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

Inspection report children‟s home: SC475723 1 SC475723 Registered provider: Witherslack Group Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides a therapeutic facility to meet the nurturing, management, social, emotional and moral needs of up to nine young people aged seven to 17 years old who are unable to live in a family context.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

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

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 31 October 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children‟s home: SC475723 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/10/2017 Full Good 20/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 13/12/2016 Full Outstanding 03/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC475723 3

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff–

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Requirement Due date

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; help each child to understand how to keep safe; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; 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), (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(b) 20/09/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which–

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; and are kept up to date. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)) 20/09/2018

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Recommendations

 Staff should understand factors that affect children‟s motivation to behave in a socially acceptable way. Staff should encourage an enthusiasm for positive behaviour through the use of positive behaviour strategies in line with the child‟s relevant plans. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 39, paragraph 8.13)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should develop and implement an internal quality assurance monitoring and reviewing system to ensure that practice is consistently good and ensure the continuous improvement of practice. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 55, paragraph 10.54) Inspection report children‟s home: SC475723 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home that is caring and supportive. Children have good relationships with staff and understand why routines and boundaries are in place. Consequently, children make good, steady progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children‟s placement plans are child focused. They provide a good insight into the child‟s journey in care and identify areas that they need further support and guidance with. Staff advocate on the children‟s behalf to ensure that the care that they receive meets their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and encourage children to establish and maintain positive relationships with their friends and family. Children‟s contact with family increases at a good pace, and this is in line with their care plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend education on a regular basis. Children engage with their education and make good progress with their learning. Any additional educational needs are assessed to ensure that the right educational package is in place for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a range of activities. These activities allow children to experience new things. As a result, children develop their social skills and grow in confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have moved into the home have done so in a planned way. This is likewise evident for children who have moved on from the home. The transition arrangements are good and child focused.

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improvement to be good

The home is generally well maintained. However, there are areas that need some cosmetic attention. Furthermore, routine maintenance checks have failed to identity possible health hazards that could pose a health risk to children. Managers responded to this during the inspection and undertook remedial actions.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide good care and support to the children. They understand their roles and responsibilities to safeguard children. However, in some instances the preventative strategies in place are not robust enough. Consequently, children take part in risk-taking behaviours.

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improvement to be good

The home benefits from regular clinical support. Children respond well to this. They make good progress in understanding and regulating their own behaviours. However, staff do not always follow the clinical lead. As a result, there is a delay in some agreed actions. Inspection report children‟s home: SC475723 5 Children generally get on well with one another. They talk about enjoying taking part in activities together. When children do not get along well, their behaviours escalate quickly. As a result, children experience verbal threats and physical harm. However, staff support the children through these incidents, and relationships between the children improve.

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improvement to be good

When risk-taking behaviour has taken place, managers and staff analyse the incident. As a result, they identify strategies to reduce the risk of the behaviour happening again. Consequently, incidents are reduced.

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improvement to be good

Children do not always receive the continual support and help that they need to meet their holistic health needs. As a result, children do not always have the correct plans in place to improve their health.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff undertake a range of training in safeguarding practice. This supports the learning and development of staff. Consequently, safeguarding practice improves and children are safer.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The current manager was registered with Ofsted on 14 January 2017 and holds a relevant qualification. He has previous experience of being a registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team is passionate about and committed to delivering a high standard of care and support for children and staff. Managers lead by example, and show good leadership and management knowledge and skills. Furthermore, they have good insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported and valued. They benefit from regular supervision, and day-to-day support is good. Childrenalso speak well of managers and staff. In addition, professionals are complimentary of the home. They describe it as welcoming and friendly. They also say that children progress well, living here.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight is not yet consistent across all areas of practice. Recording standards are also inconsistent. In some instances, information is incorrect, missing or contradictory. Managers recognise that both these areas of practice need further attention and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive effective training that enhances their practice. The training helps staff to have a good insight into children‟s needs. This provides staff with the confidence that they need to understand complex behaviours. However, the management of these complex behaviours is not consistent throughout the home. Managers acknowledge this, and recognise it as an area for development. Inspection report children‟s home: SC475723 6

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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 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: SC475723 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Witherslack Group Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Lisa Gregoire-Parker, social care inspector Mandy Williams, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC475723 8 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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