Children's home run by Witherslack Group Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1244527 1 Registered provider: Witherslack Group Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first inspection. It was registered in October 2016 but did not start admitting young people until January this year. The home can accommodate up to seven young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is one of a number owned by the same private provider.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable

p.1

Enforcement action since last inspection

None Inspection report children’s home: 1244527 2

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home requires improvement to be good because:

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 The home has gone through an unsettled period since it opened in October 2016. This is because a number of staff have left, including the registered manager and responsible individual. Although good management cover has been arranged during this period, high staff turnover has generated instability for young people.  There has been a recent increase in incidents where restraint has been necessary. Staff have been assaulted, and there is significant damage to the home. Staff struggle to effectively manage the behaviour of anxious or agitated young people.  Young people access the roof and shout abuse at neighbours while throwing things into the neighbour’s garden. Accessing the roof puts young people at risk of serious injury. Verbal abuse directed towards neighbours puts young people at risk of becoming alienating from the local community. The manager has been slow to organise effective action to prevent young people accessing the roof.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 Damaged furniture is not quickly made safe until it can be replaced.  Some staff carry their personal mobile phones around with them while working with young people. This is against the home’s policy.

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 A new manager has been appointed. She is qualified and very experienced, having previously been a registered manager. Young people, staff and external professionals have expressed confidence in her abilities.  Staff speak positively about all young people and want to ‘get it right’ for them. They have a good understanding of why the young people behave negatively and empathise with them.  All young people are attending education, having been out of school for long periods of time prior to coming to this home. Inspection report children’s home: 1244527 3

p.2

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12(1) and (2)(d)) This specifically refers to young people accessing the roof, and unsafe damaged furniture. 30/06/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential, and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard requires the registered person to ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate and ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b) and (2)(b)(e)) 31/08/2017

p.3

Recommendations

 The registered person must make sure that all staff are familiar with the policy for the protection of children and act in accordance with it. This specifically refers to staff complying with the home’s policy about the use of personal mobile phones. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.21) Inspection report children’s home: 1244527 4

p.3

improvement to be good

Some young people have made good progress towards managing their aggressive and destructive behaviour, but others have made very little progress. In the case of one young person, a social worker said: ‘His bad and violent behaviour has increased since being at this home.’ Young people, external professionals and parents/carers say that staff are inconsistent in their approach. A young person said, when asked about the staff approach to young people who are agitated and destructive: ‘Depends who is on – some are really laid back and some are like a bouncer/bodyguard types. Laid back staff won’t stop them and call the police. The bodyguard types are more strict.’ Staff struggle to manage the destructive behaviour of some young people effectively. Young people have made good educational progress from their starting points at admission. All young people have previously been non-attenders at school, but are all

p.4

improvement to be good

now attending full-time education. Some young people are disruptive when they are in school, but there is good communication between the school and the home to ensure a consistent approach. Young people are in good health. They are registered with the appropriate healthcare professionals and they attend their healthcare appointments. A psychology assistant visits the home weekly to complete psychological assessments. A therapy team is in place and due to start working in the home shortly to undertake therapy sessions with the young people. Some young people smoke, but are engaging with the smoking cessation nurse to help them stop smoking. This will improve their health. The range of activities is something that the young people really enjoy. A young person said: ‘There’s a lot of stuff to do.’ He has recently joined the Royal Marine Cadets and he proudly showed off his uniform boots. Other activities include playing sports at the local

p.4

improvement to be good

park, swimming, seaside trips and the cinema. Constructive activities help to boost young people’s confidence and self-esteem. Young people are consulted about their care and day-to-day issues around the home. There is evidence of young people being listened to and making choices about bedroom décor, garden leisure equipment and menus. Staff say that young people are involved in daily after-school meetings to discuss how their day has gone and what activities they want to do in the evening. They also say that they have weekly ‘Small Talk’ meetings where discussions include the menu, activities, concerns, and bullying. However, minutes demonstrate that daily and weekly meetings do not always occur. This demonstrates inconsistent practice from staff. Young people benefit from good contact with their parents or carers. When there are issues or problems around telephone contact, these are resolved. Parents are generally

p.4

improvement to be good

happy with the service provided for their child. A parent said: ‘They are doing a fabulous job.’ The home does not take emergency admissions. They ensure that each young person has a good introduction to the home. Admission practice was praised by a social worker, Inspection report children’s home: 1244527 5 who said that staff were flexible and made time to visit the young person and ensure that parents had good information. Young people are also able to visit the home prior to being admitted. This helps them make informed choices about living there. Young people are admitted in a planned way to promote stable group dynamics and allow new residents to settle. This approach is to be commended.

