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:

 Managers and staff respond promptly to safeguarding concerns, thereby promoting young people’s safety and welfare.  Commitment from the registered manager sets the culture and ethos, which are positive, safe and supportive.  Young people enjoy positive, trusting and reciprocal relationships with staff who genuinely care about their welfare.  All young people make progress from their starting points in different aspects of their development. For example, young people grow in confidence, enjoy improved health and reduce risky or challenging behaviours, such as being aggressive or going missing.  Staff promote the importance of education and most young people make progress. For example, most achieve good attendance and are working towards expected learning targets.  All young people enjoy good health because staff support their physical and emotional health needs well.  Young people participate in different and fun activities with staff. This helps

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The children’s home provision is good because:

them to invest in the home, and in relationships.  Staff help young people to manage sometimes complex contact arrangements safely. This enables them to keep in touch with those who are important to them.  Transitions into the home are well managed, with young people having the opportunity to visit before moving in. This enables them to ask questions and allay their anxieties.  Young people learn some good independence skills, and receive appropriate support to help them with their next steps.  Staff support young people to have a voice. Consequently, they influence the day-to-day running of the home, as well as being party to important decisions about their lives.  Strong collaboration with partner agencies promotes young people’s safety and well-being. Access to specialist services, when required, means that individual needs are met.  Social workers and parents express high levels of satisfaction with the

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The children’s home provision is good because:

service provided.  Staff report being well supported by an approachable and dependable management team. To continue to improve, the home needs to:

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Strengthen external monitoring systems to provide a more robust analysis of the home’s performance and impact on young people.  Improve internal monitoring so that the quality of record-keeping improves. For example, risk assessments need to contain sufficient detail and guidance, and a copy of any required documentation must be kept on young people’s files.  Maintain good standards throughout the home. Specifically, ensure that all areas of the home are clean and provide better support to young people to help them maintain their bedrooms.  Reflect on incidents of restraint and review de-escalation strategies to ensure that they are effective and in line with individual support plans.  Review consequences to ensure that they are proportionate and meaningful, and that they enable young people to learn how their behaviour has an impact on themselves and others.

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure— (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. In particular, that risk assessments provide clear information about all known risks and guidance to staff. 16/09/2016

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person must— (2)(h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. In particular required documentation is kept on file in the home for all young people. 16/09/2016

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Requirement Due date

44: Independent person: visits and reports Ensure that the independent person who visits the home produces a report which sets out whether children are effectively safeguarded and the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. In particular that reports contain sufficient detail, context, and evaluation of events in the home. (Regulation 44(4)(a)(b)) 11/11/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff meet children’s basic day-to-day needs and physical necessities in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child, and value them as an individual. Specifically, ensure that staff support young people, when necessary, to maintain their bedrooms, and ensure that staff maintain good standards of cleanliness throughout the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff have the skills to respond to each child’s individual behaviour. Where necessary they should manage conflict, maintain constructive dialogues and react appropriately if challenged by a child in their care. Specifically, ensure that staff follow individual support plans and use strategies to de-escalate situations and minimise the use of restraint. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.14)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. Specifically ensure that any consequences are proportionate, reasonable and relevant to the behaviour presenting a concern. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately run children’s home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to eight children at any given time who may be experiencing emotional and behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

01/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

19/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Young people develop positive, reciprocal and trusting relationships with staff. They describe how this helps them to settle in and feel safe. Open and honest relationships with staff who care enable young people to make progress. A parent said, ‘X has made brilliant progress. It is down to the staff. It is how they are with him.’ Young people clearly benefit from staff who know them well, and who promote their needs effectively. A social worker said, ‘They really know X and speak about him with warmth and understanding. They are not afraid of being appropriately affectionate at his prompting, and make him feel safe and liked.’

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Good

Planned introductions to the home ensure that young people are appropriately welcomed. They visit the home before moving in, which enables them to meet with staff and other young people and to ask questions about what the home is like. Young people confirm that they receive an information guide to the home and that this is helpful. Good care planning and robust introductions help young people to settle in.

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Good

Organised activities provide opportunities for young people to socialise, try new things and have fun. Examples include football camp, swimming, theme parks, stadium tours, bowling, cinema, Jump Nation and holidays. Such experiences enable young people to develop relationships with staff who are investing time in them. Furthermore, it promotes their individual interests and talents.

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Good

High levels of communication and consultation mean that young people have a voice. During young people’s meetings, they share their ideas about what they would like to do and what they would like on the menu. Staff listen and incorporate young people’s choices into day-to-day arrangements. Individual key-work sessions provide opportunities to discuss progress and areas causing concern. Furthermore, staff encourage young people to participate in their review meetings. As a result, young people influence decisions affecting them, such as contact arrangements and future plans.

