Children's Home run by Witherslack Group Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 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

A private company owns this home. It is registered to provide care for up to eight children with complex needs and who may be experiencing a range of difficulties. Four children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

This home has a school on the same site, which children living at the home attend. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision on this site.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since 1 December 2023. A new manager has been appointed and has 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 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2710409 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/05/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2710409 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experienced a period of instability in the months before this inspection due to staffing issues and behaviour management approaches used by staff. An experienced staff team has now been recruited to provide continuity of care to children. Leaders have also implemented training and support, in addition to the support from the clinical team, to ensure that staff are competent in delivering the home’s therapeutic model of care. This support has yielded significant benefits to children and has contributed to children feeling settled and making positive progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff and managers have a very good understanding of the children’s individual health and well-being needs. Children have access to specialist therapeutic support to meet their therapeutic needs. Therapists contribute to assessments and risk management plans and provide individual sessions to children as needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children also benefit from multi-agency support. For example, each month, the home’s staff, education staff and clinical staff meet to discuss children’s progress and develop plans to further support children. Clinical staff also deliver training and reflective discussions to support the staff team to reflect on their practice and to better understand children’s behaviours. These strategies support staff to provide individualised care to children, which has contributed to children making progress with their emotional well- being and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are regularly consulted on their views, wishes and feelings about their day-to- day care and experiences. Staff and managers invest time in listening to children and are proactive in ensuring children’s views are acted on where appropriate. This approach helps children to feel valued and listened to. For example, children have shared their views about changes they would like to see in the home environment. Since the previous inspection, vast improvements have been made. Children’s bedrooms are personalised and improvements have been made to the communal areas. The decor contributes to the warm, homely and nurturing environment, which helps children to thrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to promoting children’s engagement in their hobbies, interests and a variety of social and recreational activities. These include day trips to other cities, holidays, trips to the seaside and to major UK attractions and theme parks. Two children reflected on their trips to football matches and spoke enthusiastically about the fun time they had. These experiences add positive memories to children’s life stories and help build their confidence and social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved out of the home since the last inspection. The child’s move into the home was not carefully considered. As a result, this child moved on from the home earlier than anticipated. A positive ending was supported for the child, which helped to minimise disruption. Inspection report for children’s home: 2710409 4

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

The positive relationships children have developed with staff, alongside the training and support provided to staff, have contributed to a significant reduction in children’s risks.

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

When children make a complaint, prompt action is taken to address their concerns. Investigations are carried out without delay and children are kept informed of actions and outcomes. This child-centred approach makes children feel listened to and demonstrates that their concerns are taken seriously.

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

Incidents when staff restrain children have significantly reduced. Restraint records are clear and detailed. However, the duration of restraints is not always recorded. This has an impact on the manager’s ability to determine whether children are safe during the incidents and whether staff interventions are appropriate and proportionate.

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

Conflict between children is generally managed well. Regular meetings and discussions take place with children to reinforce the home’s policy on bullying. Staff and managers also use posters and other visual aids in the communal areas to remind children about being kind to one another. On some occasions, staff have missed opportunities to educate children in a timely way when incidents of conflict occur.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, the home has had three managers. An experienced manager and deputy manager recently joined the team. The manager had been in post for three weeks before this inspection. They have brought with them a wealth of ideas and aspirations for the continuing development of the home. For example, they had already begun to explore a range of outdoor pursuits for the children to engage in to build their confidence. The manager and deputy manager are supported by a responsible individual who is a consistent presence in the home and contributes to the ongoing improvement journey. The inconsistency in the leadership team has contributed to some shortfalls identified during this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

A variety of reviewing and monitoring systems are used by managers. However, they are not effective in identifying shortfalls in the home. The manager’s review of some incidents lacks evaluation and fails to identify and challenge poor practice. For example, a child sustained an injury during a restraint. The injury was addressed appropriately, however, the manager’s review did not evaluate the incident. Other shortfalls in records and practice were also not identified by managers. This results in poor practice not being identified and addressed, which could result in children being harmed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home’s independent visitor does not consistently consult children. Visits have generally been undertaken when children are at school. The review of the premises assessment was updated but did not include consultation with the relevant people and agencies. These shortfalls mean that effective external input and oversight of the care Inspection report for children’s home: 2710409 5 that children receive has not been obtained to support improvement in the care of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff have not received regular and effective supervision. Supervision records are poor. They are not personalised to reflect individual staff experiences and their practice and to identify learning and development needs, so that the member of staff can best support the children in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers ensure that appropriate recruitment checks are undertaken before staff start working in the home. This helps minimise the risk of children being cared for by staff who are not fit to work with children. Newly recruited staff receive a comprehensive induction programme to help them develop the skills needed to care for the children. This means children are being cared for by appropriately skilled and trained staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff spoken to were positive about the leadership of the home. They said they felt supported and that the team worked well together to support the well-being of the children. Professionals also shared positive feedback about the communication and the support staff provide to children. One professional said, ‘Since being at the home, [name of child] has progressed well. [Name of child]’s level of incidents has dropped dramatically, and [name of child]’s education has progressed quickly. [Name of child] is now building good relationships with friends and staff.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers and leaders know the children well and have implemented a robust process to ensure that the needs of children moving into the home are carefully considered alongside the needs of children already living there and in the other homes on the site. This will ensure children are not negatively impacted by children moving into the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2710409 6

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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 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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring:

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Requirement Due date

that safeguarding incidents are critically reviewed to identify shortfalls in practice and recording of incidents;

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Requirement Due date

that the independent visitor consistently ascertains the views of children;

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Requirement Due date

that relevant people such as professionals and children are consulted when the review of the location of the premises is conducted and up-to-date information is included in the report. 3 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2710409 7 The registered person must ensure that—

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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

a description of the measure and its duration. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to managers and staff ensuring that the duration of the measures used during incidents are clearly recorded. 3 July 2024

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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

The specifically relates to the managers ensuring that staff receive regular practice-related supervision as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. 3 July 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that if a child makes a choice that would place them or another person at significant risk of harm, staff should assist them to understand the risks and manage their risk-taking behaviour to keep themselves and others safe. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.7)

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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: 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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Inspectors

Nateisha Cardoza-Evans, Social Care Inspector Louise Naylor, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2710409 9 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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