Children's Home run by Witherslack Group Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2710409 1 Registered provider: Witherslack Group Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to eight children who have complex needs and may experience a range of difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There are two other individually registered children’s homes in the same grounds and there is a school on the same site. The children living in the three children’s homes attend the school.

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Information about this children’s home

All three children’s homes had a monitoring visit from Ofsted on the same day. The school was not inspected during this visit.

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Information about this children’s home

The reason for the monitoring visits was because Ofsted has received information of concern about behaviour management at two out of the three homes, including this home. Ofsted undertook a monitoring visit to be assured about the care and safety of children.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since 31 August 2023. A new manager has been appointed. Ofsted has not yet received a completed application from the manager to register with the regulator.

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This monitoring visit

At the time of this inspection, five children lived in the home.

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This monitoring visit

The manager recognises that the home has faced some challenges in recent months that have been exacerbated by staff absence and staffing vacancies.

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This monitoring visit

Insufficient staffing levels have had a negative impact on children’s experiences at the home. This has now been recognised as a shortfall by senior managers. However, before action was taken to increase staffing levels, the police had been used to support staff to manage children’s behaviour. This has a detrimental impact on children being able to develop trusting and positive relationships with their Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2710409 2 carers.

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This monitoring visit

Children do not benefit from having a consistent staff team. One child commented that they struggled with the home’s rules being implemented by staff who do not regularly work in the home.

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This monitoring visit

When new children move into the home, careful consideration is not always given to the needs of the children already living there. In addition, because of the physical proximity of the three homes to each other, the impact of new children moving in children already living at these homes needs to improve.

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This monitoring visit

Management oversight of some records has been affected by the manager working on shift to support children. For example, the home’s bullying log had not been reviewed by the manager, which means that incidents of conflict between children from the previous year had not been addressed. This leaves children vulnerable to harm from their peers.

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This monitoring visit

Children receive consequences after behavioural incidents. However, the recording of these consequences is sporadic and does not demonstrate that the manager evaluates the effectiveness of the consequences. Follow-up work planned after behavioural incidents is not consistently undertaken with children. This means that staff miss opportunities to educate children about their behaviour and help them to learn from these difficult experiences.

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This monitoring visit

Restraint records are completed by staff after incidents of restraint occur. However, these records lack the necessary details. For example, timings of restraints are not always detailed in the records, making it difficult to decipher a clear chronology of events. This has an impact on the usefulness of these records when trying to determine which staff were present at different stages of the incident. When children have subsequently made allegations against staff members, some restraint records listed all staff working at the home as witnesses even though not all staff had witnessed the entire incident. This shortfall affects the validity of investigations when children raise concerns about staff practice.

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This monitoring visit

There is a plan in place to address shortfalls in staff training. This is due to managers recognising that staff have an insufficient knowledge of trauma and lack skills in supporting children when they are in crisis.

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This monitoring visit

Staff said that managers support them. They also spoke positively about the recent changes made to support the children living at the home.

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This monitoring visit

Children’s general daily routines were noted to be positive, and children were observed to respond well to staff support and engage in education. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2710409 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/05/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2710409 4

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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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(v))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, when staff use consequences to help children learn about unacceptable behaviours, these should be a learning opportunity and not punitive. Consequences should be recorded, and their suitability and effectiveness should be monitored by managers. 15 April 2024

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iv)) 15 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2710409 5 In particular, ensure that when children raise concerns during a restraint incident, these are followed up more specifically afterwards when the child is calmer. In addition, that relevant professionals are informed as needed when a child says that they have been hurt by staff during a restraint incident.

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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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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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, this refers to staffing levels being appropriate for the children’s needs and that managers ensure that when additional staff are needed to support children, children are provided with reassurance and consistency. 15 April 2024

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 15 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2710409 6 This relates to managers considering the needs of children already living in the home and those living in the other two homes on the same site, before admitting new children.

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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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Requirement Due date

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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Requirement Due date

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

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 confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to the accuracy of restraint records, particularly for those incidents that go on for a period of time, being clear about who is involved and who is witness to what parts of the incident. Additionally, each restraint record should be clear about when the restraint happened, what led to it and what de-escalation strategies were used. 15 April 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2710409 7

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2710409 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Witherslack Group Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Mark Dickinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2710409 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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