Children's home run by Witherslack Group Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2594902 1 Registered provider: Witherslack Group Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 4 December 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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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: 20 September 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2594902 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/09/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2594902 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported to have trusting relationships with the adults who care for them. Staff talk to the children about a range of sensitive issues and take time to understand the uniqueness of each child. Secure relationships have developed that support the children effectively in making progress at this home, including those children who have recently moved in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s individual needs and plans are child-focused. Staff work hard to improve children’s health and well-being. For example, staff devised a bespoke package of care to support one child’s individual healthcare needs, and this has yielded positive outcomes for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A positive culture about education and learning is embedded and has a positive impact on children. Education is provided by an on-site school and staff from the home work closely with the teachers and learning assistants. Local businesses are invited into the home to offer careers advice and children are able to go on site visits to learn more about future job opportunities and apprenticeships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they feel safe in their home and want to stay, with one child saying that they want to remain in the local area when they are adults. Staff are committed to ensuring that children enjoy regular, meaningful time with their family. When this is not possible, staff work with other professionals to help the child understand their life story. One relative talked about how ‘happy and settled’ their child is and how much they ‘liked the staff’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment is warm and welcoming, and the children’s personalities shine through in the decor. It is a clean environment and provides a safe base from which children can grow. Children’s bedrooms are individually decorated and furnished to carefully consider the children’s wishes. One child’s bedroom has an exercise bike, and another bedroom has a sofa and LED lighting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are regularly consulted and involved in decisions about the development of the home. Children are encouraged to put forward suggestions for activities and as a result of one child’s idea, during the week of the inspection all of the children were going on a trip to a theme park. Children are able to access independent advocacy if they want to.

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

Safeguarding concerns are well managed. Action taken to address any issues is robust and timely. Changes to care plans or risk assessments are made in consultation with the network of professionals involved with each child. There has been a significant reduction in any incidents, with no children going missing and only one safeguarding incident. Inspection report for children’s home: 2594902 4 Staff understand the risks that using the internet poses for children. Staff have proportionate restrictions in place to help keep children safe, taking into account age and any known risks. Staff support children to learn how they can keep themselves safe.

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

Restraint is used at times to safeguard children from harming themselves or others. Records do not thoroughly describe the incident or de-escalation techniques used by staff prior to the restraint. Managers have sufficient oversight of the incident reports and lessons learned but this has not prevented future similar incidents occurring.

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

Staff support children to take age-appropriate risks as part of their development and learn skills to help keep themselves safe. Children enjoy spending meaningful time with their friends and family in the community without any unnecessary restrictions. One child talked about their time away from the home and how this is progressing to include using public transport and increasing periods of time away.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed effectively and efficiently by a caring manager. Children are included in many aspects of the home’s development. The manager uses learning from incidents to inform staff practice. However, this is an area for further development as although learning has started, positive changes are not yet embedded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that they enjoy their role, and they are trained, supported and receive formal and informal supervision. Staff are clear on the management structure within the organisation. Staff know the children well, spoke with passion about their unique roles and were able to explain clearly how they carry out bespoke work to improve the lives of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is adequately staffed to care for the children in home. Managers have well- considered plans for filling vacancies when they arise. Managers follow a robust safe recruitment process and new staff receive comprehensive training over a six-month probation period.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff benefits from regular team meetings and reflective practice that is child- focused and led by clinical specialists. Staff discuss individual approaches in supporting children to manage their emotions and behaviours and actions are followed up by managers. Children are supported to understand their behaviours and develop strategies to manage their emotions. Inspection report for children’s home: 2594902 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 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.

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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

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a) (2)(a)(xi))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that lesson learned following incidents inform future staff practice. 26 August 2024

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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: 2594902 6

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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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Inspectors

Gary Turney, Social Care Inspector Stacey Pellow, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2594902 7 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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Inspectors

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

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