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 staff provide care and accommodation for young people who have emotional and/or behaviour difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager in this home has been registered since November 2015 and is suitably qualified.

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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 manager and staff in this children’s home provide highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the staff 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: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC475715 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/07/2017 Full Outstanding 03/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/11/2016 Full Good 14/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC475715 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 registered person must prepare and implement a policy which sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect. (Regulation 34(1)(b)) 29/03/2019

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people enjoy exceptionally positive experiences in this nurturing, supportive and safe home. The quality of care that they receive makes a positive difference to their lives. A young person said, ‘I think it is an outstanding place to live. It’s helped me, and I can see how much it has helped other children. It has made a massive change to their lives.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

During the inspection, the inspector observed relationships which had highly positive, humorous and supportive interactions. The home has a relaxed, fun and homely feel to it. Staff spoken with during this inspection showed commitment and genuine care towards the young people, wanting the best for them in every area of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Since young people moved in, they have become happier, healthier, safer and less likely to be at risk of abuse, exploitation or misusing drugs. They are settled, achieving in education and see their families more regularly. They have a better understanding of their previous experiences and have aspirations for their futures. A young person reflected maturely on his experiences, ‘We run this home together. We are a team.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The registered manager and staff have created a warm, family atmosphere where young people quickly develop a strong sense of belonging. A social worker said, ‘I feel the home are making excellent progress with my young person. He has increased his confidence and has been given lots of opportunity to go out into the community.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff receive regular training in emotional differentiation. This helps them to understand young people’s behaviour and link this to their emotions. Staff’s depth of understanding of how young people’s emotional and behavioural presentations are linked help them to have an exceptionally high level of understanding about how young people present, and Inspection report children’s home: SC475715 4 the best way to support them. Young people also engage with child and adolescent mental health services to help them process and understand their feelings. Additionally, the company has employed a person-centred counsellor to spend time in the home with the young people, and to develop therapeutic relationships which further support their emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

A core activity of the home is to prepare young people for independence. All young people participate in a programme leading to accredited awards. Young people develop practical skills in a range of practical tasks. This means that they are equipped with life skills essential to independent living. A former resident at the home continues to visit the home for his tea, and staff from the home support him by encouraging him to go to work and continue to make positive choices. This support is over and above what is required by the staff team, but they do it because they want the young person to succeed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

An independent reviewing officer said, ‘[This is] a fantastic placement for the young person. He is blossoming due to consistent care and positive regard. I’m impressed.’ A social worker said: ‘I feel that the staff work really well with my young person and offer him a fantastic home experience. They have a keen understanding of his needs and of him as a person and he has come on a great deal to be the more confident person he is today. They are also fantastic at planning for him and working with the LA [local authority] in implementing that plan; their communication is fantastic, and I have no concerns for their practice. It has been a good experience working with them and I do feel they will continue to put the young person’s needs first.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The registered manager and staff provide structure, stability, encouragement and opportunities for young people to take part in education and to learn and develop their knowledge and skills. Where schools have difficulties in managing young people’s behaviour, the home is highly proactive in working with education providers to share best practice and strategies for enabling young people to get the best out of their education. Young people enjoy learning, work hard and have excellent attendance at school and work experience placements. They have plenty of books, computers, art materials, toys, games and other educational resources. The staff have an excellent understanding of young people’s educational needs, plans, progress, achievements and aspirations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The staff support and encourage young people’s preferences and aspirations as good parents do. They have supported young people with work experience with local voluntary agencies and the fire cadets, which has helped to build young people’s confidence. In addition, a young person who is extremely talented at ice-hockey is supported to play in a large city team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The registered manager and staff ensure that young people live in a healthy environment that actively promotes their physical health and emotional well-being. Young people enjoy very healthy and varied diets and get plenty of physical exercise. They understand about healthy lifestyles and take responsibility for their own health, appropriate to their ages. Inspection report children’s home: SC475715 5 Young people live in a suitably designed and located family house. They have easy access to all the community facilities and services required to meet their needs. It is a homely, pleasant and comfortable house, which is furnished and decorated to a high standard. The young people have plenty of personal space and their bedrooms are decorated to reflect their characters and interests.