p.4

improvement to be good

A number of staff have stopped working in the home. This has meant that young people have had to cope with a lot of change and have struggled to build strong and trusting relationships with some staff. Some experienced staff have been temporarily transferred from another home to ensure that there is an adequate number of staff who have good skills and experience to enable them to meet the needs of the young people. Although this is to be commended, this represents another change for young people and it is these staff that a young person referred to as ‘bouncer/bodyguard types’. A social worker also said: ‘Having more and more big burly men to cope with him doesn’t appear to be working.’ Staff have been trained in de-escalation and restraint techniques. There has been a significant increase in the number of restraints carried out this month compared to previous months. Incidents are serious and have included a young person taking the car

p.5

improvement to be good

key and reversing the car until staff took the key out of the ignition. There have been staff assaults, including one member of staff being stabbed with a fork. Neighbours have been threatened and there has been significant damage to the house and cars. Young people regularly access the roof through one of their bedroom windows. They will shout abuse and throw things into the neighbour’s garden while on the roof. This behaviour puts young people at risk of falling from the roof and serious injury, as well as being alienated by the local community. Staff struggle to manage this behaviour. The manager has not acted quickly enough in effectively preventing young people accessing the roof; as a result, this behaviour continues. Some staff carry around their personal mobile phones while working with young people. This goes against the company policy. Extensive damage has occurred in the home. The company’s maintenance department is

p.5

improvement to be good

doing its best to respond quickly. A health and safety manager from the company has completed an extensive safety walk around the home and identified a large number of hazards that are being addressed. However, some hazards, such as part of the door hanging off a wardrobe, have been left for the maintenance department, when it would have been easy for staff to make them safe. Young people say that they feel safe. Staff have a good understanding of child protection and whistleblowing procedures and have acted appropriately when allegations or disclosures have been made. Young people do not report bullying as an issue. They do not use illegal substances or drink alcohol. They rarely go missing. When they have gone missing, it has been for a few hours only. Staff have followed appropriate missing procedures by attempting to Inspection report children’s home: 1244527 6 follow young people when they leave the home, searching for them and contacting the

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

This home has gone through a difficult period since it opened. A number of staff have left for a variety of reasons. The high staff turnover, which included the registered manager and responsible individual, has caused instability in this newly registered home. This has impacted on the ability of young people to develop strong and trusting relationships with staff. The home does not currently have a registered manager. A new manager has very recently commenced employment. She is highly experienced, qualified and skilled and has been a registered manager in a previous children’s home. The new manager has only been working in the home for one week and has already made a positive impact. Young people, staff and external professionals have expressed confidence in her abilities and believe she will be able to make a difference to the lives of the young people. She has a strong development plan, which has clearly identified the weaknesses found during

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

this inspection. For example, a number of staff have been recruited to start in the near future. However, these will be new staff who will need to undergo an induction into the company and home. Staff are enthusiastic about their roles and keen to help young people succeed. They talk about all the young people positively and have high aspirations for them. They undergo a good induction and have access to good-quality training. Staff feel very well supported and have regular supervision as well as team meetings. They are starting to receive good, reflective de-briefs after incidents. This helps to further develop their practice. Staff who have been working in the home since it opened have a good understanding of the young people. They understand why the young people behave the way they do and empathise. A number of complaints have been received from neighbours. These have been managed quickly and satisfactorily. Managers have met with neighbours and young

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

people have apologised. However, incidents continue to occur that make the neighbours feel unsafe.

p.6

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

p.6

Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out Inspection report children’s home: 1244527 7 under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: 1244527 8

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Witherslack Group Ltd

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Witherslack Group, Lupton Tower, Lupton, Carnforth LA6 2PR

p.8

Inspector

Joanne Vyas, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1244527 9 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, 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 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9