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

Inspection report children’s home: SC475710 1 SC475710 Registered provider: Witherslack Group Limited

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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 run by a private organisation and is registered for the care and accommodation of up to eight children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The manager was registered in November 2014 and is appropriately qualified.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

After an inspection on 3 and 4 July 2018, the home was issued with three compliance notices and a notice of restriction of admissions in relation to safeguarding concerns.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Inspection report children’s home: SC475710 2 04/07/2018 Full Inadequate 05/12/2017 Full Outstanding 07/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 13/10/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC475710 3

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Recommendations

 The registered person should build a strong safeguarding culture in the home where the children are listened to, respected and involved in both the development of the home and decisions about the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.8)  Ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that could indicate a child is at risk of harm. The registered person should ensure that skills in safeguarding are gained, refreshed and recorded in the home’s workforce plan. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12)  Supervision of staff practice should ensure that individual adults in the home are engaged in the safeguarding culture of the home so they understand what they would need to do if they found other staff misusing or abusing their position to

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Recommendations

the detriment of the safety of a child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.14)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Prior to the previous inspection, three children and young people had made allegations against two members of staff. These investigations are still ongoing. One of these staff members had left employment at the home prior to the previous inspection and the other remains suspended from duty.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There had also been a serious allegation made against a third member of staff, which was made outside of the work environment and was not connected with their work or with any child or young person. This staff member has now left employment at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The managers and staff have made all the required changes. The managers have reviewed and changed all relevant policies, procedures and guidance and they have ensured that all the staff have been trained and have understood these changes. This has had clear benefits for the children and young people, who have made good progress and have had an improved experience of living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child and one young personhave left the home since the previous inspection. One child was removed from the home by their placing authority due to their concerns following the allegations that they had made. They were not making good progress and their experience of living in the home had deteriorated. One other young person left the Inspection report children’s home: SC475710 4 home when they completed a successful planned move to return to live with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All of the remaining children and young people at the home have made good progress with their education and some have done particularly well. The children and young people receive some therapeutic input from the organisation’s therapy team; this is positive and helps them to make progress with their emotional well-being. Several young people have made particularly good progress in this area of their lives and this was clear from a reduction in their challenging behaviour. The children and young people are well supported by staff through individualised work dealing with a wide range of relevant topics.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has been very settled during the period since the previous inspection. One insightful young person told the inspector in some depth how the home had improved, how it felt safer and how they felt staff were more responsive, both in listening to the children and young people and in acting on their wishes and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have ensured that the children and young people are enjoying their summer holidays through individual plans for activities and trips away, and relaxing and enjoying their time off school or college.

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improvement to be good

The children and young people have been kept safe since the previous the inspection. There have been no safeguarding issues reported and no child or young person has been missing from the home. The staff have not used any sanctions and the number of physical interventions has decreased. This all suggests that the children and young people feel safe and settled and some of them were able to tell the inspector this.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager and the staff team have responded well to the safeguarding issues within the home that were identified at the previous inspection.

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improvement to be good

Two investigations that were underway at the time of the previous inspection are still ongoing.

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improvement to be good

The inspector spoke to all the staff on duty during the inspection and it was clear that they knew what was expected of them and what they would have to do, should they have any future safeguarding concerns. The managers have introduced a number of new recording and monitoring systems, for both managers and staff, to ensure that good safeguarding practice is maintained.

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improvement to be good

There has been no new recruitment to the staff team. The most recently recruited members of staff have settled and have completed additional safeguarding training. This means that the levels of understanding and knowledge of the staff team are now improved and they are now more able to safeguard the children and young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC475710 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership and management team has worked hard to address the issues raised in the previous inspection, and has produced a comprehensive and professional response. The team has amended guidance and procedures in all the required areas and ensured that the staff have fully understood and implemented the changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff feel fully supported by the manager and the deputy manager. The manager has put in place additional training, team meetings and supervision in order to ensure that all staff understand the new guidance and procedures. The manager has brought in external trainers where necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

At the previous inspection, there were three compliance notices issued with five requirements. The registered manager, deputy manager and other senior managers in the organisation understood the concerns, accepted that work needed to be done and have completed this satisfactorily. These have all now been met. The notice of restriction of admissions which had been put in place has now been removed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The three recommendations made at this inspection about ongoing safeguarding practice are to ensure that the changes are fully embedded. This will require ongoing refresher training, regular supervision and discussion time in all team meetings. Managers also need to review the new monitoring systems to ensure that they remain effective and are updated as necessary.

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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 differences 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: SC475710 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Witherslack Group Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Marcia McLoughlin

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Inspector

Colin Imrie: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC475710 7 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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