Children's home run by Witherslack Group Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2585926 1 Registered provider: Witherslack Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to seven children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since the home opened on 26 May 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

There were seven children living in the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector spent time with all the children to observe and gather their views about living in the home.

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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 outstanding

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 26 October 2021

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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: 2585926 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2585926 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have stability and have made sustained progress because of living in this home. They are happy and say that they feel safe. One child said, ‘I don’t know where I’d be without [name of home]. It’s full of great new adventures.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive a warm welcome when they move into the home. The manager carries out a comprehensive assessment and plans well to ensure that arrangements are in place to help children to settle. He considers the needs of children who already live in the home. A social worker was complimentary about the staff’s approach and the welcome a child received. The social worker said, ‘The staff made a real fuss of [name of child], which helped him to settle.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have excellent relationships with the staff. The manager carefully matches children with their key worker. He considers any shared interests and the role models that the children need in their lives. The quality time that the children spend with their key worker helps them to understand the child’s identity and what matters to them. These meaningful relationships are significant to the children during their stay at the home and when they leave.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to live a healthy lifestyle. Age-appropriate routines are used to help the children to have good sleep and personal hygiene routines. An innovative project, developed by the manager, has helped the children to learn about healthy eating and the benefits of daily physical activity. Some children have gone on to enjoy mountain treks. Other children, who once avoided socialising, have joined a community gym. The children are proud of these achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children learn about employment, and they develop the skills that they need to find work in the future. The manager has created a child-friendly work scheme, which provides the children with ‘jobs’, such as ‘food and beverage manager’. Children complete a job application, attend an interview and carry out simple tasks each week. Children gain confidence from these responsibilities, while earning additional pocket money. One child is proud that they have saved their wages. The process has given another child the confidence to apply for a volunteer role at their school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and personalised by the children. A large annex building has been completely refurbished to create a child-friendly zone for the children to relax and play. Using children’s feedback and ideas, the room is brightly decorated, innovatively designed, and personalised with the children’s belongings. This very popular area, which has a large variety of games, offers every child something to enjoy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff work in partnership with the children’s families and have excellent relationships with them. This helps parents to feel well involved in their Inspection report for children’s home: 2585926 4 children’s lives. This is because the staff consult with them about important decisions, and they provide regular updates about their child. Parents say that they are impressed with the care that their children receive. One parent said, ‘It’s fantastic, the way they’ve brought my bairn up, helping [name of child] get ahead in life.’ Another parent said, ‘The staff have saved [name of child] from going down the wrong path, we wouldn’t be where we are now without them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s memory books have improved. They are now creative and of good quality. Photos of the children show how they have grown and changed. Books include notes and warm sentiments from the staff about the positive experiences that the children have enjoyed. This helps the children to remember the good times in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Communication between the staff and professionals is excellent. Social workers speak highly of the information that they receive and about the quality of care that is provided to the children. One social worker said, ‘The staff go above and beyond. [Name of child] is in the right place, [name of child] feels safe, heard and validated.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with the people who are important to them. The staff provide excellent support to help the children to enjoy their family time, including with people who they have not seen for some time or who live a long distance away. Most children’s family plans are up to date and reflect the children’s needs. However, in one example, other types of family time were not included, such as how letterbox contact would be facilitated.

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

Risks to children have significantly reduced. The children’s risks are well understood by the manager and staff. This means that the staff provide the children with targeted intervention so that the children’s risks are well managed.

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

Children say that they feel safe in the home. The manager and staff analyse the risks to the children and consider the various factors which may change the risk to the child, for example upcoming stressful events affecting mood. Strategies to manage the children’s vulnerabilities are regularly reviewed so that all the staff know how to respond. The staff are vigilant and show curiosity when the children develop new friendships, particularly online. This results in quick intervention when concerns emerge. This helps to promote the children’s safety.

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

Children are supported to talk about their past trauma and the matters which affect their lives. The staff provide the children with reassurance and high levels of emotional support. This helps the children to develop trusting relationships and be confident that the staff will listen to them. Regular conversations between the children and staff help the children to identify their worries and speak openly. When there are concerns about the children’s safety, the staff ensure that this information is shared with the relevant professionals. Inspection report for children’s home: 2585926 5 Children’s behaviour has significantly improved. This is because of the consistent guidance and high levels of emotional support the staff provide to the children. Consequences to negative behaviour are rarely used. Instead, a personalised incentive scheme motivates the children to work towards their individualised targets and to be rewarded. Children are encouraged to overcome challenges,

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

develop resilience and to try again to achieve their goals.

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

Missing-from-home incidents are extremely rare. When they do occur, the staff take effective action and follow the agreed local protocols, which includes searching for the child and contacting family and friends. Return home interviews are used effectively. In one example, the manager’s enquiries and support to the child helped to immediately identify the reason for the incident. As a result, the manager led a piece of work, in partnership with the placing authority and child’s family, to address the child’s needs and prevent further missing-from-home incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is managed effectively by an experienced registered manager and deputy manager. Together, they deliver consistently strong leadership and actively look for ways to improve the service that they provide to children. They also share good practice with other agencies and children’s homes to benefit other children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager’s calm and compassionate attitude permeates throughout the home. This creates a caring and nurturing atmosphere for the children to live and recover from previous negative life experiences. The manager and staff care deeply for the children, and they have high aspirations for their future. Staff describe the home as having a ‘family feel’ and say that they and the children are ‘part of one big family’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home’s therapeutic approach is promoted through strong links with the psychological service. The child-focused meetings, which take place as part of this offer, provide the staff with the opportunity to reflect, identify concerns and celebrate the children’s progress. These sessions help the staff to understand the children’s individual responses to the trauma and how they can best support the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The innovative manager routinely introduces new ideas and projects designed to engage the children and enhance their life experiences. He leads and inspires a committed team of staff who, like him, are highly motivated to deliver high standards of care to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has a growth mindset, and he invests heavily in developing the staff team. This approach supports the staff to excel in their practice and to progress in their roles. Staff receive specialist training which clearly aligns with the children’s needs. The manager also carries out regular observations of the day and night staff to evaluate their practice. This ensures that the staff’s training needs and areas for development are quickly identified and addressed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2585926 6 The staff have huge confidence in the leadership of the home. They feel valued and well supported. They receive practice-related supervision sessions, impromptu conversations and daily guidance from senior staff. Staff say that they feel confident about raising issues and trust that their views are considered. One staff member said, ‘I can go to my manager about anything, big or small.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Inspection report for children’s home: 2585926 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s family time plans include all forms of family time, including letterbox contact, to ensure that this takes place in accordance with the child’s needs (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.1)

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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: 2585926 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Witherslack Group Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Catherine Heron, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2585926 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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