Children's Home run by Cumbria County Council in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report children’s home: 2617662 1 Registered provider: Cumbria County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority-owned home is registered to provide care for up to four children who are likely to have experienced emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The statement of purpose details the age range of children and young people as being from 12 to 17 years.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted when the home was registered in March 2021. The manager is suitably experienced and qualified, possessing a level 5 award in children’s residential management. ‘Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2617662 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home opened in April 2021, four children have moved into the home at a staggered pace. This has enabled the manager to fully assess the children’s needs and likely compatibility with each other. Consequently, children mostly get along well together and some have made good friendships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children share positive and meaningful relationships with staff. Children are treated with dignity and respect and, in return, children mostly show the same level of respect to staff. Children enjoy staff’s company and share lots of laughter and easy banter. One child described their relationships by saying ‘Staff are boss’, a slang term for excellent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and well-being are prioritised. Staff are proactive in ensuring that children’s health is appropriately assessed and access the right support for them. Children understand the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, so they eat well, take exercise, and avoid the use of illegal substances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively support and encourage children’s education and learning. All children attend education and are making good progress. As government restrictions eased when this home opened, the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic has not interrupted children’s education since coming to this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a good range of activities both in and outside the home. Children and staff together enjoyed a seaside holiday this year with activities such as go-karting, skating and swimming. A large paddling pool was also purchased for the garden so that the children could continue to enjoy having fun during the good weather.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know that they have a voice in this home. They regularly contribute their ideas for improving the home and are given freedom to decorate and furnish their bedrooms with their favourite things, which promotes their individuality and identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children also know how to complain if they are unhappy. Despite children being satisfied with the outcomes, complaints are not routinely well recorded to demonstrate the accurate response to the complaint made.

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

Children are clearly very happy in this home and feel increasingly safe with staff as their relationships develop. One social worker commented, ‘Staff are really proactive, [child’s name] speaks so positively of living here.’

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

Staff fully understand the children’s individual needs and vulnerabilities and plan for their safety, both in the home and outside. Children’s risk assessments are well constructed and understood by staff, who are proactive in their safeguarding. Risk assessments are reviewed regularly, and risk reduction is evident. Inspection report children’s home: 2617662 3 There have been two occasions when a child has been missing from the home. These occurred shortly after the home opened and staff dealt promptly and effectively with each incident, ensuring that children were welcomed back to the safety of the home. These incidents are a reflection on how happy and settled children feel.

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

Staff help and support children to work through their feelings and anxieties in a calm and measured way to avoid negative behaviours escalating. Staff have a sound understanding of children’s behaviours and likely triggers for such behaviour and have planned how to effectively manage these. Consequently, there have been no physical interventions required in this home.

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

Sanctions are occasionally used in response to poor behaviour. Some sanctions appear a little punitive at times, rather than restorative, but the record is not sufficiently detailed to be clear. Additionally, there is no evaluation of their individual effectiveness, but use of sanctions is becoming much rarer.

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

Recruitment practice is robust and promotes children’s safety. All staff are thoroughly checked and vetted prior to their appointment, reducing the likelihood of unsuitable adults working with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is effectively led and managed. The manager was appointed almost a year prior to the home opening. This has facilitated the development of the home prior to opening and her relationships in building a strong, qualified and experienced staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is working in accordance with its statement of purpose. However, some detail remains inaccurate that was noted at the home’s registration visit. A requirement has been made for this to be updated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff spoken to confirmed good morale within the staff team and have a shared ethos to improving the lives of the children they care for. Staff believe the quality of relationships achieved with children has so far been instrumental in the good outcomes the children have achieved since their starting points.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they feel well supported and have been impressed with the manager’s ability to achieve such a compatible group of children in this home. Despite the children all being very individual, they have blended well and accepted each other’s distinct personalities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff support, including regular supervision, staff meetings and training events have been successful in bonding them as a team, as well as supporting their personal development and practice. Inspection report children’s home: 2617662 4 Internal and external monitoring arrangement are proving effective. The manager’s regular monitoring and internal audits are successfully charting children’s progress and the continuing development of the home. Inspection report children’s home: 2617662 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

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 22 October 2021

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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

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; and 22 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 2617662 6 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)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to any sanctions children receive.

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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

Specifically, ensure that the record is comprehensive, dealing only with the issues raised and reflects children’s views concerning the outcome. 22 October 2021

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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: 2617662 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cumbria County Council, Cumbria House, 117 Botchergate, Carlisle CA1 1RD

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Inspector

Gillian Walters, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2617662 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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