Children's Home run by Witherslack Group Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC475748 1 SC475748 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 is a private children’s home registered to care for up to seven children. The home’s statement of purpose states that children living in this home 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 April 2022. He is suitably experienced and qualified.

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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: SC475748 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/03/2022 Full Good 21/01/2020 Full Outstanding 21/06/2018 Full Outstanding 24/10/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC475748 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with the staff team and their key workers. They feel listened to and trust staff to support them to deal with any concerns. Staff understand children’s individual needs and provide them with nurturing care. Consequently, children are well supported during difficult times in their lives. One child said that the best thing about living at the home is the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Social workers and children’s families report positively about the care children receive from the staff team. They say that children make significant progress while living in the home, such as good achievements in school, making friends and confidence-building. Care planning is well informed. Children receive the support and intervention that is requested by their placing authorities and in line with their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are regularly consulted about their experiences of living in the home. They engage well in house meetings, where they can confidently make suggestions about how their home life could be improved. Children’s happiness is a focus of the meetings. The manager ensures that all children’s requests are acknowledged and actioned when possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are monitored well by the staff team. External agencies are accessed when children require additional support to meet their health needs. The in-house therapist successfully engages all children in weekly sessions. She also undertakes regular consultation with the staff team and provides detailed reports for children’s care planning meetings. She is integral to the therapeutic approach adopted by the wider staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team supports children to see their families regularly. They help children restore and sustain positive relationships with their family where possible. Out of school, children are kept active through gym memberships and outdoor activities, such as walking, cycling and football. Children are encouraged to develop safe and appropriate networks of friends outside of the home. This helps to develop their social skills and self-confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s transitions into the home are planned in detail. The manager and therapist attend several introductory visits with the child, to provide support and offer them reassurance about their move. When children say that they are ready to move on from the home to be closer to family, their views are listened to, and planned transitions agreed with the placing authorities.

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

Children feel safe and secure in the home. On the occasions when children feel unsettled due to the behaviours of other children, the staff team responds effectively Inspection report for children’s home: SC475748 4 to offer children reassurance and to resolve the issues, including liaising with the therapy team to provide children with additional support and guidance as required.

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

Children’s behaviour management plans provide staff with clear strategies to support children when they are struggling to manage their emotions. They provide context for different triggers, including family loss and complexities, to ensure that staff fully understand children’s behaviours. Staff are skilled in using a range of de-escalation techniques to calm children in crisis. Restraint is used only as a last resort, when children’s behaviours escalate and they pose a significant risk of harm to themselves or others.

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

Children are given rewards for improvements in behaviour, significant achievements and meeting individual development targets. However, records of consequences are not always clear about the measures that staff have used, and some consequences given to children have not been recorded. Additionally, the manager does not always clearly evaluate the effectiveness of the consequence to determine whether it should be used again.

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

Staff are proactive in trying to prevent children from going missing from home and, if they are missing, to return them safely. The senior team works consistently with placing authorities and missing-from-home coordinators to agree strategies to help children to reduce their risk-taking behaviours. This includes reviewing the stability and safety of children’s placements when they are frequently reported missing to the police. Consequently, incidents of children going missing from home have significantly reduced.

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

Managers have responded sensitively to allegations made by children about their peers or members of staff. Prompt action has been taken to ensure that children have been appropriately safeguarded and clear preventative strategies have been implemented for staff to follow. Direct work and therapy sessions demonstrate that following an allegation made by a child about a peer, both children have been supported to understand appropriate relationships and personal space.

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

All serious incidents are dealt with appropriately. The manager’s evaluation of incidents is child-focused and he routinely discusses any lessons learned with staff. The staff team undertakes purposeful direct work with children following all incidents. Individual sessions provide additional opportunities for staff to talk through any concerns with children and educate them about making safer choices.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed confidence in his role since the last inspection. He has established positive and trusting relationships with the children. This is because he spends time with them, understands their needs and advocates on their behalf to improve their life chances. He embraces the therapeutic approach to care and models this well with the staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: SC475748 5 Staff spoke about the improvements to the operation of the home under the new manager. They feel supported by the senior team and say that there is an open-door policy, where staff can raise concerns or share new ideas. The staff team is provided with clear guidance and expectations from the manager about how care should be delivered. This means that children are provided with clear routines.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are well attended and are used to provide staff with additional learning. Staff all have access to regular practice-related supervisions. However, the records do not evidence that detailed and reflective discussions take place regarding children’s needs and progress. A good practice recommendation has been made in relation to this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager monitors staff training effectively. When required, he requests training that is specific to children’s individual needs to better equip the staff team. The manager also seeks support from the therapy team to undertake specific work with the staff team to enable them to support children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager promotes multidisciplinary working. He ensures that the staff team communicates regularly with children’s social workers and other key professionals involved in their care. The communication is appropriately balanced, keeping all professionals informed about children’s progress and any safeguarding concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring of records has improved. When he identifies any gaps in recording or areas for development, he sets action plans with clear timescales for staff to work to. His plans for improvements are shared with the staff team and he closely monitors that his requests have been carried out. At the last inspection, a recommendation was made for the manager to include feedback from children, parents, staff and professionals in his review of the quality of care report. This has not been fully addressed and has been escalated to a requirement. Inspection report for children’s home: SC475748 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

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—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

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

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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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 13 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC475748 7 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)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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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 quality of care provided for children.

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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)(a) (5)) 13 April 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive regular supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. Specifically, the supervision records should evidence that detailed and reflective discussions take place with staff regarding children’s needs and progress. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: SC475748 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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Inspectors

Cheryl Field, Social Care Inspector Lorna Schlechte, Senior His Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC475748 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 who are 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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