Children's Home run by Cumbria County Council in Westmorland and Furness

Unique reference number SC034158 Inspector Elaine Clare Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Cumbria County Council Registered person address Organisational Development The Courts, English Street CARLISLE CA3 8NA Responsible individual Lynette Marjorie Burns Registered manager POST VACANT Date of last inspection 18/10/2014 2 of 5 Inspection date 20/03/2015

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Previous inspection outstanding Enforcement action since last inspection none

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This inspection

This home was judged outstanding at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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This inspection

The home has sustained in effectiveness because it continues to deliver outstanding outcomes and quality of care for young people.

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This inspection

A number of young people have accessed the home since the last inspection. The service has a clear process for admissions and discharges to the home. The acting manager is clear about the importance of planned admissions to the home and the benefits of this to children. Each young person has an individually-designed programme when they are admitted to the home, to help them to get to know their staff team and to help them adjust to their new surroundings.

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This inspection

For example, young people are assessed at their family home. Before admission, staff go through the children's guide with the child so that they can view the home and people they will meet. Each young person’s schedule is planned carefully so that they feel familiar with the surroundings before they arrive. This reduces anxiety and helps young people to settle into their new environment.

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This inspection

In addition to the above, the home has made further progress and improvements that enhance the quality of the care provided to young people. Recent figures show that, over the last twelve months, there has been an increase in the number of young people who access the service. This means that more young people are helped to stay at home with their families.

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This inspection

Staff at the home provide nurturing, individual care appropriate to the child’s emotional and developmental age. Targets are set for each young person that are constantly reviewed. For example, some young people demonstrate aggressive behaviours towards siblings or family members when they arrive, but following a structured programme of care, parents report that such incidents have reduced in 3 of 5 frequency. The impact of these improved behaviours is that young people learn to get along with their siblings and develop a positive relationship. There have been no incidents of bullying or unauthorised absences from the home.

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This inspection

Young people celebrate their progress, this helps them to become more aware of what has gone well and to acknowledge their achievements and to build their confidence and self-esteem. The home provides a highly specialised service for young people who are on the cusp of being taken into care, and staff show exceptional knowledge and understanding of these needs. Young people receive a great deal of individual support from staff who provide a nurturing, supportive environment. Young people are exceptionally well engaged with the community and all benefit from visits to local attractions.

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This inspection

The Registered Manager has been promoted within the Local Authority, and informed Ofsted of their departure. The children’s home now has a new manager, who has already commenced in post. They have applied to Ofsted in a timely manner, so that there is no delay in registration.

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This inspection

Management arrangements are robust. The acting manager has worked effectively with Ofsted to ensure that regulatory requirements are met. She is very well supervised and supported by her line manager.

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This inspection

The acting manager explained that the service’s new independent visitor has been very robust in his inspections, but also very supportive. Regulation 33 reports are detailed and insightful. This has helped to maintain the existing high standards of care and to drive continued improvement. The latest Regulation 34 report is also very detailed and provides a good overview of the service’s achievements and challenges. This internal and external reporting provides an effective guide for further development.

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This inspection

The acting manager is pleased with the children’s home’s progress. She is ambitious for the service and has lots of ideas. For example, the acting manager is working towards achieving deeper statistical analysis to demonstrate improvement in children’s outcomes. 4 of 5

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Information about this children’s home

The children's home provides short-break care for up to four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The local authority owns and operates this setting.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/10/2014 Full outstanding 14/03/2014 Interim good progress 22/10/2013 Full good 03/01/2013 Interim good progress Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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What inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspections we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection.

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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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