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

Inspection report children’s home: SC475715 1 SC475715 Registered provider: Witherslack Group Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to care for up to seven young people. This children’s home is operated by a private organisation. The home provides care and accommodation for young people who have emotional and/or behaviour difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection

None Inspection report children’s home: SC475715 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is outstanding because

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people benefit from living in a well-structured environment with clearly defined boundaries that still allows for individuality to thrive, with plans, strategies and areas of personal risk all individualised to reflect identity and need.  Based on their starting points when first entering the home, most young people make excellent progress in all areas of their lives.  The home develops strong relationships with parents, carers and other professionals, creating inclusive working partnerships, which reflect the team- centred approach taken by the home.  Aspirations for young people are high, and staff advocate strongly on their behalf to ensure that their rights are preserved and their outcomes maximised.  A competent, stable and highly motivated staff team is very well led by an experienced senior team that has excellent organisational and management skills.  Excellent internal and external monitoring of the home recognises strengths and

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development

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Key findings from this inspection

 Constant reflection and evaluation of working practices to ensure that the home moves forward and progresses should be continued. This refers, for example, to the ongoing work to have all staff professionally qualified.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/11/2016 Full Good 14/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/01/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC475715 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

This is a home that is achieving considerable success in accommodating young people who are often disillusioned, unhappy and anti-authoritarian on admission. They leave with their education restored, having a more positive outlook on life and having genuine ambition for their future. There is a total focus on getting the best for young people, with working practices and daily routines designed to meet their needs. As a result, based on their starting points, young people often make exceptional progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

For example, a young person who has been in the home for some time spoke about where he was when first admitted and where he is now. `Being here has done me good. The staff are great. I like them and get on well with them. I trust them.’ He has been transformed from an unhappy, reclusive person who had suffered a number of poor experiences. Now he is a young man due to move on as he reaches adulthood and, despite natural anxiety about leaving, is able view his future with optimism.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home recently reviewed and improved its pre-admission procedures that take place following a referral. As a result, a young person’s needs are identified early and confirmed quickly after admission. They are then translated into high-quality planning documents, assessments of risk and strategies to address individual behaviour. These documents are reviewed and updated regularly, which keeps them current. They provide direction so that young people can embark on a programme of events that addresses all areas of their lives, for example, stabilising behaviour, developing self-confidence, enjoying new experiences that turn into interests and hobbies, becoming fully engaged with their education, developing social networks and preparing for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Professionals and parents collectively appreciate the positive changes that young people make, and the high-quality consistency of care that they receive. A social worker told the inspector, `Staff have a genuine commitment towards young people and they really care about them.’ Another social worker reported, `His behaviour has really improved lately and staff have really good strategies in place to manage him. They know him inside out.’ A parent told the inspector, `I can’t fault the home with anything. Since he has been there, he has come on in leaps and bounds.’ There has been a big improvement in his attitude and his manners.’ Speaking about staff, a social worker commented, `Their resilience is fantastic. Most other provisions would not have persisted with him as they could not have withstood the hassle.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Creating and maintaining meaningful and trusting relationships with young people are an area staff excel in. It is the quality of relationships that underpins staff’s ability to manage challenging behaviour. A social work manager observed, `Staff have the ability to build strong relationships and have been able to maintain those positive relationships even at the most challenging of times.’ Having an understanding and recognition of need, along with the ability to work creatively with young people are skills that are expected. But when these are coupled with a non-judgemental attitude, genuine Inspection report children’s home: SC475715 4 compassion and a deep desire and commitment to get the best outcome for any young person in their care, this indicates why the standard of care is rated so highly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

