Children's home run by Witherslack Group Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children’s home: SC485540 1 SC485540 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 and is registered to provide care for up to seven children. At the time of the inspection, seven children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2022 and was not present during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

This inspection was brought forward to address specific concerns or allegations received by Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspectors were aware during this inspection of a police investigation into serious allegations about practice at the setting. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the allegations were considered where appropriate, alongside the other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspectors’ judgements.

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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

Date of last inspection: 12 October 2022

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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: SC485540 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/10/2022 Full Good 23/02/2022 Full Good 10/12/2019 Full Outstanding 13/11/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC485540 3

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improvement to be good

There is evidence that the children are making good progress from their starting points. However, the shortfalls in health and protection and in leadership and management mean the care offered to the children requires improvement to be good.

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improvement to be good

During some significant incidents, gaps in recordings mean there is limited information to suggest staff have taken appropriate actions to assess children’s health and well-being. This means it is not always clear if children have been offered appropriate help.

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improvement to be good

Some children have varied relationships with staff. The children said they are able to share any worries with staff. The staff encourage the children to share their views at monthly children’s meetings.

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improvement to be good

Staff assist the children to have positive daily care routines. Social workers said that children are ‘benefiting from their care routines and have age-appropriate sleep patterns’.

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improvement to be good

Children have appropriate, specialist assessments. These help staff understand children’s individual needs. A clinical therapeutic team works with staff to help them understand the children’s needs.

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improvement to be good

All children engage in education and are making positive progress in line with their needs. Social workers said some children’s attendance at an educational setting ‘has significantly improved since living in the home’.

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improvement to be good

Children have access to a range of group and individual activities. The children enjoy attending the gym, playing football and being part of children’s councils. Staff have supported the children to learn about their local culture and history.

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improvement to be good

Children are welcomed into the home in a positive manner. Staff and some children have produced a video recording to help children understand what it would be like to live in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the children to see their family and help children access advocacy support to share their views about where they would like to live.

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improvement to be good

Children spoken to say they feel safe and know how to make a complaint. Children were observed to be relaxed and confident with staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC485540 4 Recordings of holds suggest that staff use de-escalation techniques and that interventions are used to prevent children from harming themselves or others. Some gaps in recordings of holds make it unclear whether staff have taken immediate actions to assess children’s needs and offer help in a timely manner.

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improvement to be good

Staff do offer children opportunities to reflect on events and share their views about preferred interventions. On one occasion, there was a delay in staff informing a social worker that a child received an injury. The social worker had no concerns when speaking to the child but noted the unnecessary delay. This means it is not always clear that staff understand their roles and responsibilities.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not consistent in using restorative consequences. On occasions, the language used does not help children reflect on their actions in a restorative manner. This can impact on the children’s ability to build trusting relationships with staff.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments detail clear strategies for staff to follow to reduce harm. This support has resulted in a reduction in significant incidents for some children.

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improvement to be good

Staff use incentives to support positive behaviour, and the children enjoy having goals to work towards, such as opportunities to gain extra football cards.

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improvement to be good

Staff follow missing-from-home procedures and are active in looking for children. After missing-from-home incidents, children are offered the opportunity to share their views. Staff support children to share any worries with their social workers and support children to access advocate support.

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improvement to be good

Room searches are proportionate and have appropriate management oversight. Staff work with the children to understand the reasons for room searches, and children are offered an opportunity to share their views.

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good

Management oversight requires improvement. The use of monitoring and review systems is not effective. Shortfalls have been identified in the recordings of holds. The manager and leaders have missed several opportunities to identify these shortfalls and gain a greater understanding regarding the care offered to children and staff’s response. Managers and leaders have also failed to ensure independent oversight of a significant incident when a child was held.

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good

The registered manager’s monitoring and audit tools provide conflicting information regarding the number of complaints made by children. This means it is hard to ensure appropriate oversight of children’s complaints.

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good

Several significant incidents have taken place involving a child placing themselves at risk of significant harm, although these incidents have been reduced because of staff’s intervention. The registered manager has not ensured all significant incidents Inspection report for children’s home: SC485540 5 regarding children have been reported to Ofsted. This prevents independent oversight to assess if children’s needs are appropriately met.

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good

The manager and leaders have reviewed the use of bedroom door sensors to ensure they are proportionate. However, there has been a delay in removing unnecessary door sensors, which has impacted on some children’s right to privacy.

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good

Staff are not offered team meetings as stated in the children’s home policy. This means they do not have consistent team opportunities to reflect on children’s care.

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good

Staff supervision sessions are held in line with the home’s policies. This means staff have individual discussions regarding children’s needs and their own personal development.

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good

Staff have said that they like working in the home. Staff say that they feel well supported by managers and work well as a team, although leaders acknowledge some recent changes in the staff team have been unsettling for staff.

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good

The home is maintained to a good standard, and repairs are undertaken in a timely manner. Inspection report for children’s home: SC485540 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered persons 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 persons must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff have a clear understanding of their role in supporting children and must ensure that the recording of physical interventions provides a clear understanding of how children have been helped. 5 November 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 5 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC485540 7 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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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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; and

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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)(a)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure effective oversight of significant events, holds and children’s complaints; ensure systems in place support effective communication with professionals; and ensure that staff have access to team meetings in line with the home’s statement of purpose. 5 November 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any consequences used are consistently restorative in nature and proportionate and use restorative language to help children understand the impact of their behaviour. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraphs 9.36 and 9.38)  The registered person should ensure prompt actions are taken to remove actions that limit children’s rights to privacy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraphs 3.10) Inspection report for children’s home: SC485540 8

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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: SC485540 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Witherslack Group Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lupton Tower, Lupton, Carnforth LA6 2PR

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Inspectors

Gina Lightfoot, Social Care Inspector Joanne Beale, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC485540 10 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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