Children's Home run by A Wilderness Way Limited in Northumberland

Unique reference number SC474894 Inspector Bill Drumm Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person A Wilderness Way Limited Registered person address Manor House Brisco Carlisle Cumbria CA4 0QS

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Responsible individual Clare Mary Agnes Houghton Registered manager Jacqueline Angelique McCann Date of last inspection 22/09/2014 2 of 9 Inspection date 24/11/2014

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Previous inspection inadequate Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness good

Outcomes for children and young people good Quality of care good Keeping children and young people safe good Leadership and management adequate

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Overall effectiveness

Overall, the home provides good levels of care and support to young people who have complex needs. Staff work hard to develop good positive relationships with all young people and, in the main, they are successful. Staff want all young people in their care be safe and stay safe. They have had some success in this area with young people keeping themselves safer and reducing the number of times they go missing. Written records relating to incidents of young people being missing clearly detail the actions staff have taken to locate their whereabouts. This means that the locations where young people go to are recorded and any patterns or trends in behaviour can be analysed.

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Overall effectiveness

The atmosphere within the home is relaxed and very supportive. Enthusiastic staff try to encourage and motivate young people who have left full-time, formal education to continue learning, to attend college and to learn activities for daily living. In general they are successful in their endeavours. The work of the staff team in teaching young people daily living skills supports their transition into adulthood.

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Overall effectiveness

The home has had a Registered Manager in post since it was first registered in April 2014. However, the Registered Manager has been absent from the home for a number of months. The home’s owners have made alternative arrangements and an application form for a new Registered Manager has been received by Ofsted. One 3 of 9 requirement has been raised as a result of this inspection in relation to the appointment of a Registered Manager. 4 of 9

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Information about this children’s home

The home is provided by a private company and is registered to care for up to three young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

7 (2001) ensure the home has a registered manager in post. (Regulation 7 (1)) 31/12/2014 5 of 9

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people receive support from staff to be healthy and to stay healthy. They have access to a range of health services to promote both their physical and emotional well-being. Staff also provides on-going support and encouragement to young people about healthy eating and the dangers of smoking. Some young people choose not to take their full advice and continue to put their health at risk by, for example, smoking. However, the frequency at which young people smoke and the amount that they smoke has reduced significantly since they came to live here.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people who are in full-time education are supported and encouraged to attend the organisation’s own school on-site. For some this is the first time they have experienced regular formal education for some time. Those who have legally finished their formal education undertake practical, vocational tasks that lead to certificates of competence. They are also encouraged to become involved in charitable work. This helps to build their self-esteem and confidence. Additionally, charitable work helps young people to appreciate the world around them and the needs of those less fortunate than themselves. The improvements in young people’s educational attainment, self-confidence and self-esteem encourage them to have aspirations for their future, to attend college or to seek employment.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Where appropriate, the relationship between young people and their birth family has developed since moving into the home. Where necessary, staff support and closely supervise contact. This helps to ensure that young people receive the support they need to manage their emotions in a positive manner and that contact is a good experience for all involved.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people learn activities for daily living. They are encouraged to develop new skills and build on existing ones. This helps to prepare them for a smooth transition into adulthood and independent living.

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Quality of care good

The home’s acting manager and staff fully support young people to have a say in how the home should be run. They are actively encouraged to be involved in the development of their own care plans and to develop strategies for their future care. This helps young people to feel valued and included. One young person said, ‘yes I’m listened to, why wouldn’t staff listen to me?’ Additionally, informal discussions take place around the lunch table at mealtimes or in the evening whilst watching television. Young people have regular one-to-one meetings with their key- worker. This helps to ensure their views are obtained and that they feel fully involved in their 6 of 9 own care.

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Quality of care good

Relationships between young people and staff are positive, warm and friendly. Young people generally behave well and they are encouraged to develop interests outside of the home and in the local community. For instance, they attend a local gym or become involved in charitable work, such as the Christmas shoe box appeal. One young person said, ‘I wrote to all the neighbours and asked them for donations for the shoe boxes. I was amazed at how much they donated and I was able to make up quite a few different boxes. They get sent to developing countries so people there have something to open at Christmas too.’ Having interests outside of the home helps young people develop positive behaviour and new friendships. Becoming involved in charitable work helps young people to empathise with others and to have a better understanding of the world around them.

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Quality of care good

The staff support and encourage young people to be fit and healthy. Their health needs are recorded clearly in individual residential placement plans which means staff know what they have to do to help improve each young person's health. Staff also provide useful health-related information for young people, as well as advice and encouragement to lead a healthy lifestyle. The on-going encouragement and support of staff has helped young people reduce the amount they smoke cigarettes.

