The Lioncare Group
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Placements: 07.12.23

Location   Age on AdmissionVacancies
Our School  6-16 yrs0
Springfields   6-12 yrs0
Westfields 10-14 yrs2
Hillfields12-16 yrs1

The Lioncare Group currently has residential placement vacancies and is happy to consider and accept appropriate referrals for our homes, and offer placements following a thorough matching process. If you wish to contact us regarding referrals we have a dedicated e-mail address for this: referrals@lioncare.co.uk

Alternatively, you can contact us on 01273 720424 if you wish to discuss in more detail a specific referral.

Recruitment: 07.12.23

  • Childcare Worker
  • Therapeutic Carer
  • Therapeutic Support Assistant (Education)
  • Administrator

Recruiting for January 2024

If you interested in working with us, please download, complete, and return to recruitment@lioncare.co.uk the application form, which you must download (Note: you cannot complete this form online. Download the form to your devise, complete the form, then send it to us via email) as an editable PDF form by clicking on the link below:

The Lioncare Group Application Form

The Lioncare Group Recruitment Guide 2023-24

Please Note: in line with our safer recruitment practice and policy, there are no circumstances where a CV is an appropriate method of application for employment with The Lioncare Group, and only a fully completed application form will be accepted.

References will always be followed up and any offer of employment is always subject to pre-employment
checks being undertaken; these include confirmation of a satisfactory enhanced DBS and a thorough check for any prohibitions, sanctions and restrictions that might prevent the candidate from taking part in certain activities or working in specific positions.

Westfields Children’s Home

Westfields Children’s Home was opened on 17th September 2018 and is designed to provide safe care provision through comprehensive individual assessments of needs, emotional treatment programmes, and pathway plans leading to independent living.

Westfields is available for those children who have experienced break down in their own family, considerable disruptions to their lives, and whose needs have not been met in alternative care settings. It is specifically geared to children who require a structured and ordered home environment, who may benefit from living with a slightly older peer group than the children cared for at Springfields, but who need ongoing therapeutic support and practical ‘firm but fair’ guidance to move towards adulthood and independent living (or fostering where this is achievable and appropriate).

Westfields is located in a  much sought-after area of Hove, close to several local parks and to local shopping centres in Hove, and within the catchments of several secondary main-stream schools. It is a short distance from Brighton College with which our organisation has developed good working partnerships, South Downs College in Lewes, and the Universities of Brighton and Sussex.

The house presents as a welcoming detached building, with a large enclosed garden to the rear offering good security. It has six single bedrooms of varying sizes to suit the individual needs of the six children living at Westfields. There is also a children’s Den, laundry room, sleeping-in room for the adults, managers’ office, an adult’s lounge / work area, a main lounge with conservatory, dining room also with conservatory, kitchen, modern bathroom, modern shower-room, storage areas, meetings room, and off course numerous toilets!

We believe Westfields offers children an exceptional quality of care and provides them with the type of experience every child deserves.

What we offer….

Therapeutic Residential Care

  • A large and comfortable and welcoming ‘family-like’ home
  • A positive and rewarding Good care experience where children can make real progress towards achieving their goals
  • Psychodynamic Practice
  • A Therapeutic Community Approach
  • A strong commitment to Safeguarding and protecting the welfare and well-being of the child
  • A commitment to providing each child with their own Independent Advocate
  • Collaborative working partnership between the child, their placing authority, and The Lioncare Group, that ensures the child remains at the center of all we do.
  • Regular Permanency Planning meetings to ensure the child’s Care Plan is realised

Commitment to Education, Training, Employment & Life Long Learning

  • A positive and rewarding education, training and learning experience
  • SEBD / SEMH provision
  • Through The Lioncare School, a skills based curriculum that defines the core skills we feel will best advantage our children when they move on from us. Curriculum 2020 has been designed to acknowledge the unique profiles of the children placed at the Lioncare School, characterised by;
    • disrupted early learning experiences
    • interrupted formal schooling
    • disengagement from formal settings
    • distrust of adult and professional input
    • continuous high levels of anxiety and emotional arousal due to trauma
    • the resultant cognitive, sensory and social impairment.
  • Supported reintegration to a mainstream school or college where appropriate
  • Supported transition to college and further education / training / employment
  • Collaborative working partnership between the child, their education authority, and The Lioncare School and/or the College Placement that delivers progress and supports achievement.
  • ASDAN courses at all levels.
  • New Horizons and Transition Challenge are available in all key stages
  • Short Courses are offered as pre-GCSE programmes as appropriate  in key stages 3 and 4.
  • Functional Skills at Entry Level, Level One and Two are offered via NCFE, either as an alternative to GCSE or as stepping stones toward it.
  • A GCSE curriculum is available in English and Mathematics with other subjects on offer where appropriate. The Lioncare School works with partner schools and with the Cambridge Examinations Board to facilitate this.

