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

Inspection report for children's home: 2732129 1 Registered provider: Westmorland and Furness Council 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 operated by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted on 1 April 2023. The registered manager is suitably experienced.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection of the home.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, four children were living in the home.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2732129 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are developing their confidence and social skills, which is helping them to make significant progress, particularly with their education. Children are supported to express their views, whether this is about their academic aspirations, developing their relationships or managing their own health needs. One child is being supported to share their views concerning the effectiveness of their prescription medication with health professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel confident to share their concerns with staff, which means the team can respond in a timely way to prevent any unnecessary worry. There are regular key- work discussions with children which help them to reflect on their experiences in an encouraging and non-judgemental way. Consequently, children feel that their views are important and that they are included in discussions about their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to take part in activities that they are interested in, to keep them active and support their well-being. One child has support from a trusted member of staff to attend activities such as football and going to drama classes, which has helped them to reduce their feelings of social anxiety.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is support for children to maintain and develop their relationships with the important people in their lives. Staff communicate well with family members to support the children in their care, while advocating on their behalf to ensure that family time takes place and is protected.

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

Children say they feel safe and listened to. There are clear routines and boundaries, which children understand and respond well to. Staff have positive relationships with children and talk to them about any concerns they have for them in a nurturing and sensitive way.

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

The staff understand the risks to children and have a clear understanding of the strategies they should use to support them. Risk assessments are up to date and clearly identify the changing risks to children from month to month. Staff understand the effect of external influences on one child and how this has increased risks around substance misuse and criminalisation, and the impact this has on their mental health.

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

The staff work hard to support children during times of crisis by being consistent in their approach and maintaining effective communication. The staff team works well with other professionals to respond to risks for children by using the resources available to them. Staff benefit from support from an emotional health and well- being team who provide advice to help them to understand children’s behaviours and therapeutic ways of working. Inspection report for children's home: 2732129 3 Staff use their knowledge gained from training to consider the impact incidents have on children and use therapeutic approaches to reduce any negative feelings. One member of staff wrote a note to a child before leaving their shift to reassure them about their relationship following an incident between them. Restorative approaches are regularly used by staff to support children’s relationships with each other and with staff.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff respond appropriately, in line with children’s plans. They keep family members and professionals informed in a timely way. Following missing-from-home incidents, staff take time to reflect, separately and with children, on the circumstances leading up to the event. However, there have been occasions when the police do not believe a child has been at risk, meaning a return home interview is not generated with the placing authority and the child does not receive independent support. The manager has challenged this but there is not yet a solution to prevent this from happening again.

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good

There is an experienced team of staff who work well together. Staff recognise each other’s strengths and provide support for each other. The manager is dedicated, has high aspirations and expectations for children and can describe the progress they have made. The manager is flexible in his approach and reflects well on experiences to consider more positive ways of working. This is evident in how he has approached financial consequences for children which are not effective.

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good

There have been difficulties with staff sickness and in recruiting to a second assistant manager post, despite the home having experienced staff who might naturally progress into the role. The manager accepts this has put pressure on him and the assistant manager, which has left him stretched and having to work shifts himself. However, he has been proactive in making suggestions to leaders with alternative solutions for staffing.

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good

Staff supervision is completed each month. However, for one new starter, this did not take place until eight weeks into their employment, which is likely to have left them feeling unsupported. Team meetings take place regularly, but these do not always provide opportunities for reflective discussions between staff. Changes have been made to the team meeting agenda to ensure that children’s feedback is shared.

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good

Staff recruitment records are missing some information, which indicates that staff recruitment is not as thorough as it should be. The manager is unsure whether a new member of staff is already qualified to carry out the role and he is not able to evidence that important checks have been completed. Both the manager and his assistant keep and share clear records about any staffing issues. This means they are monitored and addressed appropriately, minimising the potential impact on children. Inspection report for children's home: 2732129 4 Staff have not completed all training within the timescales set and there are gaps in training on important subjects such as substance misuse, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism. While the manager has attempted to raise awareness of these areas, it means that staff are not fully trained to meet the needs of the children in their care.

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good

The manager has good oversight of issues affecting children and has escalated concerns with other professionals and agencies to try to improve outcomes for children. The manager ensures that children are aware of their rights and encourages them to engage with the independent support available to them. Inspection report for children's home: 2732129 5

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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 ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to supervision of staff, particularly those in their induction period, being carried out within the timescales set out in the provider’s statement of purpose. 30 November

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Recommendations

 The registered person should, as set out in regulations 31-33, be responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They should ensure there is accurate recording of applicants’ qualifications and verification of references should be completed during staff recruitment processes. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure there are effective working relationships with the police in relation to children going missing from home, to ensure children’s needs are met. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.3)  The registered person should ensure that staff gain the skills and experience that enable them to actively support each child to achieve their potential. This relates specifically to staff undertaking training to increase their skills and knowledge

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Recommendations

around substance misuse and autism and ADHD. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5)  The registered person should ensure that staff have opportunities to reflect on their practice in team meetings, to provide a culture of learning. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4) Inspection report for children's home: 2732129 6

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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: 2732129 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Westmorland and Furness Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Westmorland and Furness Council, Town Hall, Duke Street, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria LA14 2LD

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Inspector

Andrea Foreman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2732129 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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