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 fully support young people to pursue different leisure activities. This helps them to build relationships with their peers, make links in the local community, improve their self-esteem and have fun.  Young people benefit from effective, good-quality support from an experienced, committed and enthusiastic staff team.  Good school attendance promotes learning and improves young people’s life chances.  Young people understand why staff challenge their behaviour when necessary. A restorative approach to behaviour management means young people begin to understand the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others.  Incentive schemes motivate young people to make more positive choices about their behaviour.  Access to therapeutic support, coupled with individualised care, enables young people to make progress emotionally. This in turn improves their overall development and well-being.  Young people say that they feel safe and are safe living in this home. They

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The children’s home provision is good because:

report that they are happy and well cared for.  Managers and staff respond promptly and robustly to safeguarding concerns, ensuring young people’s welfare and safety is promoted.  Commitment from the registered manager and his deputy sets a positive culture within the home that is supportive, safe, and facilitates young people’s progress.  Staff benefit from good leadership; they say they feel supported, and they receive training opportunities that promote their own professional development and the needs of young people.  Young people’s social workers speak highly of the quality of care provided; they say that communication is good, and that staff work in collaboration with them.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

To continue to improve, the home needs to:

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Ensure staff follow up on young people’s outstanding health needs without delay in order to fully promote their well-being.  Improve the quality of risk assessments so they contain information that is clear and easy to follow.  Ensure staff fully understand the risks pertaining to one young person’s contact arrangements so that these can be managed safely.  Work with young people who are the subject of hurtful and discriminatory comments, and not just with those who make these comments.  Improve internal monitoring systems so that any shortfalls are identified and addressed.  Ensure that care planning processes are more robust so that relevant information is shared and fully understood.  Ensure records are kept in line with regulation.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the health and well-being standard the registered person must ensure that

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Requirement Due date

(1)(b) children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being. 22/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person must ensure

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a)(i) that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that risk assessments provide clear information and guidance to staff, and in the case of one young person the risks relating to contact are fully understood and a clear risk management plan is put into place. 22/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person must

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Requirement Due date

(2)(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 22/08/2016

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Requirement Due date

Ensure records are maintained for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3. In particular that 22/08/2016 personal education plans, minutes of statutory review meetings, and records of restraint clearly identify which member of staff completes the debrief with the young person. (Regulation 36(1)(a)

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that staff have the skills to intervene, protect and address bullying behaviours effectively. Specifically, that staff work with young people subjected to hurtful comments and discriminatory remarks and not just with those who make them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.16)  Ensure effective care planning processes are in place, specifically that managers review pre-placement information to ensure that all relevant information and documentation has been shared in respect of young people new to the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.2)

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Information about this children’s home

This private company-owned home provides care and accommodation for up to eight young people, irrespective of gender. The home provides care 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

25/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Young people develop positive relationships with staff and benefit from placement stability. They are happy and relaxed, and develop warm and trusting relationships with staff who genuinely care. A social worker commented about one young person: ‘The relationships X has developed with staff are astonishing.’

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Good

Staff provide highly individualised support to young people and this is helping them to make progress in many aspects of their development. A social worker said: ‘X couldn’t be better supported anywhere else, and it is doing him the world of good.’ Because of the care and support of staff, young people begin to understand and manage their emotions better than they once did. Furthermore, they can now articulate and negotiate their wants and needs more effectively. A social worker said: ‘X seeks out staff for emotional support. I cannot speak highly enough of his key worker. Because of the work she has done he can reflect more now on what is happening and talk about his feelings more.’ Another social worker said, ‘In the last six months we have come a long way, responding to and helping X manage his emotions’.

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Good

Young people engage well with their education. Attendance is good overall and for some it is excellent. Reports indicate that young people make good progress and are on track to meet or exceed their individual targets. Where necessary young people benefit from additional one-to-one support to improve in areas they find particularly difficult, for example literacy.

