Children's Home run by Witherslack Group Limited in Wiltshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2680522 1 Registered provider: Witherslack Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is part of a national organisation. The home provides care for up to eight children with emotional and social difficulties. At the time of this inspection, seven children were living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since September 2023. A manager was in post at the time the registered manager resigned, however they did not apply to register.. The current manager has been in post since October 2023 and their application has been received by Ofsted.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is on the same site as a school and two other children’s homes that are all part of the same organisation. The inspectors only inspected the social care provisions of this home on this site. The other two children’s homes on the same site were not part of this inspection.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2680522 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2680522 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are skilled at promptly building trustful relationships with the children they support. This helps children to settle into their home quickly and develop a sense of belonging. Staff spend time listening to children, developing a sense of their needs and feelings, and they use the knowledge gained to form the basis of the care and support they provide for each child.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of ensuring children’s educational needs are met and support children to have good school attendance and achieve. Staff liaise effectively with the school to ensure each child has the right timetable to give children the best opportunity to succeed. They keep this under review and liaise quickly with professionals when children may find it difficult to meet the expectations of their timetable. Only one child has a reduced timetable and staff have a clear plan to support this child to return to full-time education as soon as possible.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take time to listen to how each child wishes to see and spend time with their relatives and friends. Staff then support the children to have meaningful time with their families and loved ones in line with their individual needs. A parent commented that staff get in touch regularly, always support them to see their child and help them to enjoy visits together.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff give children every opportunity to experience a range of social and recreational activities. Staff support children to spend time out in the community, enjoying such things as off-road driving lessons, swimming and ice skating. Memory books capture these special days in photos and memorabilia such as tickets to events so children can look back and remember the positive experiences. Staff are now supporting children to create their own memory books that are even more personal to them.

p.3

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

Children live in a home that has a warm and homely feel. The physical environment is well maintained, safe and secure, and it protects children from the risk of harm. Staff understand the unique vulnerabilities of each child. Risk assessments are detailed and individualised and clearly set out what staff need to do to keep children safe and minimise their risks.

p.3

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

Staff treat children with dignity and respect. Children have staff they can share their worries and concerns with. Staff listen to children, take their fears seriously and sensitively respond to their needs, helping to alleviate their troubles. This supports children to develop a positive self-view and build emotional resilience.

p.3

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

Staff understand children’s behaviours and know them well enough to recognise when they are becoming upset or distressed. Staff then support children to manage Inspection report for children’s home: 2680522 4 their own inner turmoil, emotions and feelings safely. However, staff do not consistently implement agreed boundaries, and this can cause confusion for children and lead to incidents taking place. Leaders and managers have identified this and have a clear plan in place to address this issue and ensure that all staff constantly stick to the agreed boundaries for children.

p.3

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

Physical intervention has been used 112 times since the last inspection. Leaders and managers have good systems to review and monitor behavioural incidents and restraints. They identify patterns and make changes in practice to help reduce the need for physical intervention. Leaders and managers views are that restraint is proportionate to the risk, and for most children, restraints have been reduced and they are working to reduce this further.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been a number of changes made to the senior leadership and management team in recent months. However, the current manager is experienced and has brought stability to the staff team effectively. The manager ensures that experienced staff are on every shift to help support newer, less experienced staff. Regular staff supervision focuses on the children’s progression and experiences, alongside supporting staff’s continuous professional development. Safe recruitment practices have been followed and are robust.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers use learning from incidents to inform staff practice. Children’s thoughts and wishes are regularly sought to enhance staff’s knowledge of each child’s needs. The in-house therapies team is used to help address areas where improvements are necessary and supply additional bespoke training to staff around children’s individual needs. This helps to enhance the care and support that children experience and ensure positive outcomes are achieved.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that the plans for each child fully identify their individual needs. Plans reflect the local authority care plan for each child and are regularly updated to make sure they are current and inform staff of any changes that occur. Records are child-focused and clearly detail the child’s voice; they celebrate their achievements and highlight the good progress each child is making.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from children’s families and professionals about the manager and the care and support children receive is good. Placing social workers speak positively about the communication between themselves and the manager and praise the progress children are making. One commented that the progress the child had made was significant. A parent stated that the fact that their child was attending school and enjoying it was remarkable, and they never thought it would ever happen.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

No requirements or recommendations have been raised at this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2680522 5

p.4

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: 2680522 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Witherslack Group Limited

p.6

Children’s home details

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

p.6

Inspectors

Gary Turney, Social Care Inspector Nicola Lownds, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home: 2680522 7 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.

p.6

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7