All young people were in full-time education up until the summer break. For those of school age, these arrangements remain for the start of the new school year, and there are appropriate arrangements in place for school leavers. Overall, attendance levels are excellent, which reflects the expectations of staff, coupled with structured routines in the home, which are designed to get young people into school in a positive frame of mind. As a result, young people who on admission were rejecting education, with many missing education for prolonged periods, now make considerable educational progress. The home’s ability to re-engage young people with education is outstanding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people’s health needs are being promoted effectively. Their everyday health needs are addressed appropriately through community-based services that are well established and that work collaboratively with the home. In addition to this, the home has its own mental health practitioner who, since the previous inspection, is now fully embedded into the staff team. This gives young people access to regular contact, input and counselling. Staff benefit from receiving additional levels of training and can access help to disseminate and give a clear insight into the behaviour patterns that are exhibited. This has been an area of improvement since the last full inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Health promotion is another area of improvement. For example, menus have been revived with a greater emphasis on using fresh ingredients. More thought is being given to activities to ensure that young people have enough exercise. Greater attention and focus are given to any young person who may have weight issues or eating habits that cause some concern. Overall, young people’s physical, emotional and mental health needs are being well met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The promotion of fitness and good health is an area that overlaps into the activities and interests enjoyed by young people. They engage positively with activities, many of them being community based. There is a good balance between group and individual activities. For example, during the inspection, a group went shopping with staff, stayed out for tea and then went to the cinema. One young person told the inspector how his interest in stock cars has been promoted by his being able to visit various local meetings most weekends. Young people also spoke with great anticipation about their forthcoming summer holiday in Wales.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Due to the strength of the relationships that enhance the high levels of communication, consultation between young people and staff is an area of strength. Formal meetings are scheduled weekly and provide a forum where choices can be made, for example, of food and activities. Throughout the inspection, young people were observed in constant discussions with staff. These discussions ranged from staff giving out information to young people making suggestions and choices about what they wanted to do. Young people are at ease when approaching staff, which contributes greatly to the happy and relaxed atmosphere that prevailed in the home throughout the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Developing independence skills with a view to future transition is also an area of Inspection report children’s home: SC475715 5 strength. Social skills develop and social networks expand as young people grow, mature and develop greater self-confidence. Transitions are well planned, and staff are prepared to go that extra mile while advocating strongly on behalf of a young person. For example, recently a staff member took a young person to the area where the young person is going to live. They spent two days exploring and only returned once the young person felt comfortable and had sufficient familiarity with the area. This is one of a number of outstanding areas of practice noted during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people live in a home that blends well into the local community. It is spacious and has high standards of repair, fixtures, fittings, decor and equipment. All bedrooms are single occupancy, and have their own bathrooms. Bedrooms are decorated and personalised to suit and reflect the taste of the occupant. A rolling programme is in place, which is designed to refresh, re-decorate and refurbish the home. Young people are relaxed, comfortable and at ease in their surroundings.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

The home has excellent systems in place to keep everyone safe. For example, detailed risk assessments that identify risks around the home and the local community are in place. They are reviewed and updated regularly, which keeps them current. Appropriate service contracts are in place to ensure that safety equipment is well maintained, which adds to the levels of safety in the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Although not tested since the previous inspection by any formal referrals, the safeguarding procedures adopted by the home continue to keep young people safe. Strong contacts with the external services charged with keeping young people safe are in place, allowing for a swift multi-agency response should a safeguarding issue arise. Staff training is refreshed regularly and those senior staff named as safeguarding leads are fully trained to the appropriate level. Responses from young people, parents and other professionals confirmed that they feel the home is a safe place.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

The management of behaviour is outstanding. An experienced and skilled staff team has the confidence to manage challenging and sometime destructive and aggressive behaviour well. Team members get to know young people and understand why each young person behaves in a certain way. The introduction of the mental health practitioner into the team has helped with this. As a result, staff can understand behaviour better following theoretical training and advice.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

Incidents of challenging behaviour, which include those requiring physical intervention, are managed effectively. They are monitored and evaluated by senior staff, and de- briefing sessions with young people and staff give opportunities to explore each incident to see whether lessons can be learned and whether the incident could have been handled differently. The home has been successful in completely eradicating the use of front ground holds. Senior staff effectively monitor incidents, looking for indicators, trends or patterns, so that strategies to manage behaviour can be adapted appropriately. This helps to improve practice and aid consistency. As a result, the number of incidents taking place has reduced. Inspection report children’s home: SC475715 6 Young people live in a non-punitive environment where rewards exceed sanctions. For example, since the previous full inspection in November, only six negative consequences

