Children's home run by Witherslack Group Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2533483 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 provider. It provides care for up to five children who experience social and emotional difficulties, including children who are at risk of, or vulnerable to, child sexual exploitation.

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Information about this children’s home

There are currently five children living in the home. Inspectors observed and spoke to three of the children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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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: 2533483 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/01/2023 Full Good 15/02/2022 Full Good 12/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 09/10/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2533483 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress while living in the home. Children receive consistent and nurturing care from a stable staff team. The manager and staff advocate on behalf of children. Children build strong bonds with staff members, which has helped to develop trusting relationships. Most of the children say they feel happy at the home. When a child says they are not happy living at the home, the manager and leadership team consider this seriously. This helps children to see that their views are important and taken seriously.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in their education. Children who previously did not attend an education provision are now attending regularly. One child has plans to progress to further education. This means that children can learn and develop skills that will benefit them throughout their life. Additionally, this raises children’s aspirations and improves their future life choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are fully supported by staff when they move out of the home. Staff help children to develop independence skills in preparation for their move. Staff are proactive in supporting children to navigate any obstacles. Staff keep in touch with the child and their network during the transition period and adapt plans where necessary. This increases the likelihood that children will be able to adapt to the change and be confident in their new environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of children’s complex needs and previous trauma. Children have access to therapeutic support. The support is individualised for each child and the therapeutic team is available to children in the home. The therapist provides structured sessions or informal support depending on the needs of the child. The staff engage with the specialists to increase their knowledge of how to better support children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to attend activities for learning and fun. Staff support children to follow their individual interests and hobbies. This helps children to develop social skills and confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of family ties and will advocate for children when appropriate arrangements are not in place. One child was supported to learn their heritage language. Children are supported to spend time with their family regardless of the geographical distance. This means that children can maintain family relationships, which promotes their sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The communal areas of the home provide ample space for children to enjoy time together. There are spaces for joint activities and individual quiet time. Bright and colourful furnishings provide a homely environment. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, which gives them a sense of ownership and belonging. However, the cleanliness and hygiene of some of the children’s bedrooms are not of an acceptable Inspection report for children’s home: 2533483 4 standard. This hinders opportunities to develop children’s self-care skills and raise their self-esteem.

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

Children say that they feel safe in the home. One child has expressed a wish to continue living at the home beyond their planned moving-on date. The child has developed skills to be able to recognise the need for further help and support.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s complex needs and vulnerabilities. Risks assessments are comprehensive and show where children need the most help and protection. Staff use the strategies in these risk assessments to help keep children safer.

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

Serious incidents and physical holds are rare. When they do occur, staff respond and record information appropriately. Children are given the opportunity to discuss and reflect on the incident. This helps children to share their views but also understand why they were held.

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

It is rare that children go missing from this home, even when this has been a noted risk previously. When children are identified as missing, there is a coordinated response to ensuring their safe return. Staff ensure that children’s welfare is paramount when they return home. Staff use non-blaming language to help the children feel safe. The manager requests return home interviews from placing authorities. However, the manager has not escalated concerns when children do not receive this service. This limits opportunities for the children to share their experiences and is a missed opportunity to gain information to prevent future incidents.

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

Direct work and conversations with children help them to understand risk and how to keep themselves safer. Children are supported to take age-appropriate risks in a managed way. This includes having free time in the community and access to social media. As a result, children develop resilience and the ability to make informed choices.

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

Staff carefully monitor children’s mobile phone use due to the known risks. Staff and the manager adopt the strategy that children lose the privilege of their mobile phone if there are concerns about what they are accessing. However, the manager does not monitor the frequency of such measures. This limits opportunities to evaluate the effectiveness of this intervention.

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

Important information about children is not recorded consistently in the children’s care plans. Children’s needs and medical conditions are not accurately recorded, such as allergies to specific medications and foods. As a result, staff are unclear which children are allergic to which foods and medicines. Children are at risk of suffering an allergic reaction, which is harmful to their health. Inspection report for children’s home: 2533483 5

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good

The home has a new manager, who has applied to become the registered manager. The quality of management oversight varies. He has a clear understanding of his own development needs and is passionate to make positive changes. The manager is supported by his senior leadership team.

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good

Some children’s records do not include their most recent statutory documents, which includes review minutes and care plans. One child’s plan includes actions from six years previously. The manager cannot be assured that the staff are always providing care in line with children’s most up-to-date care plans.

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good

Professionals and parents speak highly of the care children receive. One professional described the manager as a ‘strong advocate for children’. The manager has developed working relationships with professionals and can confidently communicate and seek information. However, the manager has not followed the escalation policy to hold placing authorities to account when information is not received.

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good

The manager’s monitoring and review systems are not effective. This means that the manager’s oversight does not always identify and act on shortfalls that will improve staff performance and therefore the care children receive. The manager has plans to make improvements, including evidencing his oversight of the home. The manager and senior leadership team are dedicated to making sustainable changes.

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good

The manager informs Ofsted when serious incidents occur and provides updates when necessary. However, the notifications are not consistently completed in a timely manner. This limits opportunities for independent oversight.

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good

The manager has developed a culture of high expectations in the home. His approach embodies the therapeutic ethos of the home. This helps staff to always be alert to children’s past experiences and trauma. Additionally, staff work flexibly as a team and say that they feel content and supported in their role. As a result, the children benefit from consistent care.

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good

The manager ensures that staff complete mandatory training. Staff also receive specific training that is relevant to children’s individual needs. The staff benefit from the support and guidance of the on-site therapeutic practitioner to improve their skills and knowledge. Staff use this knowledge to provide nurturing care to the children.

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good

Leaders and managers follow safer recruitment procedures. This ensures that any new staff are vetted and assessed as suitable to work with children. Where there are concerns raised about staff conduct, the manager and senior leadership team take swift action to safeguard children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2533483 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c)) 10 November

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff should support children to maintain clean and hygienic bedroom conditions. 10 November

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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 10 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2533483 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; and

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to children’s statutory documents and records of children’s health needs, such as allergies and diagnoses, being on file and accurate. 10 November

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline or strategy are subject to systems of regular scrutiny. In particular, the registered person should review the frequency and efficacy of any measures used. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)  The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should cover the action that should be followed if the event arises at the weekend or on a public holiday. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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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: 2533483 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

Cat Makel, Social Care Inspector Cherie Chen, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2533483 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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