Introducing The Lioncare Group

The Lioncare Group has one aim: To improve the lives and prospects of the children and young people in our care.

We work therapeutically with children and young people who have complex needs, have experienced abusive, neglectful, and / or chaotic and traumatic situations, and who need specialised professional support in learning how to cope with the pressures and demands of day-to-day living before they can be expected to survive and thrive in a family-based placement.

Our primary task is to enable them to be more integrated individuals, thrive in a family setting or succeed in living independently, and become valued and valuable members of their community in later life.

We have 3 Therapeutic Children's Homes, a Therapeutic Special (SEBD) Independent School, and a Semi-Independent Supported Accommodation Training House. Children and young people placed with us generally present as being emotionally unintegrated or fragilely integrated, displaying levels of disturbed and disturbing behaviour, and difficulty in containing and controlling their own conflicted feelings.

We aim to help them begin repairing the damage of previously abusive and traumatic experiences. We assist them in finding ways to incorporate a positive experience of ‘good enough care’ and parenting in their present worlds. Our therapeutic practice approach assists children and young people achieve equilibrium, enjoy their childhood, and manage the change needed to move forward in their lives.

By providing carefully thought through intensive individualised programmes of therapeutic care, informed by ongoing assessment of need, within the residential group milieu, we begin to form vital and appropriate relationships and attachments, attempt to survive the unbearable and overwhelming feelings and anxieties projected by the children and young people in to the adults around them, begin the process of repair and restitution, assess and meet the child or young person's complex needs, and provide our children and young people with the means of finding the missing pieces in the jigsaw puzzle of their lives.

Springfields Therapeutic Children's Home: Rated "Outstanding" by Ofsted (January 2011)

Westfields Therapeutic Children's Home: Rated "Outstanding" by Ofsted (January 2011)

The Lioncare School: Rated "Satisfactory" by Ofsted (2008)*

Springfields has achieved Ofsted Outstanding Status in 7 out of its last 7 Inspections, Westfields has each achieved Ofsted Outstanding Status in 7 out of its last 7 Inspections, and Seafields has achieved Ofsted Outstanding Status in 6 out of its last 8 Inspections.

This remarkable record across all our homes statistically places us as one of the best organisations caring for children and young people in the United Kingdom.

It represents official recognition of our commitment to providing the highest possible standards of care and nurture to our children and young people, continual support and development of our workforce, investment and improvement to the facilitating environment, and excellent understanding of the Management Task.

Above all, it shows that The Lioncare Group really does provide a therapeutic living-learning environment that works for the children, young people and adults around which it has evolved.

*The Lioncare School was last inspected over 3 years ago whilst it was operating under its former name of Cornerstones Independent School. Since then, we have undertaken extensive and far reaching changes to the facilitating environment, the curriculum, and the model of learning and education provided by the school. We eagerly looked forward to gaining public recognition of the excellent work being achieved through The Lioncare School at our next Ofsted Inspection. In the meantime, we welcome and encourage visits by anyone seeking to place a child or young person in our school, so you can form your own opinion as to how well we are doing.