Children's Home run by Witherslack Group Limited in Wiltshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2594854 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 part of a national organisation. The home provides care for up to five children.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, five children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a new manager in post and their application to register with Ofsted is in progress.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 2594854 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2594854 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a good experience of living in the home, they have positive relationships with staff and each other. Staff understand the needs of the children and support them to make good progress. For example, when children struggle to attend school, staff, with the help of the school staff and the therapy team, use individualised plans to support the child to attend. As a result, all children’s attendance has improved from when they moved in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is in very good order. It is warm and welcoming and provides the children with space to play and socialise. Staff refer to the kitchen as the ‘heart’ of the home and a lot of activity takes place there, for example cooking, talking and meeting up.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children told the inspectors that they enjoy living in the home and feel safe. Children were observed showing warmth and affection when engaging with adults, and adults were seen responding in a supportive, caring manner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain their hobbies and interests. For example, the home is well resourced with musical instruments, to reflect one child’s musical talent. Children also enjoy a range of activities in the home and the community. For example, during school holidays, children enjoyed learning new activities such a surfing and body boarding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend healthcare appointments and have their needs met. For example, staff sought guidance to increase their knowledge on how to help reduce a child’s anxiety around attending the dentist. Staff successfully used this to inform their practice and, as a result, the child attended their appointment.

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

The manager and staff know the children well and identify potential risks. and know what might upset each child. Risk assessments and care plans are detailed and provide the staff with strategies to best support the children. However, the inspectors found the blanket use of door alarms on all children rooms. The use of this restrictive practice is an imposition on children’s freedom of movement without rational. This practice has not been individually risk assessed, as recommended following the last inspection. A statutory requirement is set as a result of this inspection, (see below). In addition, the risk assessment for the keeping of pets to be out of date and did not accurately reflect the risks.

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

All staff are up to date with their mandatory training. Staff who contributed to the inspection demonstrate a sound knowledge of child protection and safeguarding. Inspection report for children's home: 2594854 4 Since the previous inspection in January 2022, children have gone missing from the home. The manager and staff have been quick to respond to this spike in incidents of missing from home. Staff manage the incidents well, and records capture the conversations the staff have with the children. As a result, there has been a significant reduction in the number of times that the children go missing.

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

Since the last inspection, some serious incidents have occurred. These have resulted in the staff physically restraining the children. There is evidence of management oversight of the use of restraint and learning and reflection by the staff. More recently, there has been a reduction in the number and seriousness of incidents.

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

Structured and personalised responses by staff mean that the children’s behaviours are mostly managed well. Staff are helping the children to gradually learn how to manage their anxieties and worries.

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good

Since the previous inspection in January 2022, a new manager has been in post. The manager receives good levels of support from the previous registered manager and members of the senior leadership team, resulting in a smooth transition of management.

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good

In the main, the manager reviews and monitors all records. However, the inspectors found that the manager had failed to ensure that the risk assessment for one child to keep a pet was not sufficiently robust. Furthermore, the strategy for the use of bedroom door alarms was unclear and left staff and the children confused.

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good

The manager has a good understanding of how the home is performing and the progress children are making. Children are listened to, and their views, alongside those of staff and professionals, contribute to the continuous improvement of the home. This means that the requirements made following the inspection in January 2022 have been met, although the recommendation about risk assessing the use of door alarms was not met. Staff now feel supervision is beneficial and effective. The independent person routinely captures the views of the children and professionals.

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good

Staff receive the right support and training to enable them to care for the children effectively. For example, staff expressed how supportive they find the new manager and how she encourages them to develop professionally. Consequently, staff morale is good.

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good

Senior leaders and the manager were swift to begin the process of addressing the shortfalls that are identified as part of this inspection Inspection report for children's home: 2594854 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

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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(g)(i)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to leaders and managers ensuring that risk assessments are kept up to date and accurately reflect the risk. In addition, that daily logs reflect the diets of children, and that advice is sought from specialised professionals in relation to diet and behaviours. 9 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; and 9 January 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 2594854 6 the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This directly relates to the leaders and managers routinely reviewing the use of bedroom door alarms and ensuring that the children are consulted and involved. In particular, to ensure that any form of monitoring does not unnecessarily restrict the liberty of children.

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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: 2594854 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: Witherslack Group, Lupton Tower, Lupton, Carnforth LA6 2PR

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Inspectors

Gary Turney, Social Care Inspector Linda Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2594854 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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