Preparation for Fostering or Interdependent Living

  • Laying the foundations for sustainable foster placements where this is the permanency plan set out in the child’s Care Plan.
  • Working closely with the child’s placing authority and social worker and other professionals through regular Permanency Planning meetings (scheduled for every 2 months) for the purpose of monitoring and promoting progress towards a positive transition from Westfields (either to a foster placement or interdependent living).
  • Assisting and supporting the child, their social worker, and their placing authority in determining the right foster carers able to meet the child’s needs, or the right semi-independence accommodation and provision that allows the young adult to continue to grow and flourish and achieve.
  • Pathway planning
  • Unique “Learning to Look After Me” practical training programme
  • Employment guidance and support
  • Laying the foundations for successful & effective independence

Outreach & After-Care Support Package

  • Planned & effective support through transitions and beyond, including provision of an 18+ Supported Accommodation programme through The Lioncare Group.
  • Being and remaining a ‘Secure Base’ for the child / young adult long after they have left Westfields, for those times when they might be in need of a little support, advice, or simply need the comfort and reassurance of a familiar and friendly face.

Statement of Purpose:

Statement of Purpose Westfields v10 (01.12.23)

Latest News

Springfields Therapeutic Children's Home is Outstanding....Again!

Following a full and thorough inspection by Ofsted on 20th-21st March 2023, and the publication of the inspection report, we are extremely pleased to congratulate the adults and children of Springfields Therapeutic Children's Home on achieving the Ofsted judgement of Outstanding for the second time in succession.
"The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care."
"Children thrive in this home. The highly motivated managers and staff know the children extremely well. Staff engage with children in a way which promotes compassion and trust. This gives children a positive sense of belonging and promotes a calm and family feel in the home. As a result, children flourish."
"Excellent safeguarding practice is a continuous thread throughout this home."
"A strength of this home is the committed, empathetic and determined registered manager. She is supported by an equally dedicated deputy manager, who strives to inspire children to reach the goals that are important to them."
"Working therapeutically with children is deeply embedded in practice. Staff and managers speak positively about the day-to-day support they receive from leaders."

Hillfields Therapeutic Children's Home is Good in All Areas...Again!

Following a full and thorough inspection by Ofsted on 20th-21st March 2023 (the same day as the inspection at Springfields), and the publication of the inspection report, we are again extremely pleased to congratulate the adults and children of Hillfields Therapeutic Children's Home on achieving the Ofsted judgement of Good In All Areas for the second time in succession.
"Staff listen to children and support them to influence the way they are cared for."
"Staff have a good understanding of children’s individual vulnerabilities. They have effective strategies in place to help keep children safe and these are clearly set out in individual safeguarding risk profiles."
"Staff prepare children well for the future, including supporting them to develop their independence skills."
"The registered manager is passionate in ensuring that children feel respected and valued."
"The registered manager and staff work in partnership with parents and other professionals and feedback is very positive. This demonstrates a culture of openness, which keeps children’s needs at the heart of decision-making."

Westfields Children's Home is Good in All Areas...Again!

Following a full and thorough inspection by Ofsted on 16th-17th May 2023, and the publication of the inspection report, we are again extremely pleased to congratulate the adults and children of Westfields Children's Home on achieving the Ofsted judgement of Good In All Areas for the fifth time in succession.
"The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good."
"Children are cared for by a skilled group of adults who know them well. Children are treated with kindness and respect. They make good progress because they feel safe and develop positive relationships with each other and adults."
"Meaningful joint working between adults in the home and children’s schools provides children with consistency and stability. A head of year told the inspector, ‘Communication is fantastic."
"The home is run as a therapeutic community, and this supports children to make good progress in relation to their emotional well-being."
"The manager is experienced and is working towards the necessary qualification as required by The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015. He is well supported by the deputy manager. They, and adults working in the home, have high expectations for what children can achieve and are proud of the progress that children are making."
"Managers make good use of the independent person’s reports and an external adviser’s quality assurance reports to inform service developments."

Rainbow Flag Award:
The Lioncare Group, led by The Lioncare School, is proud to have achieved The Rainbow Flag Award.

The Rainbow Flag Award is a national quality assurance framework for all schools and colleges, focusing on LGBT+, (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, plus other related identities), inclusion and visibility. The Rainbow Flag Award encourages a whole organisation approach to LGBTQ+ inclusion, as well as developing strategies to combat LGBTphobic bullying.

You can find out more about The Rainbow Flag Award and associated projects by following these links:

https://www.theproudtrust.org/

http://www.allsortsyouth.org.uk/

http://thekitetrust.org.uk/

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