Children's Home run by A Wilderness Way Limited in Cumbria

Inspection report children’s home: 2594825 1 Registered provider: A Wilderness Way Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home provides care for up to five children or young people. The service provides a settled period of residential care, with a therapeutic emphasis and multi-agency involvement. The aim is to help children and young people to recover from experiences which have rendered them vulnerable and disrupted their primary relationships.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted at the same time as the home’s registration in September 2020. The manager is appropriately qualified, having a registered manager’s award and level 5 equivalent diploma in children’s residential leadership and management.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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: not applicable. This is the home’s first full inspection since it registered in September 2020.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2594825 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children settle well at this home. They are provided with a safe haven that gives them respite from the chaotic lives they were previously living. For some, this means an escape from gang culture, crime, and criminal and/or sexual exploitation. Children are helped to understand and reflect on the risks they have been exposed to and are guided towards more positive life choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and wishes are encouraged, routinely considered and contribute to their care planning. Ordinarily, children have a wide range of outdoor activities they can experience, including canoeing, paddle boarding and camping. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, many of these outdoor activities have not been possible. Nevertheless, staff have made good use of the indoor and outdoor space at the home’s location for children to learn new skills, including bush craft, camp safety and baking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are skilled in helping children to feel safe and secure at the home. Children benefit from the sensitivity and nurture shown by staff. Children generally form very positive and meaningful relationships with staff. Eventually, they trust staff enough that they share experiences they had before coming to the home, which allows staff to help them to make sense of these.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For those children admitted for short-term crisis support, mainstream education initially is not practical or feasible. Most have not attended or engaged with education for considerable periods before coming to the home. Limited formal tuition is provided in-house by one of the company’s qualified teachers. Care staff actively encourage and support children’s education using a wide range of learning resources available to staff. They learn about their environment, the risks associated with their behaviours before coming to the home and understand the safeguarding concerns that adults have for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although the home primarily provides care for children in need of short-term care during a crisis period in their lives, it has also successfully provided care for some children who have previously been supported through crisis at one of the company’s other homes. For example, one child, who has since left the home, was successfully engaged in a college course before returning to live closer to his family in his home area. He has achieved independence. He lives on his own and now works alongside a family member, using skills learned at college.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health is well prioritised, especially their mental health and emotional well- being. Children benefit from good access to an in-house therapeutic team that works closely with them and their staff team. The home also has strong links with the local children and adolescent mental health services, which ensures that further guidance and support are readily available. Inspection report children’s home: 2594825 3 Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions easing, children’s face-to-face contact with social workers and family members was significantly reduced. Some really struggled with this but were encouraged to keep in touch regularly via telephone and video calling technology.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s placing authorities express considerable confidence in the care provided at this home. One social worker spoken to commented: ‘We are really pleased with this placement. Nothing seems to be an issue to them. This is a solid starting point for [name of child], staff are confident and working hard to build relationships with her. I had a statutory visit last week. The atmosphere was really good, the home was lovely and clean, and smelled fresh.’

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

Children say they feel safe and are confident that staff understand how to keep them safe and make them feel safe. Risk assessments thoroughly identify potential risks and how these are to be managed. More specifically, they identify the strategies that can used to reduce those risks.

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

The home has adhered to government guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Good hygiene and infection control arrangements in the home promote children’s and staff’s health and safety. Staff test themselves for the virus regularly and, so far, there have been no cases of COVID-19 in the home.

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

The quality of relationships staff share with children has a positive impact on children’s behaviour. Children are treated with respect, and staff use their good communication skills to talk through any concerns, feelings of anger or anxieties. So far, staff have successfully used de-escalation skills to avoid the use of physical intervention. Consequently, children have not been placed at any further risk of harm.

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

Sanctions are used infrequently but when they are, records suggest that they are reasonable, fair and proportionate. However, the records reviewed on this occasion were incomplete and failed to reflect the effectiveness of the sanction. Additionally, the records did not confirm what management oversight had taken place as this part of the record was also incomplete.

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

Since opening, the home has dealt successfully with one allegation concerning a member of staff. Despite following protocol by notifying the designated officer and completing a thorough investigation, the manager failed to notify Ofsted of the event. This shortfall reflects on the effectiveness of leadership and management and fails to promote transparency with Ofsted.

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

Children know how to make complaints and this process is clearly detailed in the children’s handbook. However, although only one complaint has been made since the home opened, the detail recorded is insufficient and does not inspire confidence for the inspector to believe that the child has received appropriate feedback and understands exactly how the complaint has been dealt with. Inspection report children’s home: 2594825 4 Safer recruitment practice is followed appropriately when new staff are being appointed. The rigor shown leaves no doubt that managers ensure that all adults are appropriately checked and vetted before being allowed to work with children in the home. This ensures that children are not put at any further risk by unsuitable adults who may cause them harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced and skilled manager who is ambitious for the children in his care. He has considerable knowledge of the children in the home and how staff are meeting their needs. His interest and enthusiasm clearly influence staff to share his passion and motivation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff talk of there being good morale within the staff team and considerable motivation to achieve good outcomes for children. Staff say they feel very supported by the registered manager and the senior leadership team. There is a shared understanding of how children’s needs are to be met and the individual support each child requires. This means that children continue to receive good continuity of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that managers have remained accessible and supportive to staff throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff feel valued that supervision and training opportunities have continued throughout this period and that team discussions have been maintained. This has allowed them to maintain high standards of practice with good opportunities to reflect and learn from their practice. Staff also share a good understanding of children’s good progress and achievements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite failing to notify Ofsted of one allegation that was made, the manager has otherwise kept Ofsted informed of significant incidents. One incident included a fire in the grounds of the home that caused significant damage to an outbuilding. Staff responded to this incident without delay. They tackled the fire while waiting for the fire crew to arrive to take over and ensure that the building was made safe. No one was harmed, but the incident did lead to one child moving on from the home prematurely for his own safety and that of others in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Strong working partnerships exist with placing authorities and other key agencies. Internal monitoring is robust. The manager was able to share a draft copy of his first quality of care review report. This demonstrates his clear understanding of the home’s strengths and identifies areas to influence the home’s improvement planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Reports received by Ofsted from the home’s independent person fail to reflect a rigorous approach to the external monitoring of the home. Consultation with children, their families and professionals has not been routinely sought. Despite the relaxation of regulations until mid-September 2020, the independent person has not used available technology to the full to consult effectively with children and other stakeholders. Additionally, formal recommendations for improvement have not been sufficiently detailed. Inspection report children’s home: 2594825 5

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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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure, and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to the provider ensuring that sanctions are comprehensively recorded. 24 May 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to the provider ensuring that the recording process achieves a clear and comprehensive account of complaints and how they are concluded. 24 May 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 24 May 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2594825 6 The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (4)(a)(b) (5)) 24 May 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s safeguarding arrangements and activity that promotes the welfare of children living in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: 2594825 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: A Wilderness Way Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Stoneybeck, Bowscar, Penrith CA11 8RP

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Inspector

Gillian Walters, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2594825 8 to 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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