Children's Home run by Witherslack Group Limited in Sefton

Inspection report children’s home: SC475689 1 SC475689 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

A private company owns the home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for six young people who may have learning disabilities. The registered manager has been in post since January 2014 but is currently away from the home. An acting manager is overseeing the home.

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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 children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 23 October 2018

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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: SC475689 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/10/2018 Full Outstanding 16/08/2017 Full Good 30/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 09/08/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC475689 3

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all children’s case records are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people receive an exceptionally high quality of care that is making a significant difference in their lives. The registered manager, acting manager and staff’s nurturing and insightful practice has provided young people, who have very complex needs, with the stability needed to allow them to grow and develop. The young people have lived here for some considerable time, during which they have made remarkable and sustained progress. Young people are making incredibly positive progress in their education, health and emotional well-being, building healthy relationships, and in managing their feelings. One young person is extremely proud that he no longer needs the staff’s support when he is at work as he now confidently understands and carries out his role. This is a fantastic achievement. Other young people enjoy spending time with their friends, as any other teenager would.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff work tirelessly to make sure that young people receive the right support to achieve good educational outcomes. An assistant head of school said, ‘The young people are making excellent progress, due to the support of staff.’ The staff have enabled one young person to make an informed choice about the college that he is going to attend and how this will fit in with his part-time employment. Another young person, who struggled to engage when he first came to live at the home has, according to the assistant head, turned a corner and is now ‘massively focused’ on gaining his qualifications. The staff are also instrumental in putting forward creative suggestions for young people’s work experience opportunities, and this ensures that they get the most out of this experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people have a wide range of communication skills, levels of comprehension and complexity of needs. Young people thrive at their own pace because of the sensitive and carefully thought-out support from staff. The staff have an incredibly thorough knowledge and understanding of each young person’s needs and they encourage each young person’s talents. For example, the staff discovered that one young person, who at times can struggle to communicate, has a wonderful singing voice. Through the support and encouragement of the staff, the young person has been singing regularly and grown in his confidence and self-esteem. Staff report that the change in his persona when he sings is ‘remarkable and a joy to see’. Inspection report children’s home: SC475689 4 Staff are highly skilled communicators and are adept at using various methods of communication. This means that they can seamlessly communicate with young people

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

using each young person’s preferred communication style. Therefore, young people’s views and wishes are heard and acted on. One young person said, ‘The staff have helped me a lot since moving here. My self-esteem and confidence have definitely improved.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff help young people to achieve their ambitions and have better life chances. Young people are increasingly confident in their abilities. Staff make sure that young people have the skills, opportunities and emotional resilience that they need to move successfully into the next stage of their lives. A young person said, ‘The staff have helped me to sort all of this [moving into their own flat] and the staff got the right people in to help me. I am really excited about my future, I feel I am ready, and the staff here helped me to achieve this.’ The young person explained all about the bills he will need to pay and how he has applied for discounts on some because of his age. Accordingly, the young person is enthusiastic about, and exceptionally well prepared, to start his next transition. Encouraging young people to be as independent as possible is a key strength of the home. Staff talk proudly about the young people’s achievements, such as completing

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

personal care needs, seeing to household chores, choosing their own clothes, making positive decisions about their futures and being engaged in purposeful paid employment. Staff have high aspirations for each young person, and they go above and beyond to help them to succeed. This includes carefully planning a range of day-to-day activities. For example, one young person, prior to living at the home, had found going to the barber’s anxiety-provoking. In order to overcome this anxiety, a member of staff sensitively planned an introduction to a local barber who was from the same cultural background as the young person. Over time, the young person became familiar with both the barber and the environment, to the extent whereby he now looks forward to having his haircut and happily greets the barber in their native language, having built a good rapport. Families are very complimentary about the support the young people receive. One

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

parent said, ‘I am in awe of the home and the staff.’ They went on to say that the care that their child has received has ‘brought them on 100%’. Other parents commented on the progress that their children have made since coming to live at the home and the difference that this has made to them as a family; for example, that they can now go out together as a family and spend quality time together.

