Children's home run by Witherslack Group Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff are skilled at developing good relationships with young people, based on consistency and trust.  Young people live in a nurturing and caring home which provides stability and long term placements. As a result the staff team get to know young people very well and support them to develop their own individual identities and interests.  Young people’s emotional well-being is prioritised by the staff team, they benefit from accessing the in-house clinical support which helps them to explore and manage their own emotional well-being.  Young people are making good progress from their individual starting points, they are engaged in and enjoying education which represents significant progress for some.  Young people are well supported to maintain relationships with family members and people who are important to them, who are often living some distance from the home.  The manager is passionate about achieving positive outcomes for each

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The children's home provision is good because:

young person living at the home. He is a strong advocate and leads by example providing a strong role model for the staff team.  Staff say they feel well supported in their role and they feel valued by the manager. They receive regular supervision and training which underpins their role.  The manager has a system which monitors the home and a development plan in place to drive improvement in the quality of care provided.  The shortfalls identified in this inspection have not had a negative impact on the welfare of young people.

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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 (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify in writing the local authority for the area in which the children's home is located of every admission and discharge of a child to the home. (Regulation 41 (1)(3)) 29/02/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must establish and maintain a system for evaluating the quality of care provided for children. Which also provides for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (2) (5)). 29/02/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Appraisals should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the homes care. (The Guide, Page 61, 13.5)

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Information about this children's home

A private organisation operates this children's home. It is registered to care for up to seven young people. The home provides accommodation for young people with emotional and/ or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

25/03/2015 CH - Interim improved effectiveness

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good

Young people benefit from individualised care delivered by a passionate, committed and skilled staff team. They live in a calm, well managed environment which they see as their home. This enables young people to explore their own identities and interests at the same time as developing appropriate peer relationships, resulting in them enjoying the time they spend with each other.

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good

Young people have developed excellent relationships with individual members of the staff team. These relationships are built on trust and consistency. Young people say they feel well cared for and that individual staff members offer them significant amounts of support. Consequently they feel these staff members have made a real difference to their lives. One young person commented: ‘my keyworker has changed my life, she really knows and helps me. I would definitely say the staff are here for more than just the money they really want us all to do well’

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good

Young people have made good progress from their individual starting points. They are engaged in education and making good progress. The staff team value education and as a result young people are supported to regularly attend school and college. For some young people this level of engagement has represented a significant achievement. One parent commented: ‘my son is making really good progress at school, the staff keep me well informed I am really pleased with the progress in a short period of time.’

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good

Young people are supported to attend medical appointments. They enjoy engaging in physical activities in the local community which improves their physical health and creates a sense of achievement and well-being. They can and do engage in sessions with the organisational clinical psychologist at the home, which provides them with emotional support. The clinical psychologist commented that the manager has been committed to developing the therapeutic support offered to young people and staff. As a result young people are engaging in individual work and staff are undertaking training which provides them with the knowledge and understanding of individual young people’s emotional needs.

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good

Young people are supported to develop life skills in preparation for independence at a pace which suits their individual needs and abilities. This means that young people are well prepared to move on from the home into their own accommodation. Young people have been supported to build trust, resulting in increased free-time to spend with friends in the community. Achievements are proudly celebrated by the staff team, resulting in young people becoming more confident and taking a pride in themselves. One social worker commented: ‘I am happy with X’s progress, he seems to have come out of himself and has really settled in the placement.’

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good

Family relationships are valued and supported by the manager and staff team, this means staff are able to facilitate young people spending time with their families, despite being placed some distance away. Communication between the home and families is very good with parents confirming they feel part of the day to day decision making and that staff support is in place should they need it.

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good

Young people have a clear voice in the home; their views are listened to and acted on. The manager is accessible to the young people and they are confident in sharing their views about the home on a daily basis.

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good

Young people are very positive about the care they receive and say they feel very safe living at the home. They say that they can talk to the staff about anything. One young person commented: ‘it’s definitely safe here. It feels like my home and I can talk to certain staff about stuff.’

