the child’s care to aid the completion of assessments, making certain we can meet the child’s needs.

Children are introduced to the home at a pace that suits them, starting with pen portraits of the staff, maybe TEAMS meetings or short intro videos, we then move into short visits to the home. have tea and spend time getting used to the home. Wherever possible, we ensure a gradual and supportive transition. We can receive emergency placements to support the needs of children and families; however, this is on a case-by-case basis and involves careful assessment and planning.

Children living in our homes are encouraged to share their view’s and wishes. All these views and wishes are responded to and we support the children in being able to express their views using their preferred method of communication. The children are encouraged to share their ideas. This includes making choices and contributing to the menus, helping to decide on activities and trips out ,and the decoration of their bedroom and the home, inputting into their plans as well as setting goals and aspirations.

If children have any concerns they are encouraged to communicate this to the team or other relevant professionals where applicable. We will support the child to work out the best solution and work to the best possible outcome.

We are actively involved in supporting children and young people to thrive and achieve educationally. We attend annual education healthcare plan reviews, multi-agency meetings and communicate with teachers regularly to promote consistent approaches and maximise positive educational outcomes for children. Staff visit schools during assessment processes and maintain those links throughout the child’s journey with us. We communicate well with schools by email, phone and through home/school communication books, sharing information and achievements and ensuring each child is central to working practices.

We can provide a suitable environment for study and to help young people with homework or school projects. We incorporate natural learning in all our activities, embedding essential life skills to promote independence for our young people.

In situations where the children and young people in our care, are unable to attend school to receive education, we will work with the team around the young person to support an agreed plan to give the child the support they need to return to a suitable educational setting.

The children and young people in our care are supported to be aspirational, enabling them to have quality access to activities that enable them to thrive and grow, enhancing their life experiences.

Activities and opportunities are identified and sourced based on the individual interests of the young person for example, horse riding and kayaking or local walks and bike rides.

We promote open channels of communication with the children and young people and the people around them, to identify ambitious outcomes, achieving small steps along the way, working towards achieving the more ambitious goals.

We promote informal education and moral philosophy through creative challenge and conversation, we are invested in the children and young people who come and live with us during this part of their life journey, to enjoy experiences, learn new skills and gain confidence.

Activity planning is a big part of the culture of this home as we understand that positive life experiences are fundamental in helping the children and young people in establishing safe regulated behaviours and positive wellbeing.

Staff work alongside parents, children and other professionals to ensure the child’s health needs are met. This includes training in clinical skills and administering medications prescribed to the young people in our care.

We can work directly with local GP’s and pharmacies to acquire medications for children and obtain authorisation from the person with parental responsibility for all aspects of medication; this may be in the form of delegated responsibility.

Staff may contact 111 or emergency services the event of ill health or a medical emergency. Consent to medical treatment in such circumstances is sought prior to a child’s initial admission to the home and is reaffirmed annually. Staff would be expected to attend general health appointments with the children, after agreement with families and carers where relevant.

We liaise with a wide range of health professionals to maintain the health and well-being of children in our service.

Lyric House, adheres to Devon County Councils policies regarding food hygiene, follows the Food Standard’s Agency Registration and Compliance, and follows the local authority’s ‘Better standards, safer food’ policies.

The meals prepared consider the individual needs of the children accessing the home. The home supports the staff in accessing basic food hygiene training and relevant training in areas such as health and safety and infection control.

Lyric House is a non-smoking and vaping home.

We understand that behaviour is communication and at times this can be challenging – we know that at times the children in our care may not be able to share their wishes, views and feelings clearly.

By understanding this and working in line with PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity, Empathy) principles we can build positive relationships that in time will proactively affect how we are able to support the children and young people in our care.

We will provide a stable and safe home environment, built on care, trust, empowerment and respect. We as people will be resilient, open, honest and available.

We will work together with the children and young people in our care building a trusting, and safe home environment based on positive relationships and trust.

We support children with behaviours of concern using the positive behaviour management ethos and PACE. The valuing of individual rights, opinions and wishes of children and working in partnership with them and those around them is seen as paramount.

It is the aim of the home to ensure that children always feel relaxed and safe. Safeguarding disclosures are treated sensitively and supportively, as per children’s homes policies and procedures. All disclosures are treated seriously and are reported immediately following the Devon County Council’s policies and procedures. Appropriate reporting processes will always be followed.

All those involved with the provision of services for children in the children’s home settings must be alert to the possibility of abuse by other children, visitors and members of staff. Our staff attend relevant training and have access to  monthly supervision to discuss safeguarding. All the home staff have access information of the most current safeguarding policies and procedures.

The home promotes an atmosphere where bullying is not acceptable. If bullying is found to occur, effective strategies will be implemented to counter it. The service is committed to quality care and anti-discriminatory practice, fully embracing the principles of the Children Act 1989, as laid out in the Bill of Rights for Children and Every Child Matters 2004, Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and 2005 and Equality Act 2010.

