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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC475697 1 SC475697 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

This private home is registered to provide care for up to seven children. The home’s statement of purpose states that children may have a range of social and emotional difficulties or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2023. He is suitably experienced and is currently undertaking the necessary qualification.

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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: SC475697 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/03/2022 Full Good 16/12/2019 Full Good 10/07/2018 Full Outstanding 16/10/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC475697 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from long-term, stable placements at the home. They develop supportive and trusting relationships with staff. Children can talk to staff, and they feel listened to. Staff demonstrate that they understand children’s individual needs and provide them with nurturing care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Social workers said that children make progress when living in the home. Some examples of this include how children develop their independence skills, their relationship-building skills and their self-confidence. The staff team advocates on behalf of children to help improve their life chances. One parent said, ‘It is a lovely home. The children are very lucky to be there.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s school attendance has improved, and they engage well in their education. Children are supported to aspire and work towards their choice of future careers. In their social time, children engage in fun activities and hobbies. They are encouraged to get involved with the local community and have taken part in events such as a garden party for the Queen’s Jubilee, fundraising walks and charity work.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are in good health. Their individual health needs are monitored well by the staff team. Children are supported with their emotional health through weekly therapy sessions provided by the in-house clinical team. Children are kept active and encouraged to lead healthy lifestyles. They have gym memberships, and they are supported to eat balanced diets. This helps to promote children’s self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team helps facilitate and support regular family time to contribute to children’s positive well-being and identity. Children are helped to work through any difficulties in their family relationships, restore connections when appropriate and sustain positive relationships with those who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s voices are prominent in all aspects of their care. Their views about their experiences of living in the home are obtained regularly. Newly introduced takeaway nights provide children with the opportunity to share their thoughts about the home, using a relaxed and family-gathering approach. The manager responds to all the children through individual letters, to feedback on their requests, recognise their achievements and offer praise.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

As children prepare to move on from the home, the staff team undertakes purposeful work with them to develop their independence skills and educate them about making safe choices. Children’s transitions are planned and supported over a period of weeks to ensure that they are prepared for this next significant stage in their life. Inspection report for children’s home: SC475697 4

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

The children and their parents said that children feel safe in the home. The use of positive behaviour is fully supported in all aspects of the children’s care. Children have individualised behaviour plans. They are used to ensure that the staff team is consistent in their approach and provides the children with a sense of safety and well-being.

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

Individual sessions with children address their risks and use creative ways to educate them about making better choices and keeping themselves safe. The staff team also brings external professionals into the home to help develop children’s awareness of their personal safety.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff are proactive in trying to locate and return them home safely. Following serious incidents, the manager undertakes ‘lessons learned’ with the staff involved to identify alternative support or strategies that can be used to help children in times of crisis.

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

Initial safe allegation management procedures have been followed by the staff team when a child alleged poor practice by a member of staff. However, the manager failed to notify Ofsted about the incident. This was a requirement at the last inspection and has been restated. Furthermore, the records to evidence the child’s retraction of the allegation are not sufficiently recorded. They do not detail the discussion with the child or the context in which they retracted the allegation.

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

The manager has identified that the staff team would benefit from some training to help them recognise when some children should be given time and space to safely manage their own emotions, without the need for immediate staff intervention or prompts. A good practice recommendation has been made in relation to this.

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

Admission processes clearly consider children’s shared risks and how these risks can be effectively managed so that they are able to live with one another safely. Staff’s experiences and skills, as well as the training required to meet the needs of children moving into the home are also considered.

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

Risk plans are not robust. They do not clearly identify strategies for staff to follow to keep children safe, such as room searches, following incidents of children having harmed themselves. The manager’s oversight of incidents is not consistent. Records lack detail about the action taken by staff to safeguard children, and the manager has failed to identify this in his monitoring. This is something the manager has taken swift action to address.

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good

The manager is passionate about his role and motivated to provide children with high standards of care. He understands children’s journeys and promotes their independence, providing a safe place for children to take age-appropriate risks. He is Inspection report for children’s home: SC475697 5 a positive role model for children and has developed positive relationships with them all. One child referred to the manager as their ‘care Dad.’

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good

Management oversight is not robust. This specifically relates to the manager’s monitoring of incidents and records in the home. Several shortfalls were identified during the inspection in relation to this. This lack of management oversight limits opportunities for the manager to review the practice in the home and to improve the quality of the care provided to children.

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good

The staff team feels well supported, listened to and their ideas welcomed by the management team. Staff are provided with regular supervision, when reflective practice is used to identify areas of individual development. The manager has introduced a monitoring system to ensure that all staff are accountable in their roles and responsibilities. Team meetings also are effective in introducing learning and equipping staff with new skills and knowledge.

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good

The manager monitors staff training needs well. He is organised and ensures that staff attend refresher training within suitable timescales. The manager sources additional training that is specific to the needs of children, so that staff understand children’s behaviour and support them to the best of their ability.

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good

The staff team works effectively with external agencies, communicating consistently with key professionals so that children’s care is well informed. When necessary, the manager challenges external professionals or the decisions made in line with children’s views, wishes and feelings.

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good

The manager’s review of the quality of care report is completed every six months. However, he does not include children’s, staff’s or parents’ feedback about the home to provide a full evaluation of the quality of the service provided to children. This was a requirement at the last inspection and has been restated. Inspection report for children’s home: SC475697 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 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s risk plans are sufficiently detailed and provide clear strategies for staff to follow to keep children safe. 7 April 2023

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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 7 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC475697 7 promotes their welfare.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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.

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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

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 7 April 2023

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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—

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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.

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Requirement Due date

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))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 7 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC475697 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that in a restraint situation, staff should use their professional judgement, supported by their knowledge of each child’s risk assessment, an understanding of the needs of the child (as set out in their relevant plans) and an understanding of the risks the child faces. Staff training and supervision of practice should support this. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 48, paragraph 9.53)  The registered person should ensure that all staff, including the senior leadership team understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’,

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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: SC475697 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Witherslack Group Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Cheryl Field, Social Care Inspector Aislinn Cooper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC475697 10 inspects 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 who are looked after, safeguarding and child protection. 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

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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