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good

Young people are supported by the staff team to reduce their risk taking behaviour, they each have individualised risk and behaviour management plans. These are regularly reviewed and updated. This means that staff are able to support and protect young people in an informed and timely way. Key workers and managers work with young people individually to reflect on their progress, particularly in reducing their individual risk taking behaviour. One young person commented: ‘I am so different from when I first came to live here, back then I was so naughty, now I am ready to move onto independence.’

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good

Some young people have had reported episodes of missing, however, the managers and staff team have worked tirelessly to reduce these episodes, this has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of reported episodes. The staff team are proactive at looking for young people in the local community to ensure their speedy and safe return to the home. The manager ensures young people have access to an independent person on their return.

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good

Staff receive appropriate training and support from the organisation’s clinical psychologists to understand and sensitively manage episodes of self-harm. This means they have been able to safely support young people through episodes of self-harm, in line with agreed strategies; this has resulted in the number of self- harm incidents significantly reducing.

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good

Young people's behaviour is effectively managed. This is because the staff team work consistently in line with the agreed individual plans and incentives. Consequently young people have a sense of security because they know the staff team and know how they will respond to their behaviour, both positive and negative. Since being in post the manager has reviewed the individual behaviour management plans, including young people in these discussions, which means they feel valued and listened to.

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good

Staff undertake behaviour management training, including the use of physical restraint. Since the last inspection, there has been a number of physical restraints, each incident has been effectively monitored and evaluated. The manager has systems in place to identify trends and patterns of behaviour. He is reactive to the findings and works in partnership with young people and supporting professionals to address individual behaviour and triggers; this has resulted in a decline in the regularity of physical restraints.

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good

Staff receive training in a range of safeguarding policies and practice. They show a good understanding of the safeguarding procedures in the event of any allegations, suspicion of abuse or unsafe practice. The Local Authority Designated Officer confirms that concerns are reported appropriately.

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good

Young people live in a physically safe environment. They are well protected by a thorough range of health and safety procedures, risk assessments, routine checks and regular fire drills.

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good

The Registered Manager has changed since the last inspection. The new Registered Manager has completed the registration process and was registered in November 2015. The manager has a number of years experience in the management of children’s homes and is suitability qualified. Since being in post he has developed a strong and effective management team in the home. As a result, there is strong leadership throughout the staff team. The management team are committed to providing a high quality service and long term placements for young people.

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good

The management team are child focused and prioritise the individual needs of the young people; they use regular handover, team meetings and discussions to identify their individual needs. Effective and realistic plans are established, which incorporate young people’s views and wishes. As a result, all young people are making good progress given their individual starting points. They are all at different points of their journey, but the manager and staff team understand this and offer individualised support to young people to maintain the levels of progress. The manager provides information to the organisation’s board, which he uses to ensure he is effectively evaluating the progress and development of each young person.

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good

Individual team members are very well supported and their practice is strengthened by the comprehensive training programme. The manager ensures the training programme meets the individual needs of the young people in placement. The team have recently benefited from bespoke training facilitated by the organisation’s clinical psychologist. This individualised training supports staff to gain a greater understanding of the individual young people living in the home.

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good

Supervision is regular and of a good quality, these sessions are valued by staff members. Annual appraisals are undertaken by the manager, this process is currently under review by the organisation. However, the current format does not take into account the views of young people or professionals with whom individual staff members work. This is no discernible impact of this shortfall as the manager and deputy have regular informal discussions with young people about the staff team.

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good

The home is very well resourced and delivers the services and support outlined in the Statement of Purpose. Internal and external monitoring of the home takes place regularly. Reports appropriately monitor the performance the home and identify areas for development, which links to the development plan and then is regularly reviewed. However, the manager does not evaluate the quality of care provided, or formally gather feedback from young people, parents and professionals. Despite this lack of recording the manager has a good understanding of how the home is progressing and this has not had an impact on the welfare and safety of the individual young people.

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good

The manager and the staff team have developed and sustained excellent relationships with professionals and parents. Relationships are built on open communication and professional trust. The manager has a collaborative approach which ensures young people receive an all-round support package. One police officer commented: ‘the manager is very good at keeping us updated, I feel we work very well together. The staff are very proactive in supporting young people.’

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good

The manager is not notifying the local authority the home is located in of the admission and discharge of all young people to and from the home. The manager took action to address this at the inspection. There were no shortfalls identified at the last inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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