Children's home run by Witherslack Group Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children’s home: SC475715 1 SC475715 Registered provider: Witherslack Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to seven children. The home’s statement of purpose states that children living in this home may experience a range of social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2020. She is suitably qualified and experienced.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC475715 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/03/2022 Full Good 24/09/2019 Full Outstanding 29/01/2019 Full Outstanding 24/07/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC475715 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children talk fondly about the staff and the trusting relationships they have with them. They feel cared for and well looked after by the staff team. Children said that the best thing about the home is the staff. Children are listened to, and they are comfortable talking to staff about their feelings. One child said, ‘Staff help me with my emotions, and they comfort me when I feel upset.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Social workers reported that children have made progress since coming to live at the home. One social worker said, ‘Key workers know the children like they are their own.’ Inspectors observed staff to be positive parent figures and role models in children’s lives. The staff team supports children with their homework and helps them to overcome any difficulties they experience at school. This has helped children to improve their overall school attendance.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to rebuild and sustain positive relationships with their families. The staff team works closely with social workers and placing authorities to promote regular family time for children, in line with children’s views and wishes.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in weekly therapy sessions with the in-house clinical team. Children’s health needs are understood and monitored by their key workers. The staff team prioritises children’s emotional well-being. Staff closely monitor other areas of children’s health, and encourage them to eat healthy diets and lead healthy lifestyles.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children leave the home, their transitions are mostly planned and well supported. The staff team advocates for children to ensure that when they move out of the home, it is to the right place with the correct support for the child. Children are also given memory books that include letters from staff reminiscing on the good times they spent with the child.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is well maintained and welcoming. The manager and staff team pride themselves on promoting a calm, family atmosphere in the home. A staff member’s dog regularly comes to the home. The children enjoy having him around their home and he provides comfort to the children.

p.3

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

The staff team brings stability and safety to the children’s lives. The staff team works with children to educate them about making safer choices and, because of this, most children’s risk-taking behaviour has reduced. During the inspection, staff demonstrated that they understand children’s individual risk behaviours and how to care for children safely. Inspection report for children’s home: SC475715 4 Matching risk assessments consider children’s shared risks and how these can be managed effectively when children move into the home. Children’s individual risk assessments and behaviour support plans are reviewed regularly. This ensures that staff are vigilant to children’s changing needs. Most importantly, the assessments include strategies that children have asked to be implemented to help them to manage their behaviour more effectively.

p.3

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

Incidents of going missing from home have significantly reduced in number. This shows that children feel safe and secure in their home. Records evidence that staff take immediate action to try to prevent children from going missing and they are proactive in trying to return children home safely. Debriefs with children explore their feelings and identify ways that staff can support them to reduce the risk of them going missing in future.

p.4

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

The use of restraint is low. This is because staff use effective de-escalation strategies with children and restraint is only used as a last resort. Restraint records are clear and concise. Both children and staff are spoken to about the incident and consideration is given to ways in which the incident could have been managed better. The manager always evaluates the suitability of the restraint, addressing any lessons learned with the staff involved.

p.4

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

Consequences for unwanted behaviour are not recorded. Furthermore, they have not been identified as such by the management team. This means that consequences have not been monitored by the manager in relation to their effectiveness. Additionally, there is not a clear system in place for the use of consequences.

p.4

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

Safeguarding incidents and allegations have been managed appropriately to safeguard children and those involved. Follow-up key-work sessions with children help them to understand decisions made, the safeguarding process and the outcome of investigations. When necessary, the senior team challenges other professionals to ensure that decisions made are consistent with children’s needs.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a good role model for the staff team. She is experienced, advocates on behalf of the children and has high aspirations for them. The manager’s home development plan identifies a clear vision for the coming months, including specific areas of the operation of the home that she aims to progress.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a committed and stable staff team in place, which provides consistency and continuity of care to children. Staff feel supported by the manager, and they are proud of the work they undertake with children. Staff said that the management team is approachable and there is an open-door policy in relation to staff sharing any concerns or safeguarding issues. Consequently, staff enjoy their roles and team morale is positive. Inspection report for children’s home: SC475715 5 An improved training matrix means that the manager monitors the staff team’s training needs effectively. She ensures that staff have access to training that is specific to the needs of the children. All staff are provided with regular practice- related supervisions. Annual appraisals evidence that staff are encouraged to follow their aspirations and supported with their individual professional development.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s location risk assessment provides clear strategies for reducing identified risks. However, the manager has not included the feedback she has gathered from specific safeguarding professionals in relation to any known risks in the local area. This means that there is not a robust assessment in place to assess the impact of the local area on the children currently living in the home or on any children who may move into the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s quality of care review report does not include feedback from children, staff or families to provide a full evaluation of the care provided to children. Additionally, the independent visitor does not always carry out their visits at suitable times of the day, to obtain regular feedback from children and staff about their experiences of living and working in the home. This means that the reports do not provide a clear overview of the quality of the service.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monthly monitoring has improved in quality. She sets action plans, with agreed timescales to address any shortfalls. When necessary, she escalates her requests to the relevant professionals and discusses areas for improvement in team meetings and in staff supervisions. In addition to this, the senior team facilitates a daily monitoring system that ensures that there is regular scrutiny of the operation of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC475715 6

p.5

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.

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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)(c)) 27 January 2023

p.6

Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it. 27 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC475715 7 The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (2)(b) (5))

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

p.7

Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2)) 27 January 2022

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair. This specifically relates to the manager implementing a clear system for the use of consequences, so that consistent and effective consequences are implemented by the staff team when supporting children to manage their behaviour. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)  The registered person should ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. This specifically relates to the independent visitor carrying out their visits at suitable times so that they can obtain regular feedback from children and staff about their experiences of living

p.7

Recommendations

and working in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

p.7

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: SC475715 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Witherslack Group Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Inspectors

Cheryl Field, Social Care Inspector Julie Elder, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC475715 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.

p.8

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9