Children's Home run by A Wilderness Way Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children's home: 2778925 1 Registered provider: A Wilderness Way Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides care for up to six children in four separate buildings.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered as a multi-building children’s home in January 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was judged inadequate at the full inspection carried out on 16 and 17 April 2024. At a monitoring visit on 6 June 2024, it was assessed that effective action had not been taken and further enforcement action was issued. A restriction of accommodation notice was issued on 7 June 2024. Inspection report for children's home: 2778925 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/04/2024 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: 2778925 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved on from the home. Staff ensured this was a positive ending for the child.

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improvement to be good

Education outcomes in the home are variable. Not all children have up-to-date education plans, and some plans are unclear in relation to learning objectives and how these will be measured. As a result, arrangements to support children to return to meaningful education are not robust. This impacts on and limits children’s educational outcomes.

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improvement to be good

Children receive support to meet their health needs and access specialist services when appropriate. Staff have supported one child to understand the dangers of using e- cigarettes. They have helped the child to access information about the risks and sought appropriate medical advice.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the children’s plans and know them well. Children’s wishes and feelings are captured and regular conversations are held and direct work completed to help children understand risks. One external professional commented that a child now has a structured bedtime routine, which is helping them to settle at night.

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improvement to be good

Staff continue to build positive relationships with children. Children enjoy a range of activities. Feedback from professionals was positive and they spoke of the strength of the relationships between the children and staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff make efforts to ensure that the children can spend time with their families, including family members visiting the home. The children appreciate these opportunities and look forward to the visits. This is helping them to maintain positive relationships with the people who are important to them.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not always recognise the difference between a complaint and an allegation. When a child raised a concern about staff practice, this was not addressed in line with the home’s own policies and with safeguarding procedures. The staff and the manager did not take sufficient action to address this. This leaves children vulnerable to harm.

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improvement to be good

Not all staff demonstrate an understanding of their roles and responsibilities in response to allegations. Some were unclear about the role of the local authority designated officer, despite additional safeguarding guidance being provided by leaders and managers since the last inspection. This does not demonstrate that leaders and managers have evaluated effectively the impact of this training on staff practice. Inspection report for children's home: 2778925 4 Risk management plans and behaviour support plans have improved. Overall, these are regularly updated by managers and contain clear strategies. As a result, staff say they feel more confident in understanding these plans. Since the last inspection, staff have attended recording and reporting training sessions.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote positive behaviour and there are now clear structures and boundaries in place. Restraint is used as a last resort. There have been two occasions when restraint was required to minimise the risk of harm to children. When restraint is used, incident records are detailed. Managers ensure that there are suitable debriefs of staff and children.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, there has been a significant accident involving one of the children. Prompt action was taken immediately following the incident. This was thoroughly risk assessed and the incident was managed well. Appropriate action was taken to put similar activities on hold while an independent investigation took place.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment procedures and practices are safe and effective. All staff are checked and vetted before starting work. These checks ensure that only suitable adults are employed to work with children in the home.

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

There have been significant changes in the management team since the last inspection. The registered manager and the assistant manager no longer work at the home. A new responsible individual is in place. The new manager has been appointed as an interim measure. Some staff and an external professional raised concerns about the long-term management structure.

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

The new manager has a good understanding of the children’s needs. Together, leaders and managers have brought stability and an increased presence to the home. Staff say there are positive improvements, and they now feel supported and valued. As a result, team morale has improved.

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

The interim manager is aware of the strengths and areas for development. She is working on developing a positive culture with the staff team and is role modelling good practice. However, due to the recent changes, this work is ongoing.

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

The monitoring of the home is improving. However, the quality of care review for the first period since registration has not been received by Ofsted. This means that the progress and development of the children and staff have not been assessed or evaluated by the manager. This is a missed opportunity for leaders and managers to demonstrate the progress that the home has made and to consider the opinions of children.

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

Supervision is taking place regularly. Sessions cover safeguarding matters and follow up on any incidents that may have happened. Managers explore staff well-being and ensure support is offered. They are in the process of developing reflective supervision with staff Inspection report for children's home: 2778925 5 to help them improve and develop their practice. Attendance at team meetings has improved. When staff are unable to attend, leaders and managers ensure they are updated through supervision and briefing minutes. As a result, staff say that communication has improved.

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

Staff have received all relevant training since the last inspection, including training around substance misuse and vaping, and alcohol use. When staff needed specific training to meet children’s needs in relation to autism, this was arranged and training completed. However, further work is needed around understanding allegation management.

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

The responsible individual and the interim manager have ensured that several requirements have been met since the last inspection. However, requirements under regulations 8 and 12 have not been met and are restated. Inspection report for children's home: 2778925 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 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that staff understand the differences between complaints and allegations. Additionally, 20 September 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2778925 7 when a child makes an allegation regarding staff conduct, that the staff report this and the manager takes sufficient action to address the matter.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(ix)(x)) 20 September 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2778925 8

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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: 2778925 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: A Wilderness Way Limited

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Inspectors

Judith Birchall, Social Care Inspector Kathryn Grindrod, His Majesty’s Inspector Social Care Inspection report for children's home: 2778925 10 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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