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

Parents have confidence in the staff because of the exemplary safeguarding practice. Staff act quickly and effectively to address any emerging concerns. Comprehensive records are kept and monitored about all aspects of safety and protection; these include detailed risk assessments that guide staff in the actions that they need to take to reduce the risks to young people. This attention to detail means that any issues are quickly identified and rectified. A family member said, ‘It is important to us that we know he is Inspection report children’s home: SC475689 5 safe and happy, and he is.’

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

The staff’s comprehensive understanding of young people supports the young people to reduce their anxieties and enables them to feel safe and to thrive. Detailed behaviour support plans are highly effective and help staff to address unwanted behaviour consistently. Staff’s attention to maintaining young people’s routines is of paramount importance. This approach provides young people with stability and aids their understanding of what is happening and when.

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

Young people’s safety and well-being are priorities for staff. Staff have an excellent understanding of the unique vulnerabilities of each young person. Detailed risk assessments are known and are understood by staff. They are reviewed and updated, as are the young people’s behaviour support plans. However, it is not always immediately clear as to when the reviews occur and who completes them. This is a minor issue and does not impact on the excellent care and support young people receive.

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

The registered manager and acting manager build reliable and effective working relationships with social workers, therapists, the police and other agencies and use these well to devise plans that minimise the risks to young people. The registered manager and staff challenge assertively other agencies when they feel that concerns about a young person are not being taken seriously. Staff use acceptance and a nurturing approach to encourage positive behaviour. Staff spend considerable amounts of time talking to young people about better ways to manage their emotions. Discussions with young people indicate that they are much more able to reflect on situations that they find themselves in and to come to their own resolutions, such as how to organise their bedroom. A young person explained that this was his private space and where he went to escape from everyone. This demonstrated increased maturity and reduced his anxiety.

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

Staff recruitment and vetting are rigorous. Young people are actively involved in the recruitment of new staff. One young person is currently compiling a list of questions to ask the potential new therapists. All visitors are required to sign in and out of the home and are carefully monitored or supervised while at the home. This level of scrutiny provides additional safeguards for young people and ensures that they are only cared for by suitable people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Over time, the registered manager has provided inspirational and highly effective leadership. She is very ambitious for young people to feel safe, to be happy and to do exceptionally well. Although she has been absent for a few months, the strong foundations that she has laid have meant that the home is being expertly overseen by the deputy manager, who has now been appointed as acting manager. The acting manager and staff are very mindful of the impact that the registered manager’s absence may have on some young people and as such are providing young people with excellent support. They also make sure that young people live in an incredibly safe, warm, settled and fun family home that meets their needs and enables them to reach their full Inspection report children’s home: SC475689 6 potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are very knowledgeable, experienced, highly skilled and motivated. They are tenacious, resilient and do not give up trying to make a positive difference to young people’s lives. One staff member said, ‘Our young people are at the centre of everything we do. We are an experienced staff team, who have created an open and transparent atmosphere in the home.’ Another explained that the staff are all highly committed to improving the outcomes for every young person. Staff have regular opportunities to reflect on young people’s progress, their own performance, and to share and develop their skills and knowledge through their engagement in constructive, practice-related supervision and team meetings. Staff are very well supported and encouraged to develop their expertise through good- quality training relevant to the needs of the young people. Staff make the most of their training opportunities and use their learning to improve the effectiveness of how they

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

support young people. Thorough external scrutiny by an independent person and comprehensive reviews of the quality of care help the registered manager and acting manager to continue to make improvements that benefit young people. This is enhanced by the home’s detailed and organic workforce plan, which contributes effectively to the ongoing success of the home.

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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: SC475689 7

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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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Inspector

Chris Scully, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC475689 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 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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