Children's Home run by Witherslack Group Limited in Oxfordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2614937 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 children’s home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care for up to four children aged between 10 and 17 who may experience social and emotional 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 provider operates a school on the same site as the children’s home. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision during this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager for the home. However, a new manager has been appointed and they have applied to register 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 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: 1 November 2022

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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: 2614937 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/11/2022 Full Good 01/12/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2614937 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are settled in the home. Those who have previously shown high-risk behaviours no longer display them and are on the right path for successful outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children views are listened to, and their voices are heard. Children complete ‘Back to the Future’ forms, which provide them with the opportunity to reflect on what they have enjoyed and choose the meals and activities that they would like. This includes identifying a ‘dream item’ for the home and how staff can help them. Children enjoy a social experience at mealtimes as they chat with each other and staff. This helps to provide children with family experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s successes are celebrated and captured in key-work sessions and certificates of recognition. Photos throughout the home showcase memories of fun and enjoyment had by children. Managers and staff speak with pride when they describe children’s progress, for example when children take responsibility for their self-care, show commitment to their religion and learn new independent living skills, such as meal preparation and cooking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and well furnished. There is a large games room adjacent to the home, where children invite their friends to ‘game’ with them. Children like their bedrooms and enjoy personalising them. Each child’s bedroom reflects aspects of their personality, personal interests and hobbies. One child has been supported to follow their religion and has been provided with prayer mats and visits to a mosque.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a wide variety of activities, some of which they have never experienced before. These are carefully planned to take place during school holidays, and include visiting theme parks, trips to the beach and seeing a circus. There are also a variety of activities in the home, such as baking, gaming, reading books and playing games. Hobbies are encouraged. One child who is a member of cadets said, ‘Without the staff, I would not have been able to go on so many camping trips.’ Another child is proud to show their musical skills on a guitar, violin and didgeridoo, as well as show their magic tricks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are readily praised and rewarded for the positive work they do. Consequences are used when required and are recorded for each child. However, the records are inconsistent, as they do not always capture time frames or when children will have items returned to them that may have been removed. This has the potential to confuse children and may lessen the effectiveness of promoting positive behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s time with family is a clear focus for staff and is promoted well. Staff show sensitivity when managing and supporting family relationships and work in partnership with local authorities and families to support what matters most to Inspection report for children’s home: 2614937 4 children. Leaders and managers listen to what children want and have challenged professionals when family time has been delayed.

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

Robust safeguarding processes help staff to keep children safe. Clear risk management plans help guide staff on how to support children safely. Incidents of concern are reviewed, and further safeguards are put in place to protect children when required. Staff work well with other professionals to ensure that children can have free time in a safe way. There are appropriate safeguards in place that enable children to access and enjoy using the internet safely.

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

Children have trusted relationships with staff, know how to make a complaint and have opportunities to tell staff how they feel and if they have concerns. Children say that they can talk to staff about any worries or concerns. There has been one complaint from a child since the previous inspection. This was taken seriously and dealt with quickly and effectively.

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

Children are supported to stay safe. When physical intervention is used, records demonstrate what happened and what was done to help children manage their feelings in a positive way. Children are involved in discussions about such incidents and are given opportunities to complain if they wish to. There has been a clear reduction in physical interventions.

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

Where safe to do so, children have agreed time away from the home to socialise with their family and friends. Incidents of children going missing from home are rare, and there are detailed plans that guide staff on what to do if such incidents occur.

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

Safe staff recruitment processes are in place to ensure that appropriate checks are completed to determine that staff are fit to work in the home. However, records do not always contain all the information needed to provide evidence of staff suitability. For example, interview documents are not used fully to show evidence of the decision-making used to employ some staff. This is because two systems are used. Leaders acted quickly to rectify this during the inspection, and the shortfalls in record-keeping had no detrimental impact on the safety of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has not been a registered manager at the home since February 2023. However, a new manager has been appointed, and they have applied to register with Ofsted. Leadership arrangements remained consistent while a new manager was sought. This has ensured consistency for children and staff and has helped changes to be managed well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management arrangements in place provide a supportive, collaborative and caring culture in the home for everyone. There is a real sense of teamwork and Inspection report for children’s home: 2614937 5 strong working relationships with staff, who acknowledge difficulties and support each other. Team meetings take place regularly, and staff use ‘child-focused meetings’ with therapists to discuss each child in detail. This provides a stable team and a consistent approach for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are dedicated, understand the needs of the children and make decisions that are child focused. They have a detailed knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses of the home, and there is good management oversight due to the robust systems in place. The home’s independent person provides a good level of external scrutiny and makes helpful suggestions regarding practice development. Furthermore, the development plan for the home clearly sets out ways to improve the quality of care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a thorough induction and access training that is tailored to meet the specific needs of the children living in the home, for example, training related to neurodiversity. Staff are positive about the support they receive from managers and the wider senior team. Staff morale is high, and this leads to a positive and relaxed feel in the home. However, not all staff receive regular supervision in line with the home’s policy. This means there are missed opportunities for staff to consistently reflect on practice and explore their professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Positive partnership working helps to build trust and engagement. Social workers are positive about their working relationships with leaders, managers and staff, and they say that they are kept well informed through regular communication and written weekly handovers. Inspection report for children’s home: 2614937 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the behaviour management strategy is understood and applied at all times by staff. This is in relation to the recording of consequences. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 46, paragraph 9.34)  The registered person should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b) and the home’s workforce development plan for staff, including the manager. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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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: 2614937 7

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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

Hannah Cox, Social Care Inspector Thobekile Bandama, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2614937 8 regulates and inspects 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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