Children's home run by Witherslack Group Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1263199 1 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 children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation to six young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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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 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 2018

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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: 1263199 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/09/2018 Full Good 20/03/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1263199 3

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Recommendations

 Registered persons must ensure that procedures for dealing with allegations of bullying are in place and staff have the skills required to intervene, protect and address bullying behaviours effectively (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’ page 39, paragraph 8.16). In particular, individual and group work sessions should be strengthened to address this more effectively.  Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’ page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home (‘Guide to the

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Recommendations

children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’ page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are making good progress. They are growing in confidence and have developed strong and positive relationships with the staff team. Young people enjoy spending time with staff both at home and in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and decorated to a good standard. The environment is homely, and young people are nurtured by the staff team. Young people are being encouraged to make memories and to capture special times. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘The change in [young person’s name]’s presentation over the initial three-month period was remarkable. I believe the staff team [has] been successful in engaging and developing a positive, nurturing relationship with them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are learning new skills that will prepare them for adult life, such as cooking and budgeting. Young people are also supporting each other. For example, one young person has taught another to swim. Staff have supported one young person to have and look after a pet. This has helped him to develop a sense of responsibility as he cares for it well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people attend schools managed by the organisation. Staff understand the importance of education, and young people attend school every day. One young person Inspection report children’s home: 1263199 4 spoke of his aspirations to gain employment when he leaves school. A parent said, ‘His confidence has grown so much since he has been there. He now goes to school every day and he used to refuse point blank before.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is good communication between home and school staff, and this means that consistent approaches and boundaries are maintained.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people have access to a therapist employed by the organisation. Young people engage well with this. One young person has identified anger management as an area that he would like to work on with the therapist. This has helped him to manage his emotions better.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some young people live a long way from their families. Staff support young people to keep in touch and to travel to them regularly. This has helped them to maintain relationships with their extended families. One independent reviewing officer said, ‘The [staff in the] home are effective advocates for [young person’s name], in particular in relation to family time, which is very important to him. The home effectively works with family and actively facilitates and manages contact.’

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

Staff understand young people’s risks and vulnerabilities. Risk assessments are comprehensive and kept under review. This means that staff understand the strategies that they must use to keep young people safe. For example, contact arrangements are well planned and safely supervised when this is necessary.

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

Staff provide young people with support, advice and guidance to help keep himself safe. Staff are encouraging and support the older young people to spend free time in the local community safely. This is preparing him for independence. A parent said, ‘It’s great. I have no worries about him. I know that they are keeping him safe.’

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

Staff have made a positive impact in reducing the risk of young people going missing from care. Robust arrangements are in place, and each young person has a detailed missing from care profile. This means that staff can respond quickly and effectively.

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

Staff listen to young people. Dedicated time is set aside at bedtimes to talk about their day and anything that may be worrying them. This has given young people a sense of security and helped them to manage their emotions better.

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

There is a mix of age ranges, and sometimes this causes tension and incidents of challenging behaviour between the young people. Sometimes staff have found relationships between the young people difficult to manage, and problems persist. Incidents are responded to quickly, and staff are trying to encourage positive behaviours and relationships. They understand potential trigger points and have introduced strategies such as staggered home times to address this. There has been a decrease in the need to use physical interventions. Inspection report children’s home: 1263199 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced manager leads this home. She has a clear vision for the home’s progression and is well supported by senior management. The manager is child centred and has high expectations for what the young people can achieve. The manager takes appropriate steps to challenge other professionals and escalates issues appropriately to ensure that young people receive high-quality services.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are effective monitoring systems in place, and this means that the manager understands the home’s strengths and areas for development. Young people’s progress against targets is monitored regularly. This means that the support they receive is more effective and focused.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is stable, and there is high staff retention. This means that young people can develop relationships with staff over time. A parent said, ‘I think they are fantastic, very helpful. Our [young person’s name] loves it there. The staff go way above and beyond. You couldn’t ask for more.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has given staff members additional responsibilities to lead and develop practice in the home in areas such as transition to adulthood and community participation projects.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision and appraisals. There are regular team meetings that focus on the needs of the young people. Specialist training in areas such as child sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation and managing contact sessions has been sourced for staff. Additional training is required to support the staff team’s understanding of the impact of young people’s additional needs, for example attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

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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: 1263199 6

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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

Sophie Thomson, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1263199 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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