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Good

Young people enjoy good health because staff support them well. All register with primary health services and keep up to date with routine appointments. Access to the organisation’s therapy service, as well as external specialist support, promotes young people’s emotional well-being. Excellent links with the child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) reflects how well staff work with others to benefit young people. A varied diet and plenty of exercise mean that young people enjoy improved physical health. For example, one young person has lost weight and maintained this, and another is reported by his social worker to have improved sleep patterns.

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Good

Managers and staff place great value on education. This means that young people receive education that meets their individual needs and helps them to reach their full potential. Most young people achieve good school attendance, and are largely working in line with expected targets. One young person, who is relatively new to the home, is struggling to attend school. Staff provide clear expectations and encouragement to facilitate improvement. Their persistence is showing some signs of paying off, in that the young person became increasingly engaged with school towards the end of the summer term. Staff provided high levels of support to another young person through his GCSE exams, and alleviated some of his stress and anxiety. This demonstrates that staff provide individualised care, and are equally responsive to each young person’s different needs.

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Good

All young people make progress against their starting points. Examples include being more confident, being less aggressive, managing independence, and negotiating their wants and needs more appropriately. A member of staff talked about one young person who can now ask for a hug when he needs one, saying, ‘At one time that would have led to negative behaviour but now he can come and say I want a hug instead. Now that is progress.’ A social worker reported, ‘This is the young person’s happiest and most stable period of care for some time, perhaps the happiest and most stable since he entered care.’ Another social worker said, ‘It [the home] is absolutely fantastic for him. He is a changed boy, not as aggressive, and is responsive to boundaries and care being provided.’

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Good

Staff demonstrate commitment and skills in re-establishing and maintaining contact with families. They often transport young people significant distances in order to promote young people’s identity and links with their home area. Parents report high levels of satisfaction with the care afforded to their children. One said, ‘The staff are amazing, just fabulous, and I find them so easy-going. I can talk to them.’ Young people benefit from this joint working, and enjoy safe and positive time with people who are important to them.

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Good

Appropriate opportunities help young people to gain the practical and social skills necessary to successfully live independently in the future. One young person is going through an independence workbook with his key-worker to identify what he can already do well, and things he still needs to learn. This will link in well with pathway planning as he prepares for his next steps. Judgement grade

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Good

The overall arrangements to protect and safeguard young people are good. Young people are safe and report that they are well cared for. They know how to complain, and they can identify a trusted adult whom they can talk to, inside or outside the home, should they have any concerns. Young people readily share concerns with staff. For example, the inspector observed a young person sharing a worry he had with the manager. He was comfortable in doing so and confident in the knowledge that the issue would be dealt with. Providing an environment where young people can talk about any concerns promotes their safety and welfare.

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Good

Staff receive safeguarding training and are clear about their roles and responsibilities in keeping young people safe from harm. As a result, any safeguarding concerns are promptly responded to.

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Good

Young people living in this home all have histories of putting themselves at risk through their actions and unsafe lifestyles. For example, some young people arrive with high levels of going missing, a history of antisocial behaviour, aggression, and being unresponsive to rules and boundaries. Good routines, structures and clear expectations, together with good partnership working, help to minimise risks and keep young people safe. As a result, compared with their starting points, incidents of risky and challenging behaviour reduce. For example, young people do not go missing as often as they once did, they no longer present the levels of aggression that they did prior to coming to live in this home, and they do not engage in antisocial behaviour when out in the community.

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Good

Staff engage well with the police, social workers and families to safeguard those young people who do go missing. Clear and detailed records evidence the efforts that staff make to locate young people and ensure their safe return. A social worker said, ‘Staff provide timely and effective responses to any missing episodes, with good communication with the placing local authority.’ Young people are welcomed home appropriately, and good follow-up work means that staff work hard to find out what has happened during the period of absence. This helps them to understand and manage future risks.

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Good

Staff vigilance keeps young people safe, and this is a key strength of safeguarding practice in this home. They know young people well and so recognise changes in their mood or presentation that indicate concern. This vigilance has prevented a potentially serious incident of self-harm. Staff understand the risks that the use of social media and the internet may pose for young people, and they talk with them about this. Some reports of bullying have emerged following a change in the group dynamics. Social workers and young people report that this is taken seriously, and work is under way to help this relatively new group of young people to treat each other with respect and kindness. Being alert to the risks means that when issues do arise they are addressed, and so young people are appropriately protected.