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

The registered manager and staff have built an exceptionally strong safeguarding culture in the home. Young people are always listened to, taken seriously, valued, and treated with dignity and respect. Consequently, they feel safe, loved, cared for and have a strong sense of belonging. The staff’s safeguarding practice ensures that young people are protected from bullying, aggression, abuse and exploitation.

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

All staff have regular safeguarding training. This means that they have the knowledge to respond appropriately to young people who go missing, are at risk of harm, exploitation, neglect, abuse, self-harm, bullying or potential radicalisation. Staff monitor the young people’s welfare and have excellent knowledge about individual young people. This means that they are ideally positioned to identify any changes in behaviour which could indicate potential concerns.

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

Staff have a detailed knowledge of the risks that are apparent to the young people in their care. Clear plans are in place that detail strategies to minimise the potential risks. In addition to internal monitoring, external consultants are commissioned to monitor safeguarding practice. This ensures that safeguarding practice is maintained to a high standard.

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

Young people live in a safe physical environment that protects them from the risk of harm. Their freedom of movement around the house is not restricted. Alarms on their bedroom doors alert staff at night when young people may need assistance. A young person said: ‘The alarm helps me feel safe at night because I know staff know I need help.’ The use of door alarms needs to be continually reviewed to assess whether the alarms remain necessary and proportionate based on each young person’s individual needs and stage of development.

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

Staff use restraint with young people only when young people are at risk of harm. They make good use of their training, professional judgement and knowledge of the young person’s needs and plans to intervene appropriately and safely. Young people’s plans take into account their age and their physical and emotional development to ensure that the restraint used is suitable for the needs of the individual. Individual plans clearly set out the appropriate methods of intervention to use in different situations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has been in charge of the home since November 2015. He is a very experienced and suitably qualified manager. He provides extremely effective Inspection report children’s home: SC475715 6 leadership that unmistakably prioritises young people’s welfare and focuses on improving their lives. Consequently, young people flourish living in this very positive and exceptionally nurturing environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager and staff have high aspirations for every young person to enjoy the same opportunities and experiences as other young people. They have excellent communication and professional relationships with young people’s families, placing authorities, independent reviewing officers, police, schools, colleges and health services. They actively and assertively challenge partners to deliver the best possible support to young people. They work together collaboratively to ensure that young people make sustained progress across all aspects of their development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The leaders and registered manager have a detailed understanding of the strengths of the home and the areas for development. An independent visitor provides rigorous and impartial scrutiny of the running of the home and how effectively young people’s welfare is promoted and safeguarded. He talks to the young people, their families and social workers to help him make judgements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff are warm, enthusiastic and highly competent people. They are focused on working to promote young people’s best interests. They are strongly committed to helping young people and have high aspirations for young people to reach their full potential. They are calm and confident, and show patience, perseverance and resilience when dealing with complex and challenging situations. However, on one occasion, staff did not follow the company’s own safeguarding procedures fully. This was after a young person had made an allegation against a member of staff. The records surrounding this incident and subsequent events are unclear and insufficient to demonstrate that appropriate action was taken to safeguard the young person. A requirement has been raised to address this shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Strong and effective employment practice, including the recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff, safeguards young people and reduces potential risks to them. People wishing to work at the home go through a rigorous selection procedure and are carefully vetted. The registered manager makes sure that they have the right experience, skills, personal qualities, values and motivation to work with vulnerable young people. New staff follow comprehensive induction programmes that enable them to develop the necessary skills and knowledge, to reflect on their learning and experiences, and to have their performance thoroughly assessed by a manager.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC475715 7 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: SC475715 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: Lupton Tower, Lupton, Carnforth LA6 2PR

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Inspector

Elaine Clare, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC475715 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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