Children's Home run by Cumbria County Council in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children’s home: 2574119 1 Registered provider: Cumbria County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by the local authority and provides care for up to four children. Three children were living at the home at the time of the visit.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a manager in place who was registered with Ofsted in February 2020.

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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: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2574119 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 19/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2574119 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home with adults who care and support them. Children report that they enjoy living within the home. One child said, ‘It is the next best thing to being with family.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are at different points on their learning journey and making varied progress. The manager is working with education professionals to overcome barriers to enable participation and learning opportunities. However, one child said that they were unaware of their education plans and reports spending the day in their bedroom.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s physical and emotional health needs are identified. Children are supported to access appropriate health services to promote their well-being. One child has support from a specialist professional to improve their physical health. One child smokes tobacco; they are not actively discouraged and are able to smoke within the garden area. This does not promote a healthy lifestyle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to complain; complaints are taken seriously and responded to clearly. When required urgent action is taken to address the complaint while the investigation is concluded. One child spoke about a complaint they had made being ‘petty,’ but they said staff listened to them and responded to this. This enables children to develop secure and trusting relationships with adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to take part in a range of activities, including ice skating, swimming, attending football matches, going walking and on days out to theme parks. Children also have an annual holiday and are involved in the planning of these trips.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s meetings take place on a fortnightly basis. Children are encouraged to share their views to influence the day-to-day running of the home. Children’s views are responded to and, as a result, children’s bedrooms have been updated and are personalised to their taste. This provides children with a sense of permanence and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to see their family on a regular basis. Consequently, children sustain relationships with people who are important to them. This helps them to maintain a sense of identity and belonging. Families are satisfied with the care that children are receiving and report that they are making progress. One family member said, ‘Staff go above and beyond, it was challenging to commence with but [name of child] has settled, the communication is excellent.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2574119 4

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

Children live in a home where they report feeling safe and well cared for. Children have developed positive relationships with staff and feel they are able to talk to adults if they feel worried.

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

Safeguarding practices within the home are effective. Staff understand children’s individual risks and respond appropriately. Risk assessments are updated on a regular basis. The manager evaluates significant incidents and updates plans accordingly.

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

When children go missing, there is a well coordinated response and staff follow the missing-from-home procedure. Staff have positive relationships with family members, enabling children to be quickly located and returned home safely. Children are offered return home interviews. The manager evaluates each incident and has collaborated proactively with social workers to support children to have regular time with their families. This has reduced the frequency of missing episodes.

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

Children are supported to develop independence in line with their ages. Older children can use public transport when visiting their families; this is appropriately assessed.

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

There has only been one incident of physical intervention since the last inspection. This was well documented and evaluated by the manager. Risk assessments were updated following the incident, identifying how to support the child if a similar incident were to happen again. The child was spoken to following the incident; they shared their views and was happy with the response that they received.

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

Children are supported to develop positive relationships with the police. A local officer visited the home with their police dogs, to talk to the children. This helped one child rebuild their trust in the police.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced and qualified registered manager runs the home. Two enthusiastic deputy managers support him. Recruitment has been effective and there is now a full staff team in place; this provides consistent care to children. Recruitment practices are robust and staff are suitably vetted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular practice-related supervision and reflective child-focused team meetings. New members of staff receive a good induction. Staff report feeling welcomed and feel supported by managers and the team to understand their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to a range of training to support them in their roles. Despite some delays in this being available to staff the manager has accessed other resources in the interim. This has supported the staff to understand the individual needs of children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2574119 5 Children have appropriate plans in place. However, not all care plans or pathway plans were available for all the children. One child said that they did not understand their pathway plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has completed a six-monthly quality of care review. However, they have failed to consistently consider the views of children or relevant professionals. Additionally, the completed report has not always been sent to Ofsted in line with regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is maintained to a good standard and safe for children. The garden is currently being landscaped ready for use within the summer months. One bathroom is not available for children to access, as this is designated for staff use. Consequently, this inhibits the feel of a family home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2574119 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 registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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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

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(b) (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to children’s views being included in the quality of care review and this being updated at least once every 6 months and sent to the regulator. 14 June 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children should be able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Limits on privacy and access may only be put in place to safeguard each child in the home (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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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, Inspection report for children’s home: 2574119 7 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: 2574119 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cumbria County Council, Cumbria House, 117 Botchergate, Carlisle CA1 1RD

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Inspectors

Kayleigh Treanor, Social Care Inspector Nichola Croft, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2574119 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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