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Good

Good practice is not underpinned by robust risk assessments. Some lack detail and context, and strategies for minimising risk are not always clearly explained. This is a recording issue that to date has not compromised the safety and welfare of young people. However, if not addressed, it has the potential to do so. Given that this was a recommendation at the last inspection, a requirement is now raised.

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Good

Staff implement a system of praise and rewards, as well as sanctions and consequences. Rewards build up young people’s self-esteem and ensure that negative behaviour does not become the only focus of attention. Incentive schemes are linked to personal targets, demonstrating that young people benefit from individualised care. They respond well to this system and it helps them learn how to modify some aspects of their behaviour.

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Good

This inspection identified that when young people make financial payment by way of reparation, this can be over a long period of time. Furthermore, on occasions, young people receive a number of consequences for the same incident, and staff use the same consequences repeatedly. This raises questions about proportionality of consequences and their effectiveness. Because managers have recognised this as an area for development, a review is under way. The impact of this is yet to be realised and a recommendation is raised to support improvement.

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Good

Behaviour management in the home can be an issue on occasions, with some volatile young people exploring boundaries and acting out their frustrations and anger. Sometimes, when situations escalate, physical intervention is necessary. Reports are detailed, and debriefs ensure that staff and young people have an opportunity to talk about what has happened with someone independent of the incident. Young people say that they understand why they are restrained and that this is to keep them safe. Some reports reviewed during the inspection highlight that staff do not fully implement strategies outlined in individual support plans. As a result, opportunities to de-escalate situations are lost. This does not fully promote young people’s welfare and equip them with the skills to regulate their behaviour at times of difficulty.

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Good

Staff carry out regular health and safety checks, which creates a safe physical environment. Any repairs are carried out quickly, thereby protecting young people from avoidable hazards. Young people and staff have participated in evacuation drills, so know what to do in the event of a fire. This promotes young people’s safety.

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Good

Robust recruitment practice prevents unsuitable people from being able to work with young people. Judgement grade

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Requires improvement

The home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. She holds a level 5 diploma in leadership for health and social care, and children and young people’s services. The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2016. She was previously the deputy manager for a number of years, and therefore has relevant experience and knowledge of the home. This provides continuity for staff and young people.

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Requires improvement

The home meets the aims and objectives of its statement of purpose. It provides young people with a good standard of care that makes a positive difference to their lives.

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Requires improvement

Staff morale is high. Staff report being well supported by managers whom they describe as available and approachable. They say that they are able to speak their minds and raise concerns. Being open and transparent means that this is a team that learns from things that sometimes go wrong. One staff member said, ‘There is a 100% reflective culture here.’ This ethos promotes and protects the welfare of young people.

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Requires improvement

A programme of supervision and appraisal takes place regularly and consistently. This enables staff to focus on their individual performance and development needs. Good training opportunities mean that staff keep up to date with the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of young people in their care. A recent review of training means that managers have identified different training courses for staff that will enhance their learning. This demonstrates that managers invest in staff training to maintain a skilled workforce.

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Requires improvement

Good systems are in place so that all relevant people are informed of significant events that occur. Timely and detailed notifications show that appropriate action is taken, in full collaboration with relevant safeguarding agencies, to protect the welfare of young people. Furthermore, they illustrate that strategies are put in place to try and prevent recurrence.

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Requires improvement

After the last inspection, three recommendations were made. None have been addressed, which means that leaders and managers do not learn from inspection and use monitoring processes to bring about improvements. For example, required documentation is still not on file for all young people, including up-to-date personal education plans, care plans and statutory review meeting minutes. Risk assessments continue to lack sufficient clarity and detail about all known risks to underpin the good practice of staff. A requirement is raised to improve internal monitoring systems so that shortfalls in case records are identified and addressed. The quality of external monitoring processes is variable. Some improvements were noted: for example, monitoring visits now take place at a time when young people are at home, providing opportunities to consult with them and observe practice. However, reports continue to lack detail, context and evaluation. This is unhelpful

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Requires improvement

and means that monitoring processes are still not sufficiently robust to provide effective and meaningful oversight of the home. A recommendation made at the last inspection is now raised as a requirement.

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Requires improvement

This inspection found that the standard of cleanliness in young people’s bedrooms and bathrooms requires improvement. This reflects a lack of oversight and care by managers and staff. The remainder of the home is maintained to a very good standard, and the disparity between downstairs and upstairs needs to be addressed. A recommendation is raised to ensure that all young people’s private spaces and bathrooms are well maintained, comfortable and clean.

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Requires improvement

Three requirements and three recommendations are raised following this inspection to secure further improvement.

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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 that 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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