Children's Home run by A Wilderness Way Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children’s home: 2690527 1 Registered provider: A Wilderness Way Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides care for up to six children in up to four buildings within this single registration. This is a multi-building children’s home.

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Information about this children’s home

A multi-building children’s home allows the provider, in agreement with the placing authority, to make child-centred decisions about where each child lives and to ensure that their individual needs are met.

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Information about this children’s home

These homes offer short-term intensive stays, typically lasting for 17 weeks in duration. One child resides in each house and is supported by two carers.

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Information about this children’s home

An application for the registered manager’s post has been submitted to 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 good

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2690527 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2690527 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This is the first inspection of the home since registration. This service operates from four separate houses.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides children with a safe and nurturing environment in which children’s needs are consistently met. Staff are skilled in building effective and trusting relationships with children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences in a short time. This supports children to settle into the houses.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress from their starting points. This is captured well in children’s records. The home provides children with access to a therapist, education tutor and a children’s nurse. Collaborative working means that children receive consistent therapeutic care from all professionals supporting their individual needs. Children benefit from this holistic model of care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and wishes are encouraged, understood and responded to well. Some children have been involved in interviewing prospective staff members to work in the home. This empowers children to take part in practices that impact on their lives. It also provides children with valuable life skills. One young person said, ‘I thought it was going to be the worst time of my life, but it turned out to be the best time of my life.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a wide range of therapeutic outdoor-based activities. This enables children to experience new adventures and develop new skills. Children are also provided with many opportunities for informal learning that meets their individual interests. One house had the child’s jigsaws framed and hung on the walls to celebrate the child’s passion for completing intricate jigsaws.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive transition plans support children to move successfully to a new home. Staff promote positive endings and children are provided with creative digital memory books. This means that children leave the home with lovely memories of their experiences. This supports children’s identities.

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

Children told inspectors that they feel safe. Professionals said that there is a strong and proactive response from staff to ensure children’s safety. One birth family member said, ‘The home is keeping my grandchild safe.’

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

Individual risk assessments are robust. Staff understand and follow the strategies to reduce risks. Managers support staff to understand the triggers for behaviours and look to implement new strategies. For example, a support team meeting and refresher workshop for safer handling was held for all staff in one home. The Inspection report for children’s home: 2690527 4 purpose of this was to upskill staff and support their confidence in responding to emerging behaviours from a child.

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

When children go missing from the home, which is not often, there is a well- coordinated response from the home and police. Records show that staff understand the procedures to follow in trying to locate the child. However, the manager does need to ensure that children consistently receive return home interviews.

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

Children receive help and support to manage their behaviours safely. Direct work with children is targeted to address risk-taking behaviour and it educates children in how to keep safe.

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

The manager is proactive in responding to any shortfalls in practice with lessons learned, individual and team learning and refresher training. However, the manager needs to understand when the threshold for staff disciplinary has been met and initiate and implement their own disciplinary policy. A requirement has been made to address this shortfall.

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

Safer recruitment practice at the home ensures that all staff are appropriately checked and vetted before coming to work in the home. This helps to ensure that the home is a safe place for children to live.

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

The physical environment of all the homes is safe, warm and welcoming. They are all furnished to a very high standard. When damage has been caused, this is repaired quickly. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, and children were proud to show inspectors their homes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The acting manager has submitted her application to the regulator. Having worked in the company for many years, she has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas of development. She is supported by an assistant manager, who demonstrated a robust knowledge and understanding of the service. They work well together.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular and purposeful team meetings and practice-related supervision ensure that staff understand their roles, the needs of the children and how best to support them. This aids staff to put skills and learning into practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a good induction programme in place for new staff, which supports them to understand and learn about their role. Staff are committed to training and are up to date with mandatory training. One member of staff said, ‘For the first time in my employment, I feel valued and part of something great – they respect me and ask my advice.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children know how to make a complaint and have complained. These complaints are taken seriously and are responded to appropriately. However, the manager needs to Inspection report for children’s home: 2690527 5 ensure that children have the opportunity to respond to the outcome of the complaint and record if they are satisfied with the outcome.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff build effective relationships with professionals who are external to the home. Feedback from professionals and birth family is complimentary of the care provided to children and, in particular, how staff support family time. This helps children maintain positive relationships with the people that are important to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers are strong advocates when services or professionals have been slow to respond and they have challenged these shortfalls effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: 2690527 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, The 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 prepare and implement a policy which—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children’s home from abuse or neglect. (Regulation 34 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should implement their own disciplinary policy when the threshold for staff disciplinary has been met. 12 October 2023

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Recommendations

 When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should make best use of information from internal monitoring systems to ensure continuous improvements. Specifically, they should ensure that children have the ability to respond to the outcome of a complaint they have made to determine if they are satisfied with the outcome and that this is recorded. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: 2690527 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: A Wilderness Way Ltd

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Inspectors

Nicola Clements, Social Care Inspector Julie Elder, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2690527 8 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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