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Good

Health outcomes are mixed. All are registered with primary health services and staff support most young people to attend routine and specialist appointments. Staff take action to ensure young people’s immunisations are up to date. Although most young people’s health needs are well met, this inspection identified some shortfalls. For example, one young person missed a dental appointment because he refused to attend. Necessary follow-up work has not been completed to understand why this occurred, and a second appointment is yet to be made. A health need for another young person that predates his move to the home several months ago is still to be addressed. He is also experiencing delays in receiving a review of prescribed medication. Staff have not followed this up sufficiently to understand why this is, and to take remedial action. As a result, all aspects of young people’s health are not fully promoted.

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Good

Young people enjoy an array of leisure opportunities and this is an area in which the home excels. Examples include free running, boxing, football, fishing and trampolining. Young people have their own allotment which they are committed to, and they enjoy the fruits of their labour having produced some lovely strawberries! They have also been nominated for the most improved allotment award, and this is testimony to all their hard work. As a result of their full participation in activities young people develop confidence, their self-esteem improves, they learn new skills and most of all they have fun. Because young people attend the organisation’s own school, activities provide an important link to the local community, and enable them to make different friendships outside of home and school.

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Good

Staff and young people have already organised their summer holidays including an overnight fishing trip, a stay at a theme park resort, and a trip to Harry Potter World. Consequently, staff respond to, and cater for, the individual needs and wishes of children.

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Good

Consultation with young people is done individually and collectively, through key- work sessions and young people’s meetings. Consequently, young people have their say and contribute to the day-to-day running of the home and to important decisions about their plans. For example, through consultation young people have asked for a barbeque area in the garden, and a trampoline. One young person has asked for more contact with his family, and following communication with his social worker this is now being arranged.

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Good

Most contact arrangements work well and young people improve, or begin to make sense of the relationships they have with the people who are important to them. Staff support young people with their feelings about contact, and for most this leads to safe and positive time with their families. Issues and potential risks relating to one young person’s contact arrangements are not fully understood. As a result, a clear risk management plan is not in place. Given that the young person is new to the home this also highlights a shortfall in the care planning process. Information has not been fully shared, understood, and acted upon. As a result, this young person’s welfare is not fully promoted.

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Good

Introductions to the home are managed well. Young people have the opportunity to visit before moving in and are provided with an individualised and child-friendly guide. This provides opportunities to ask questions, see their new home, and meet both staff and young people. Good introductions help to allay young people’s anxieties and enable them to settle in well.

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Good

Young people say they feel safe and are safe. They know how to complain and they can identify a trusted adult who they can talk to should they have any concerns. Relevant training equips staff to be clear about their roles and responsibilities in keeping young people safe from harm. Managers and staff follow clear procedures, and respond promptly and robustly to any safeguarding concerns.

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Good

Young people do not go missing from home, and do not have periods where they are absent without permission. No such incidents have been reported for almost a year. This signifies that young people are currently happy and settled.

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Good

Young people do not engage in risky behaviours such as drug and alcohol misuse, and rarely do they come to the attention of the police. One young person has completed a youth offending order early because of his positive engagement with this process. No repeat of criminal behaviours indicates that he is learning from past mistakes.

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Good

For those young people who are older and spend their free time in the community with friends, staff prepare them well. As a result, staff empower them to take age- appropriate risks for their continual development. Young people manage independence without incident, and understand how to keep themselves safe.

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Good

The approach to behaviour management is well considered and balanced. The registered manager closely monitors any sanctions imposed to ensure they are relevant and proportionate. Young people receive consequences for negative behaviour, as well as praise and reward when they get things right. Young people respond well to incentive schemes and this is helping to modify some of their challenging behaviour.

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Good

Some situations do escalate and physical intervention is necessary. Managers monitor restraint practice, enabling patterns and trends to be identified and acted on. Staff have worked in partnership with one young person and his social worker to review de-escalation strategies. This is in an effort to minimise the use of front ground restraint where the risk of injury can occur. That there have been no incidents for a three-month period reflects the positive work being undertaken. After physical interventions debriefs take place, ensuring that staff and young people have the opportunity to reflect on incidents. Records do not clearly indicate which staff have carried out debriefs with young people, and so it is not easy to monitor whether the person completing the debrief is independent of the incident.

