Children's Home run by Witherslack Group Limited in Bradford

Inspection report children's home: 1244280 1 Registered provider: Witherslack Group Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and run. It provides a therapeutic facility to meet the care and accommodation needs for up to seven children who have emotional and/or behavioural problems. In the same grounds there is another children’s home and a school, both of which are separately registered and owned by the same provider. All the children living at this home attend the on-site school. There is a manager in post who registered with Ofsted in March 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

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. We last visited this setting on 14 January 2020 to carry out a full inspection. The report is published on our website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 14 January 2020

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1244280 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2020 Full Good 12/03/2019 Full Good 27/11/2018 Full Inadequate 17/07/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: 1244280 3

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improvement to be good

Children speak positively about the majority of staff and in the main supportive relationships have developed. Children say that they feel their relationships with staff are not always positive and that their care is not always consistent in relation to boundaries. Children are aware that there are systems in place for them to share how they feel and recognise the regulator as one of those. However, children shared that they do not always feel listened to when speaking about staff practice with managers and leaders.

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improvement to be good

All the children have experienced stability of care for over two years. They enjoy living at the home. However, for one child this has changed and their views about how well staff care for them fluctuates, this has resulted in them wanting to move from the home. Staff have shared these views with the local authority who are responding.

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improvement to be good

Children’s care and support are personalised, which has helped them to thrive from their starting points. The staff know the children very well and spend time talking with the children, involving them in their plans and in the running of the home.

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improvement to be good

Children attend school regularly and all children are making good progress. Some children have recently completed exams and they are looking forward to going to college. The decline in one child’s school attendance and attainment is being addressed by staff and education professionals. The support being provided is helping to motivate the child’s engagement in education-based activities.

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improvement to be good

Children participate in a range of activities that they enjoy. The staff have supported children to help other people in the community. For example, clearing up the snow in the local area. Children have also delivered food parcels to homeless people. These acts of kindness teach the children to treat others with humility and respect.

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improvement to be good

Children engage in their health plans. Clinical support ensures that the appropriate level of oversight of the child’s emotional and psychological well-being is in place. This enables children to access health services that meet their needs.

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improvement to be good

Children chair their own meetings and hold champion and COVID-19 ambassador roles. This boosts their confidence and helps them to influence decisions. Family time is actively promoted and facilitated by the staff team. This helps children to keep in touch with their loved ones. Inspection report children’s home: 1244280 4

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improvement to be good

Staff follow the protocol when children go missing from home. Episodes of going missing from the home relate to one child and the numbers of incidents vary. However, records show that on one occasion staff showed a lack of understanding of professional boundaries while following this protocol. Staff included a child while undertaking searches for another child who had gone missing from the home. The recording of the incident showed concerns in relation to staff practice, health and safety matters and breaches of children’s confidentiality. This caused distress to the children. The provider has since taken action to address the practice shortfalls.

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improvement to be good

Some of the children self-harm as a means of dealing with their emotions. Not all staff were aware of the correct location of safety equipment should this occur. This leaves children at potential risk of serious harm.

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improvement to be good

The effective partnerships between the managers, staff and clinical team provide a good oversight of the children’s safety plans, which are kept under regular review. On one occasion the removal of one child’s furniture and most of their possessions for approximately two weeks was done with the approval from the child’s placing authority and clinical team on safeguarding grounds. However, the impact on other children living at the home of these restrictions does not promote an environment in which children flourish.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the effect of child sexual exploitation on the children’s vulnerabilities. Staff express frustration about the limitations on their ability to remove a child’s mobile phone for perceived safety reasons. Multi-agency oversight ensures that everyone is working together to address safety issues. However, risk management strategies are not leading to positive change in one child’s overall safety.

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improvement to be good

Staff have undertaken work with children around safe internet use. This has resulted in children having a better understanding of the risk posed by internet use and has reduced one child’s inappropriate usage.

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good

The registered manager knows the children well and they are ambitious for the children to succeed. However, the monitoring and oversight of practice has resulted in shortfalls.

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good

There is a clear system in place for managing and responding to complaints. Not all of the complaints made by children show a clear audit trail confirming that children are satisfied with the outcome of the complaints. The absence of this information makes it unclear how the manager uses the information to inform developments in the home. Inspection report children’s home: 1244280 5 One child made a formal complaint about a staff member and other children spoke about this member of staff during the inspection. This shows that information has been known by the provider for several months. Given that the children are still raising similar concerns indicates that there are issues in how the management and staff team address children’s complaints.

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good

The restrictions to a child’s liberty, that were put in place to safeguard the child from self-harm, are not in accordance with a legal order or the provider’s approach as set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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good

Ofsted has not been notified on every occasion about serious incidents in a timely way. This has hindered the regulator from monitoring the home’s safeguarding practices.

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good

The staff speak positively about the quality of management and peer support. They feel that dynamics in the team have improved and that there is consistency in their approach. All the staff confirm that they receive regular reflective supervision and training opportunities. This enhances the capacity for the staff to care for children and meet their individual needs.

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good

Professionals speak positively about the quality of their relationships and communication with the management and staff team. Inspection report children’s home: 1244280 6

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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, the 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This refers to staff having a shared understanding about the location of the ligature cutters in the home. 31 July 2021

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

Make a clear record of the outcome of complaints that children make and of the outcome being shared with the children where appropriate. Ensure professional boundaries are set and adhered to within the staff team to protect the safety, well-being and confidentiality of all children. 31 July 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 1244280 7 Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (5)) 31 July 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

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(c)) 31 July 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: 1244280 8

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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

Jacqueline Malcolm, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1244280 9 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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