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

Inspection report children‟s home: SC475680 1 SC475680 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 provides care and accommodation for up to eight young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by a private company.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 13 to 14 September 2018

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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 good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: 11 September 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC475680 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/09/2017 Full Good 09/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/08/2016 Full Good 01/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC475680 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children‟s home‟s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children‟s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)) 31/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

develop the child‟s interests and hobbies;

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Requirement Due date

participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child‟s interests and preferences; and

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Requirement Due date

make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child‟s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 31/10/2018

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 31/10/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC475680 4 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. (Regulation 12(2)(a)(i)) The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(f)) 31/10/2018

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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

the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

a copy of any EHC plan or statement of special educational needs in relation to the child. (Regulation 36 (Schedule 3)(17)) 31/10/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff are familiar with the home‟s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.4). Inspection report children‟s home: SC475680 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people live in a home that is safe and very homely. They are nurtured and grow in confidence, as staff have high levels of respect for young people‟s individuality. Young people feel valued because the manager and staff consult with them about the running of the home and their placements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is furnished to a high standard. Young people and staff love to sit, chat and cook together. The home‟s furnishings and design have been carefully planned so that they provide children and young people with comfort, reflect their individuality and give them a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make very good progress in developing independence skills and taking responsibility for decisions that they make. A stable base and trusting relationships with staff give young people the confidence to attend college and to make positive social networks and friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is an integral part of all children‟s and young people‟s lives. Attendance is excellent, and children and young people said that they enjoy school. Because of children‟s success and achievements at school, some young people have progressed onto higher education courses at a college. Young people spoke enthusiastically about what they have been doing at college on their new courses.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child‟s record did not have a copy of the child‟s education health and care plan. The registered manager requested a copy of a plan in February 2018, but this has not been followed up. Subsequently, young people started higher education without care staff having an awareness of the educational needs that they need to champion for young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people take part in one-to-one and key-working sessions with their care worker. Sessions include support with home contact and awareness. Unfortunately, the content of two of the reports following these sessions was copied and pasted from one month to another with very slight amendments. Although an internal monitoring report picked up the issue in June 2018, monitoring to oversee improvements has been ineffective and the problem remains an issue in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people enjoy activities such as going to the cinema. At times, suggestions have been made about pursuing hobbies, but these have not always been followed through. Children and young people have few opportunities to be involved in local events. This fails to develop young people‟s confidence and a greater understanding of themselves and society.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people enjoy good health, with balanced meals, encouragement to exercise and support from staff who have sensitive insight into young people‟s mental and emotional health. Inspection report children‟s home: SC475680 6 Good improvements to the physical environment of the home are evident, and there is an ongoing redecoration programme in place by the organisation. Children and young people enjoy the comfort of their rooms. They enjoy relaxing in their own spaces with an array of personal possessions, toys and media equipment.

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

In general risk management keeps children and young people safe, because assessments are regularly reviewed and adapted accordingly. However, there was one example of a plan that had failed to be actioned. A child had received a head injury and staff had failed to monitor his welfare through the night in line with his risk management plan. Furthermore, this error in care practice was not picked up by team leaders or management the next day and was only identified during this inspection.

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

Informed practice and effective implementation of safeguarding procedures keep children and young people safe. Their complaints are taken seriously and referred to the local safeguarding team promptly. Joint working with social workers and families promotes safe family contact. The manager also works well with partner agencies, such as schools, to ensure that all aspects of children‟s and young people‟s lives are safeguarded.

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

Children and young people have access to their risk and behaviour management plans, and this gives them an awareness of how they present and how their behaviours are managed. Children are clear that being rewarded and distracted helps to improve their behaviour.

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

Behaviours improve because staff understand the triggers and motivators that can deflect negative behaviour, and they reward positive behaviours. Children and young people appreciate that staff are fair and kind.

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

Children and young people live in a safe environment due to regular health and safety monitoring.

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

The manager has been registered since June 2016. She brings good experience to the role and is suitably qualified. Only two members of staff are unqualified to the required level. Although the unqualified staff have been in post over two years, a change in the company‟s education provider has delayed their progression in gaining their qualification.

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

Staff meeting minutes reflect some disharmony in the staff team. Minutes show that a few staff wish to leave their current posts. Observation of staff during the inspection was mixed. Some staff were observed playing board games and football in the garden with children, but others spent more time in the staff office. Some staff really showed an interest in what the young people were doing or what they needed, while others appeared to be happy to let others follow up issues. For example, a child wanted to Inspection report children‟s home: SC475680 7 open a bank account, a request made by the young person in June during a key-work session. This request was repeated month after month. A staff member from another home within the company covered a shift and identified that this request was still outstanding. She took him to the bank and started the process for what was needed.

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

Training and staff supervision are adequate. Most staff gained qualifications in childcare many years ago. However, since then, there has been no significant staff development except for one-day mandatory courses. Despite the concerns voiced by staff during staff meetings, there has not been an increase in the frequency of staff meetings to discuss the issues that they have raised. Staff meetings remain monthly and one meeting in the summer was cancelled due to the „holidays‟.

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

Developments in achieving child-friendly and meaningful recording are ongoing. Staff continue to collate information, including photos. They write child-centred records that help children and young people to better understand their life stories. However, some aspects of recording remain institutionalised in nature. For example, record codes such as „EQNTR‟ or references to „woke in a positive mood‟ are meaningless to children and young people.

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

Feedback from childcare professionals is very positive about the work undertaken by the staff team and the registered manager. The social worker for one young person commented that the service „works really well‟ with her. She is satisfied that the staff address complaints and call her immediately about any concerns. The social worker also commented that the registered manager is very good at prompting the local authority to provide services for the young person. Another social worker echoed these encouraging views.

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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: SC475680 8

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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

Elaine Clare, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC475680 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 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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