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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2775980 1 Registered provider: A Wilderness Way 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 children’s home provides care for up to six children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties in up to four buildings under a single registration. The homes offer short-term intensive stays, typically lasting 17 weeks. This is the first inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in December 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were four children living across four settings.

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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: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2775980 2

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improvement to be good

All four children have lived at the home for between one and two years. This is significantly longer than the 17-week assessment timeframe set out in the statement of purpose. Children moving into the home receive a copy of the children’s guide. However, this does not set out what children can expect should they continue to live in the home for longer than 17 weeks.

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improvement to be good

Children have developed strong relationships with staff. However, one child experienced a change to the staff in their care team while they were being supported to return to their parent’s care. Information from a psychological assessment of the child commissioned by the placing local authority was not made available to the manager at the time of the move. The manager advised the placing authority that she would not have supported the return home had she been aware of this information.

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improvement to be good

The move was not successful and the child’s parent explained how they felt the transition was rushed. This means that the child has experienced further unsettlement due to their needs not being fully considered. The parent commended the team on their care of her child, stating that she trusts staff to care for them in the same way that she would.

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improvement to be good

Children’s care plans lack clarity and certainty around the plans for children’s permanence. There are missed opportunities to strengthen planning for children by considering key information and recommendations, such as those made in assessments. This means that children are not clear about their plans for the future and when they will happen.

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improvement to be good

Children access a limited programme of education through tutors and online support. None of the children have been supported to return to formal education. Some children have made progress in education recently and have passed their exams. There are detailed weekly planners for some children listing the educational activities in which they should engage. However, some of the children have poor routines and staff do not always encourage them to engage in these activities. Arrangements to support children to make meaningful progress in education are therefore not robust, and as a result, children’s educational outcomes are limited.

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improvement to be good

Children are registered with a GP and opticians. Despite challenges, staff have successfully accessed dental services for children, but they have not addressed children’s reluctance to attend dental appointments. Where specialist health support is needed, staff make the appropriate referrals and use the advice provided by specialists to help children to consider their own health needs. One child has made progress with a sensitive health issue, but the impact of this on their sleep hygiene and low mood has not been considered. The lack of structure and routine for some children has impacted on them missing health appointments. Inspection report for children’s home: 2775980 3 Children are encouraged to develop their independence skills with support from staff to enhance their cooking and housework skills. One child now enjoys increased free time in the community, which includes being supported to travel to their home area to spend

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improvement to be good

Children’s time spent with their family and friends is encouraged and supported well by staff. This demonstrates the value placed on these important relationships. Staff facilitate and supervise family time, including support with travel.

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improvement to be good

Children’s views are regularly sought by staff and managers. Their views are listened to and acted on. Managers provide updates to children about their views through ‘you said, we did’ feedback, which shows children that they are listened to.

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improvement to be good

Children have individualised risk assessments which are updated following any incidents or emerging concerns. Appropriate measures and strategies are put in place to try to alleviate potential risks to children. Staff take time to reflect on incidents and on the potential impact on children of their actions during and following incidents.

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improvement to be good

The manager raised concerns with one child’s placing authority about a parent’s ability to keep their child safe. However, the manager did not follow up on recommendations made in an assessment that could mitigate the child’s behaviours. This has left the child at risk of criminalisation and both the child and staff who care for them at risk of harm. Damage to a downstairs window was not reported by staff to ensure that it was replaced or made safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff practice in relation to implementing the rules and boundaries for children is inconsistent.

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improvement to be good

There has been a positive reduction in one child’s screen time, but this was not done in a timely way. The child continues to play games which are not age appropriate.

