Children's Home run by Witherslack Group Limited in Wakefield

Inspection report for children’s home: 2509298 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

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to seven children who may experience emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2019, when the home opened.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2509298 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/03/2023 Full Good 18/01/2022 Full Good 28/08/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2509298 3

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improvement to be good

The progress and experiences of some children are impacted by the blanket policy of using door sensors, checking children’s mobile phones and the disproportionate restrictions in place. This limits children’s opportunities to learn to manage these risks safely while preparing for independence.

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improvement to be good

The responses to children in some cases when children have shared their concerns have been negative. The language used in some records towards children is punitive and blaming. Conversations about the use of door sensors are not individualised to children. The records indicate the same conversation held with a group of children was repeated, word for word, with another child several months later. While children understood the focus of the discussion, the voice of the child was not captured and there was no evidence that children’s views were sought.

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improvement to be good

Children have good relationships with staff. Staff use their relationships to support and promote positive relationships between children and their families. A carer for a child said she would give a staff member ‘a big gold star’ for the level of support provided to her and her child when they returned home.

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improvement to be good

Children have good attendance at school. This is supported by clinical staff who work with children and staff at school and at the home. The additional support from the clinical team has been pivotal to ensuring that staff understand the needs of children.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are identified and met. The manager and staff support children to access their health appointments and seek specialist help, if needed.

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improvement to be good

Children move into the home in a planned way. The manager visits children and supports them to visit the home before they move in. This enables a smooth transition and ensures that children know what to expect before moving in.

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improvement to be good

The large and spacious home environment promotes a sense of belonging for the children. It is homely and well maintained. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, and photos on the walls in communal areas show children having fun.

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improvement to be good

Children are generally kept safe and feel safe living at the home. Their trusting relationships with staff enable them to speak to trusted adults if they are worried. However, not all staff have a clear understanding of children’s free time and the strategies they should apply to keep children safe. The plans for one child contain conflicting information about the time they are allowed to spend unsupervised. This Inspection report for children’s home: 2509298 4 does not help the staff to apply consistent boundaries. Some risk assessments do not capture the current risks for children and the approach used is often disproportionate to the identified risks.

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improvement to be good

The clinical team works well with the care staff and supports them to understand the risks for children. The clinical work informs specialist risk assessments, but these do not always translate into specific strategies. Therefore, children’s care plans do not align with the risk assessments. A child who has significant risks relating to self- harm was able to access scissors from a first-aid kit. This went unnoticed for four days. This specific risk, and the potential consequences, were considered. However, no specific actions to reduce the possibility of this type of incident happening again were identified.

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improvement to be good

Children are not always supported to take risks appropriate to their age and understanding. For some children, the use of monitoring is restrictive and disproportionate to the risks identified. The blanket use of bedroom door sensors across all children’s bedrooms is not supported by any written rationale. There is a blanket policy for staff to check on children hourly during the night while asleep. This level of monitoring does not align with children’s risk assessments. For one child, there has been no recent review or changes in the high levels of monitoring in the past four months even though no concerns have been identified. The child’s social worker was not aware of these checks taking place and raised their concerns about proportionality.

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improvement to be good

Staff carry out mobile phone checks for some children, despite not having any risks that require this level of monitoring. Children are required to hand their mobile phones in overnight, regardless of their age or individual needs. The policy for all children endorsed by the manager is used to promote sleep hygiene. However, other care practice contradicts this as some children are allowed to watch television in their bedrooms until after midnight and some staff give some children caffeinated drinks late at night.

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improvement to be good

Strategies for behaviour management are not always proportionate and are at times overly punitive. For example, some children have had their free time withdrawn the following day if they have been five minutes late returning home. Some children have lost access to their mobile phone if they have not fully engaged in their school day, without any consideration around the reasons behind this. When children have refused to take part in their planned activities, they have not been able to spend time out of the home. When one child expressed their unhappiness and frustration, the issue was not addressed appropriately by the manager. There is no rationale recorded by the manager in response to these strategies. Additionally, there is no evaluation that would support the manager from establishing the effectiveness of these responses.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing, staff respond and search for them and offer them a return home interview. However, not all staff understand the arrangements for reporting children as missing. This is because the missing-from-home plans contain Inspection report for children’s home: 2509298 5 information that conflicts with children’s risk assessments. This makes it confusing for staff to know what to do in response.

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improvement to be good

Room searches are used when staff have concerns about the safety and well-being of children. The frequency of searches is in direct proportion to the risks for one child. These have management oversight, children are made aware, and the voice of the child is evident in the documents.

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improvement to be good

Children rarely need to be held in response to their behaviour. When they are held, it is proportionate to the presenting needs of the child and is recorded appropriately. Staff and children are given an opportunity to discuss the need for the hold and the manager has oversight, supports reflection and provides good evaluation.

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improvement to be good

The manager ensures that new staff are suitably checked and vetted in line with safer recruitment guidelines. This ensures that staff are safe to work with children.

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good

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified. They have provided stability to children living at the home.

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good

While the manager has good oversight and knowledge of the children and operational aspects of the home, they have not questioned the application of blanket policies, lack of individualised care and importance of proportionate responses. Contradictions and gaps in children’s documentation have not always been identified and addressed.

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good

The manager has not always escalated concerns in a timely way when there has been gaps in accessing children’s statutory plans from the placing authority. This has led to the home’s care plan for one child being inconsistent in relation identifying their needs and risks.

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good

The manager does not have an effective system to identify when staff should attend training as there are gaps in core training for staff. One new member of staff has been employed almost three months but has not completed safeguarding or anti- ligature training. Other staff members’ anti-ligature training has expired, which the manager was not aware of. This means that some staff do not have the skills required to ensure that children are safe. Inductions do not ensure that staff complete their core training in line with the expectations outlined in the workforce development plan. The manager was not able to explain why gaps training have occurred.

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good

Two staff vacancies are covered by the existing staff, who work well together and cover gaps in the rota as they arise. Staff feel supported by the managers. Supervision takes place regularly. When issues arise, these are addressed swiftly. Team meetings take place regularly and are complemented by additional monthly reflective forums which are supported by the clinical team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2509298 6 Staff feel confident in raising concerns and understand whistle-blowing procedures. Inspection report for children’s home: 2509298 7

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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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 (a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s statutory care plans are available to the staff in the home and that these inform the care provided to that child.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that children’s placing authorities are aware of and agree with the level of risk management taking place for children, including checks throughout the night, mobile phone restrictions and restrictions on time outside of the home. 1 December 2023

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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 staff— 1 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2509298 8 provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(iv)(vi)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that children’s plans are proportionate to their current needs and risks. Plans should not be risk averse and should support children to develop appropriate levels of independence.

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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

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In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all statutory documents for children are up to date and that these plans inform the care provided to the children, to support them to make progress. 1 December 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if— 1 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2509298 9 the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the use of bedroom door sensors must be proportionate to the risks present and individual to each child.

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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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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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a description of the measure and its duration;

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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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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

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record 1 December 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2509298 10 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 particular, the registered person must record all measures of control or discipline used in relation to children. This includes when restrictions on mobile phone use and leaving the home are put in place in response to behaviour.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children’s risk assessments contain the correct information and do not contradict other plans in place. In particular, clear and consistent actions relating to responding to risks such as when children go missing from home should be detailed in plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.10)

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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, 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: 2509298 11

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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

Joanna Beal, Social Care Inspector Rachel Webster, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2509298 12 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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