Our staff are aware that children need privacy; however, this must be balanced with issues of protection and safety. The privacy and dignity of the children are always respected. Any boundaries or barriers regarding the child’s privacy and confidentiality will be discussed with the child. their parents/carers where appropriate, social worker and other relevant professionals and the home manager. This will be recorded in their care plan and/or risk assessment.

Where children have Deprivation of Liberty Orders these will be incorporated into the child’s plans, with the aim to reduce any restrictions as soon as it is safe to do so, in communication with the child and the team around them.

Access into the building is restricted at the main entrances. Visitors must provide identification and records of visitors are kept.

At times children present behaviour that is challenging. This may be due to their disability, other medical conditions or as part of growing up and their life experiences. If this becomes dangerous for either themselves or others, staff may need to intervene to maintain the safety of the child. Where required, any use of intervention by our trained staff will follow the guidelines set by Devon County Council and the Department of Health. This is used only as a last resort and reflects the presenting behaviour and associated risk, as well as following current guidelines.

All children that use our service will have a care plan which includes a risk assessment and behaviour management plan or positive behaviour support plan. Staff attend positive behaviour support training. Interventions are supported with positive strategies, we use PACE and our DDP training to interact, listen and diffuse situations.

Details of any physical intervention will be recorded and shared with parents/carers where appropriate and relevant professionals. Records are reviewed regularly with the staff team and steps taken to minimise incidents wherever possible. Current legislation always underpins and supports good practice. Children will be supported to de-brief with an appropriate person following an incident where a physical intervention has been required.

Details on how to make a complaint are shared as part of the information given to young people and their families at the first point of contact with the home. The home also provides a children’s guide which includes how to access an advocate and how to raise any concerns or compliments. The complaints policy can be accessed at any time by contacting the home to make a request.

Children, their parents/carers, members of the public, agencies or professionals can all raise compliments or concerns to staff, professionals, or go directly to Devon Children’s Homes or Ofsted. Children who make a complaint will be protected from any reprisal for doing so and are supported to understand their rights.

Compliments, concerns and complaints can be made to:

Glenn Lobb – Service Manager for Countywide Services
County Hall
Topsham Road
Exeter
EX2 4QD
Telephone: 07814 779948

Devon County Council Customer Relations
FREEPOST DCC CUSTOMER RELATIONS
Telephone: 0800 212783
Email: customer.relations@devon.gov.uk

Ofsted
Piccadilly Gate
Store Street
Manchester
M1 2WD
Telephone: 0300 123 1231
Email: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk

Young people in our care are encouraged to be as involved in their care as they can. We understand that they can’t always tell us directly what their needs and wishes are.

The staff team are very child-focused and the best wishes and expressed needs of the child are always at the forefront of decision-making.  Staff use a wide range of strategies to help children and young people to communicate and support their choices, to include them in making choices about their everyday care, and bigger life decisions. Feedback and reflections are used to shape the way we deliver our services.

Positive outcomes for children are always promoted. This includes outcomes relating to their health, safety and well-being, development, enjoyment, and experience, the culture of this home is that we understand that positive life experiences are fundamental in helping our young people in establishing safe regulated behaviours and positive wellbeing.

We do this by working together with other agencies to deliver individualised plans of care to children, incorporating therapeutic assessments and programs, delivering, and evaluating care plans, and gathering evidence to support children’s progression.

Our staff team are recruited according to Devon County Council recruitment policies and procedures, which follow safer recruitment principles, and all staff meet the requirements of the Children’s Home Regulations 2015. All our staff have a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check and work-related references including the most recent employer. Each staff member has an electronic staff file.

All team members take part in an induction and attend mandatory training including areas such as paediatric first aid, medicines management, safeguarding level 3, equality and diversity, fire safety; and have access to training in specific areas to meet individual children’s needs.

Staff training is tailored and focused on the individual needs of the child accessing the home.

Staff development, supervision and appraisals

All of the team have monthly supervision, and an annual appraisal by a named supervisor within the home. These are designed to be reflective and restorative. Supervisions for all staff will include a discussion and or review of any safeguarding concerns and reflection on practice.

Lyric House is committed to the ongoing professional development of our workforce and providing tangible opportunities for all team members to reach their full potential. We use a robust recoding and monitoring system both organisationally and locally to monitor and ensure compliance with required training and development activities.

Due to having good links with other teams of professionals and by being creative we can use different forms of research and training to develop the team’s knowledge and skills enabling development of practice and ability to meet the changing needs of our home.

Opportunities to discuss, review and plan for development and learning is discussed regularly with the team in individual supervision sessions that occur monthly, in Annual appraisals and with the team in the team meeting to ensure we continue to meet the development needs or our workforce and the needs of the children that use the homes.

Manager on call process

We operate a manager on call system for out of office hours support.

The home complies with Devon County Council Human Resources policies and procedures. Devon County Council have Trade Union Representatives who are widely available to staff at any time for advice and support. Devon County Council also provide occupation health support for all staff and this is a confidential process where required.