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improvement to be good

Staff carry out focused work with children about the risks posed to them. This helps children to make better choices and identify strategies to keep themselves safe. Staff have been given advice about managing one child’s diagnosis by focusing on the ‘positives’, but they have not considered how they might use natural consequences or restorative work to support positive behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Children rarely go missing from the home. When they do, most staff know how to respond in line with protocols. However, on one occasion when a child was missing, one member of staff was unsure about what was expected of them. The manager acted quickly to ensure that further training was provided for the member of staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2775980 4 Managers’ monitoring and review systems help them to identify increases in incidents such as restraints and self-harm. Incident records are detailed and capture children’s voices. However, the manager considers incidents in isolation rather than considering patterns and trends alongside the wider context.

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improvement to be good

Allegations made by children are responded to sensitively and include joint working with the relevant agencies. Complaints made by children are investigated and responded to appropriately. The outcome of any allegation or complaint is shared with children.

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

The manager is nurturing and approachable and knows the children well. She is supported well by the assistant manager and senior leaders. The manager is keen to make changes to support the development of the home.

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

Staff feel well supported by the manager, who encourages them to think creativity to help children. Staff are supported to reflect on their practice and to discuss any concerns, but there are gaps in how regularly formal supervision is undertaken. Staff are also encouraged to engage in supervision in small groups to share their experiences. A new member of staff said she has found this particularly helpful as she develops in the role.

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

Staff say that the manager and assistant manager are present and visible across all the homes and are readily available for advice and support. There are opportunities for staff to meet with the manager each month through individual house meetings and meetings with all staff working across the four houses. Records of these meetings are detailed and show how staff are involved in all aspects of the home.

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

Not all staff have completed the required training to help them to meet the needs of the children in their care. This includes sessions on alcohol and cannabis misuse and reporting and recording, despite these being identified areas of need. However, the manager had identified the shortfalls in training and arranged tailored sessions for staff to help them to understand children’s needs. There is also additional training arranged in response to staff practice issues such as managing medication and supporting children who go missing from care.

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

Complaints from neighbours are dealt with swiftly and sensitively. The manager strives to maintain positive relationships with the local community and residents.

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

The manager communicates well with other professionals to share concerns around children’s education, health and care planning, but this is not always escalated sufficiently at an early enough stage. This leads to delay and drift for children, resulting in them remaining at the home for much longer than anticipated and having less positive and timely outcomes.

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

The manager has good oversight of the home. She recognises the difficulties of the role and some of the shortfalls of the service. The manager has been proactive in raising Inspection report for children’s home: 2775980 5 concerns with leaders around the complexity of the recording system and the volume of paperwork. The issues do not support the team to carry out their role efficiently. Inspection report for children’s home: 2775980 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, 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 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

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

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

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(ii)(iv)(v)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that children access appropriate and meaningful education and are helped to make progress. When children are not in full-time education, they must be supported to learn informally and assisted to return to school as soon as possible. 31 July 2024

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff –

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; 31 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2775980 7 seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regards to the range of the needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that interventions recommended for children by expert assessors, such as psychologists commissioned by placing authorities, are actioned in order to keep children safe and prevent criminalisation.

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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

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

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; 31 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2775980 8 that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii) (b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff understand and consistently apply the rules and boundaries in place to meet each child’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that staff have the skills to support children’s behaviours.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that children’s home environment, both internally and externally, is free of hazards and has been arranged in consideration of children’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that the activities children engage in are appropriate and personalised to meet the child’s age and stage of development, and that they take account of the child’s background and needs.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that each child is supported to reflect on their behaviour and consider the impact of their actions.

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

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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)(c)(h)) 31 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2775980 9 Leaders and managers must ensure that staff receive regular supervision to ensure that there is effective oversight of the home.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that staff undertake training to help them to meet the specific needs of children in their care.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that they consider patterns and trends identified in incident records to enable them to respond and make continuous improvements to the care provided to children.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they review and update the children’s guide as necessary, and make sure children are given an explanation of any changes. Specifically, this relates to the length of time the provider will offer care and support to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24 paragraph 4.23)

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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: 2775980 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: A Wilderness Way Limited

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Inspectors

Andrea Foreman, Social Care Inspector Sarah Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2775980 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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