Children's home run by Witherslack Group Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: SC475703 1 SC475703 Registered provider: Witherslack Group Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private provider and provides care for up to eight children aged eight to 18 years. It aims to provide a therapeutic environment to meet the social and emotional needs of children.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered in April 2014. The registered manager has been in post since May 2014.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC475703 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/08/2021 Full Good 22/08/2018 Full Outstanding 09/01/2018 Full Good 16/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC475703 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a positive environment for children. Children make progress because of the care that they receive. They benefit from being cared for by a staff team that knows them well. Relationships are good and children work with adults they can talk to and trust.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s emotional and physical health needs are met. They benefit from regular therapy sessions with the clinical team. These sessions help children to make sense of their past experiences. Children are able to explore their feelings, and they are supported to develop strategies to cope with difficult emotions. In addition, staff encourage and support children to attend health appointments, and children enjoy a healthy balanced diet. They are also encouraged to be physically active. This ensures that children lead a healthy lifestyle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s education. They help children to have good daily routines so that they maintain good school attendance. Staff attend meetings and reviews, with regular updates shared between the home and school, and this results in consistent practice. This close partnership working helps children achieve good educational outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and wishes are prioritised. Through regular key-work sessions, staff encourage children to express their views about the care that they receive. Children are aware of how to raise any concerns with the manager. Some of the children have chosen to have an advocate to help and support them. This gives a message that their voice is important. As a result, children feel valued and develop a sense of self-worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to prepare for their future. For example, staff support children to participate in developing independent living skills. This can include encouraging children to cook, shop and clean. This helps to equip them with the knowledge and skills they need for living independently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a broad range of stimulating activities and recreational opportunities. This includes horse riding and go karting. This helps children to learn new skills and develop improved self-confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are particularly supportive of children’s need to keep in touch with their families. They work with families and social workers to build up children’s relationships with their family. They ensure that visits to see family members are safely managed, sometimes supervising these when necessary. This support from staff helps children to enjoy valuable time with the people who are important to them. Inspection report for children’s home: SC475703 4

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

The manager responds effectively to safeguarding concerns that have the potential to place children at risk. Child protection records are well maintained and demonstrate effective partnership working with all safeguarding agencies. This helps to ensure that children are better protected from harm.

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

Children’s risk assessments and behaviour management plans are regularly updated to reflect current risks and behaviour. They provide staff with clear guidance on the actions to take to keep children safe. This helps to ensure that children are effectively safeguarded.

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

The manager makes sure that all children who move into the home have a detailed risk assessment in place. She carries out assessments on the likely impact of one child on another. This reduces the likelihood of disruption. In addition, this helps to ensure that children have reasonably harmonious relationships, and this reduces the risk of bullying and serious incidents.

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

Children are now better supported. This is because staff work closely with the organisation’s clinical team and have completed trauma-informed training. Staff use this training to help them to understand children’s experiences and find appropriate strategies to respond to children’s needs.

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

Staff only use physical restraint as a last resort, and they prioritise techniques to verbally de-escalate situations. Where physical restraint has been necessary, this is in line with good practice. There is effective management oversight and reflection for both children and staff. This oversight ensures that the use of physical restraint is safe and proportionate.

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

Overall, recruitment of staff follows safer recruitment guidance. However, on some occasions, leaders and managers did not follow their full recruitment process. They failed to ensure that all references were received and verified before staff started their employment. This failure to complete thorough checks does not promote children’s welfare and safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She is supported by two deputy managers and a team of permanent staff both new and long-standing. Agency staff are not used in the home. This means that children benefit from consistent staff arrangements, which helps to provide them with stability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive good levels of support from managers and say that they feel valued. They benefit from regular team meetings which are used as a forum to learn and share ideas. Supervision is consistent, and this helps them to develop the skills and knowledge needed to care for children effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: SC475703 5 The manager ensures that mandatory training is kept up to date, and she has systems in place for monitoring this. Staff are trained to meet the specific needs of the children they care for. This includes awareness training relating to children who may have autism spectrum disorder or self-harm. This training means that staff have the tools and knowledge to provide individualised, informed care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are good monitoring systems in place to help the manager track children’s progress. The manager has an effective working relationship with the independent person and uses this scrutiny to improve practice. However, there are times when the monitoring systems are not effective. Some children’s records are not up to date with all the relevant information. Some recordings do not show the dates and the name of the person completing them. This inconsistent recording does not provide the children with an accurate record of their time in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a strong advocate for children. She will professionally challenge others where needed. For example, she challenged a local authority when she did not agree with a child’s care plan. This ensures that children have access to the right help and support, which enables them to achieve best outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are strong collaborative working relationships between the home, children’s families and professionals. Child-focused meetings led by therapeutic practitioners enhance the individual care of the children. This means that children’s needs are kept at the forefront and reviewed regularly with all those involved with the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC475703 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, 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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(d)) 17 June 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 17 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC475703 7

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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 for children’s home: SC475703 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lupton Tower, Lupton, Carnforth LA6 2PR

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Inspectors

Evelyn Chafota, Social Care Inspector (lead) Rachel Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC475703 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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