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Quality of care good

The home’s acting manager and staff are effective in helping young people to attend education regularly or to learn new skills and competencies. Young people are encouraged to have aspirations for their future and to think of work or training opportunities they might like to pursue as they get older.

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Quality of care good

The home is very well-maintained, appropriately designed, clean and comfortable. Young people like their bedrooms and gain a sense of identity by being enabled to personalise them with their own choice of colours, posters and pictures. Additionally, some young people have pets such as hamsters. They are encouraged to look after their pets and to keep them clean, fed and watered. This helps young people to develop a sense of responsibility.

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Quality of care good

Young people are encouraged to learn activities for daily living and to build on the independence skills they already have. This means they learn the skills necessary to move successfully into adulthood and independent living.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The home’s acting manager and staff provide safe care for young people. One young person said, ‘it’s safe here. Sometimes though the staff just worry too much about me.’

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Restraint or holding young people is seldom, if ever, used. Staff only occasionally issue them with sanctions due to unacceptable behaviour. The home’s processes and 7 of 9 procedures in relation to all aspects of behaviour management are robust and staff are familiar with these. Positive consequences are more often used as a reward for good behaviour. This helps young people to understand their behaviour, take responsibility for their actions and to appreciate the consequences of those actions.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The staff have reported young people as missing to the police on a small number of occasions since the previous inspection and the trend of young people being missing from the home is reducing. The written records relating to these incidents are comprehensive and they include the specific details of all actions taken by staff in helping to locate young people.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The home is safe. Electrical equipment and the equipment used for preventing, detecting and extinguishing fires is regularly inspected and serviced. The home’s acting manager conducts a regular review of risk assessments relating to hazards that may arise in the home. Additionally, appropriate recruitment arrangements are in place which helps to ensure that staff employed to work with children are suitable. Important information relating to recruitment records is kept in the home which helps improve accountability.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The staff assess the risk of hazards that each young person may face and make a proportionate evaluation about how such risks may be minimised. This takes into account both their age and maturity. There is a recognition that all young people need to experience some degree of appropriate risk as a part of growing up and learning through doing. This helps young people to explore and understand the world around them and to mature into responsible adults.

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Leadership and management adequate

The Registered Manager has been registered since April 2014 when the home was first registered. She has the appropriate qualifications to be a Registered Manager of a children’s home. However, the Registered Manager has been absent from the home for a number of months. The home’s owners have made alternative arrangements for the management of the home and an application for a new Registered Manager has been received by Ofsted.

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Leadership and management adequate

At the previous inspection Ofsted judged the home’s overall effectiveness as being inadequate. All requirements and recommendations made at that inspection have been fully met.

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Leadership and management adequate

The home meets the aims and objectives set out in its statement of purpose which is updated and reviewed regularly. Placing social workers know what the home can offer young people, what the skills of the staff team are and how they can be utilised to help young people achieve their maximum potential.

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Leadership and management adequate

Information relating to significant events in a young person’s life are routinely 8 of 9 recorded in the young person’s file. In some cases this is in the form of notes from looked after children’s reviews. This means that each young person’s file provides an accurate account of their life within the home, they are able to see how or why decisions may have been made and they are able to fully participate in the decision making process.

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Leadership and management adequate

There have been no new appointments to the staff team since the last full inspection. Recruitment procedures are robust and help to ensure that young people are kept safe from exploitation or abuse. Additionally, the home’s acting manager provides regular supervision for staff. This means that staff have their work practice closely monitored and they are fully supported. Staff’s training needs are also effectively identified and met.

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Leadership and management adequate

Monitoring visits from someone independent of the home take place every month. The person undertaking these visits talks, where possible, to staff and young people. In addition, and where possible, the visiting officer talks with the parents or relatives of young people themselves. These visits help to ensure that the home is run properly and that young people are well cared for.

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Leadership and management adequate

Internal monitoring by the acting manager is robust. Regular checks are made of all the necessary issues and recording mechanisms show the precise number of incidents that may have occurred, for instance in the number of times a young person has been missing from home or the use of sanctions. Recording precise details means the home’s acting manager is able to look at trends in behaviour and put strategies in place to address these trends.

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Leadership and management adequate

The home’s acting manager has a development plan in place. The development plan details the actual progress being made. Staff and young people know what the strengths and weaknesses of the home are and how the care is provided, or how the running of the home can be improved. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management adequate

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Judgement Description

Outstanding A service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Good A service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Adequate A service that only meets minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Inadequate A service that does not meet minimum requirements.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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Information about this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the framework of inspection for children's homes.

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