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Good

Most risks are known and understood by staff. They take action to ensure they are minimised and managed. Practice is not underpinned by clear risk assessments. Documents do not consistently provide a context to identified risks, and some include repetition and duplication. This makes them difficult to follow and means that not all risks are clearly assessed or recorded. Consequently, this is an area identified for improvement.

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Good

Occasionally young people engage in name-calling, say hurtful things to one another, and make discriminatory remarks. Staff take this seriously, and have introduced a bullying log to help track and monitor incidents. Staff work restoratively with young people to help them reflect on their behaviour and learn about respecting each other, difference, and tolerance. Staff do not provide the same level of intervention and support to those on the receiving end of such comments. This is an area identified for improvement, so that their feelings are fully understood and recognised.

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Good

Young people benefit from a warm, homely and physically safe environment overall. Fire procedures are in place, and young people and staff participate in regular fire drills. This means that they know how to exit the property safely in the event of such an emergency. This inspection identified that the gas safety certificate recently expired. The manager was unaware of this but took immediate steps during the inspection to organise the annual service of all gas appliances.

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Good

The manager was registered with Ofsted in August 2015, and has now completed a level 5 diploma in leadership and management for children’s and young people’s services.

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Good

A committed management team provides effective leadership. This promotes a culture and ethos based on good-quality care, and supportive and strong relationships. As a result, young people build resilience and this promotes their well-being. The home is run in accordance with its statement of purpose, and managers and staff achieve the aims and objectives set out in this document.

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Good

Sufficient staff are employed to meet the needs of young people. High staffing ratios mean that young people receive appropriate levels of support and supervision in line with their needs. Managers recognise that there is currently a gender imbalance in the team with just three women in a team of 25. Steps are being taken to address this. For example, a new female worker is due to start in August, and consideration is being given to female staff transferring in from other homes within the organisation.

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Good

Staff report feeling well supported, and describe managers as ‘accessible, approachable, and supportive’. They now receive supervision regularly, and this means that managers have addressed a recommendation raised at the last inspection. Timely supervision and annual appraisals support and challenge individual performance. One member of staff said: ‘The manager has really helped me with my professional development.’

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Good

Records reflect that staff are given opportunities to attend training events. Core training is up to date and additional training is available. For example, staff receive input from the therapy team tailored to help them meet the specific needs of young people. As a result, training and development activities are effective. Managers review the training needs of staff and this informs developmental priorities.

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Good

Internal monitoring is inconsistent. Good examples include the regular review of consequences, restraint practice, staff training, and supervision. However, this inspection identified shortfalls in some areas of practice and record-keeping. For example, one young person does not have an up-to-date personal education plan, and records of young people’s statutory reviews are not consistently kept on file. Furthermore, the manager has not identified outstanding issues pertaining to young people’s health, or to a health and safety matter. Inconsistent internal monitoring limits the capacity of the home to further improve the standards of care provided, and outcomes achieved for young people.

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Good

External monitoring arrangements are more robust and this promotes young people’s safety and welfare. The visitor now comes to the home when young people are present, ensuring that they are provided with opportunities to consult with him. A written report is provided on the conduct of the home, making recommendations where necessary, and giving clear statements that young people are safe and well cared for. Managers promptly address any actions raised, and this demonstrates a commitment to securing improvement.

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Good

Appropriate systems are now in place to notify Ofsted and other relevant persons of significant events that occur. Information contained in these notifications evidences that appropriate action is taken to safeguard young people.

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Good

Managers and staff work proactively with placing authorities. Social workers report good communication and high levels of satisfaction with the service. One social worker said: ‘What I like is that staff contact me when things go well, and not just when things go badly.’ Collaborative working promotes young people’s safety and welfare.

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Good

Measures have been put into place to address three of the four recommendations made at the last inspection. One recommendation is raised to a requirement to ensure the health needs of all young people are fully met. Three further requirements and two recommendations are raised to secure improvement where necessary.

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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 children looked after 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 that 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

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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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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