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

This home is owned by a large national organisation. It provides care and accommodation for up to eight children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The manager registered with Ofsted in 2016.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 17 to 18 September 2019

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and children, taking into account

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good

How well children and children 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: 13 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: SC475680 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/09/2018 Full Good 11/09/2017 Full Good 09/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/08/2016 Full Good 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— promotes their welfare. (Regulation 13 (1)(b)) This is with particular regard to countering bullying. 10/11/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only— employ an individual to work at the children’s home; if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). The requirements are that— the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (‘the Level 3 Diploma’); or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. (Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(3)(b)(4)(a)(b)) 10/11/2019

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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 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their initial starting points. A teacher praised the positive difference that they noticed in a young person since he began living at the home. Most children have lived at the home for over a year. Children are growing in confidence, empathy, self-awareness and resilience. The culture of the home allows children to thrive and they have aspirations for their futures. Children actively contribute to decision-making, influencing menus, activities, life at the home and staff recruitment. Staff work holistically with children to provide targeted support. Meaningful key-work sessions enable staff to have honest conversations with children. This assists with children’s personal development, encouraging self-reflection and building on their self- worth. Most children are achieving well educationally, and they have recently completed their exams. Off-site schools, linked to the same provider as the home, are well attended.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are a wide range of social activities provided to children during the school holidays, including trips out to Alton Towers and a waterpark. Children try a variety of new experiences, such as army cadets and Scouting. Children enjoy movie nights, gaming competitions and barbecues. They also contribute to life at the home through gardening, creating art, baking and cooking. Children receive encouragement to lead healthy lifestyles. They eat a balanced diet and receive assistance to maintain a healthy weight. Children enjoy a range of physical exercises, including swimming, football, cycling, boxing and going to the gym. The home places emphasis on addressing the emotional well-being of children. This enables children to request support regarding their mental health. Young people also receive guidance on healthy personal relationships and sexual health.

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How well children and children are helped and protected: good

Children said that they feel safe. The home implements effective safeguarding arrangements. There are currently some concerns in relation to bullying. The registered manager is not always aware of incidents that have happened. While the concerns are being logged, the information is not being passed over in handover or into the central bullying log. As a result, the bullying is not being monitored effectively. To date there have been no staff meetings to talk about the bullying in the home, so no formal strategy on how it is going to be managed has been implemented. A social work manager praised staff at the home for having ‘a child-centred, restorative and trauma-informed approach to their work’. The challenging behaviours of children are seen as a form of communication and staff work hard not to criminalise children. Children generally care about each other and they disclose to staff if they have any

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How well children and children are helped and protected: good

Inspection report children’s home: SC475680 5 safeguarding concerns regarding their peers. Staff also benefit from ongoing relevant training, which helps them to protect children. There are clear strategies and effective interventions for managing risks, which include waking night staff and room searches. Leaders and managers acknowledge when they are unable to meet children’s complex needs. When this is the case, they work with placing authorities to ensure that children move on in a planned manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are working hard to establish a stable staff team and ensure the implementation of consistent and child-focused practice. Staff concerns are managed appropriately and, where necessary, disciplinary procedures are used to address poor staff practice. The diverse staff team has a youthful enthusiasm and a wide range of previous experiences. Staff expertise includes sport coaching, armed services, sports development and teaching. Social workers praised staff for being ‘very proactive’ and ‘empathic’. A strength of the organisation is the significant support provided to leaders, managers and staff from senior managers. This ensures that there is a clear understanding of the home’s aims, what works well and the areas for further development. There is a firm commitment to helping children to believe in themselves and maximising their potential. Monthly independent monitoring reports provide a constructive overview of the home

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

and highlight the home’s strengths and areas for improvement. The registered manager also completes a detailed quality of care review. Leaders and managers demonstrate commitment to the well-being and development of staff. Staff have regular individual supervision, appraisals, team meetings and extensive training. Vocational training is in progress for staff who do not have the necessary qualification. Two staff members highlighted at the previous inspection as having not completed their diploma in children and young people in the required timescale remain, a year on, not yet qualified. While this delay is related to issues around assessors, timely completion of the qualification is required. Leaders and managers have addressed all but one requirement from the last inspection and the one recommendation from the last inspection has been repeated.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and children. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and children. They watched how professional staff work with children and children and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and children and their families. In addition, Inspection report children’s home: SC475680 6 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 children 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 7

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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: SC475680 8 achieve excellence in the care of children and children, 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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