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

have been implemented. Clearly defined boundaries and consistent routines help young people to feel secure. Bullying is taken seriously, and staff act proactively to stop and address issues of bullying, which adds to young people’s sense of security. Bullying is not an area of concern for young people in this home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

The last incident of a young person going missing was in March 2017, and incidents only occur occasionally. The home has an excellent record of ensuring that return interviews are conducted. Strong contacts are maintained with local police who visit the home regularly. A visiting police officer explained that he feels that this home the best of all the homes he deals with and he stated, `The home is well organised and staff manage the young people well. They are not a home that calls us out very often. Staff have the skills and confidence to deal with challenging situations.’

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: outstanding

The retention level of staff is high, which means that young people are being looked after by staff whom they know and trust. The recruitment and clearance procedures for new staff are thorough and meet with regulatory requirement and current guidance. Longer-serving staff are being re-checked regularly, which is deemed to be good practice. This ensures that young people are only being looked after by staff who have been suitably cleared and recruited.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home benefits from having an experienced and suitably qualified registered manager who has been in post for some years. He is well supported by an equally experienced deputy manager. They complement each other well. Together, they are able to advocate strongly to secure the best possible outcome for the young people in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The organisation, management and daily operation of the home are totally child focused. For example, duty rotas change during holiday periods so that young people can be taken on all-day and early evening activities without having to accommodate a changeover of staff. Managers and staff work together cohesively, demonstrating a team-centred approach that benefits and enhances the consistency of care that young people receive. Staff morale is high and visitors immediately experience a happy, relaxed atmosphere where staff and young people actively enjoy each other’s company.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Aspirations for young people are high, and this reflects the high expectations that the management team has for staff. Staff feel well supported and buy into the ethos, culture and working practices that have developed in the home over the years. Formal supervision and performance development take place consistently. Managers consult with young people to gain their views, and this contributes towards the annual process of staff performance development. This is viewed as outstanding practice. Staff are encouraged and supported in their training needs. There are clear expectations placed on them to complete the core staff training programme. The programme Inspection report children’s home: SC475715 7 develops and refreshes skills and provides training in more specialist areas or areas that may be required. For example, a staff member who has been designated with health and safety responsibilities for the home received specialist training so that he can fulfil the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The internal and external monitoring of the home is excellent. Internally, senior staff have various monitoring systems in place, which are used to identify areas of strength and areas to be developed. This information cascades into areas of planning, resulting in the creation of written development and workforce plans. These high-quality documents provide managers with a clear vision that links into developing practice and improving outcomes for young people. External senior managers are active and monitor the home with vigilance. The monthly external monitoring of the home is an area that has been reviewed recently. This has resulted in some improvement in the quality of visits and the subsequent report.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home has a good record of compliance. Following the requirements and recommendations made at the previous inspection, all areas noted then have been addressed. This has resulted in improvements to promoting healthy lifestyles for young people, a revision of the way in which referrals are managed with a view to gaining improved pre-placement knowledge, improvements to the ventilation of young people’s bathrooms and improvements to the quality of the monthly external monitoring programme.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

This is a home that has striven to be outstanding for some time. A reason for achieving this is the stability of both the senior and staff team, which enables long-term planning to come to fruition. There is also a willingness and ability to critically review and then improve practice. As a result, the experiences gained by young people during their time spent in the home are often life changing. This gives them confidence and ambition for the own futures along with the ability, skills and resilience to move into adulthood. This means that young people’s prospects for the future are much improved and enhanced, compared to their predicted outcomes when first admitted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A young person summed this up when sharing his thoughts with the inspector. `Of all the different places I have lived in, this one is the best. Staff are great. They put themselves out for us. They do this because they like us and care for us.’ A social work manager supported this view when telling the inspector, `Out of all the independent children’s homes I deal with, Lakeland House is the best one.’

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC475715 8 children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out 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: SC475715 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Witherslack Group Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Graham Robinson, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC475715 10 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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