Children's Home run by Appletree Treatment Centre Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children’s home: SC032838 1 SC032838 Registered provider: Appletree Treatment Centre 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

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to eight children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2014.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, seven children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a school on the same site as the home. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision at this site.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC032838 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/07/2023 Full Good 08/11/2022 Full Good 03/08/2021 Full Outstanding 12/02/2020 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC032838 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive child-focused care from staff who work hard to develop positive and trusting relationships with them. Staff spend time getting to know children and understand their needs. The registered manager ensures that planning for children moving into and out of the home is thorough and child centred. This provides children with positive experiences of new beginnings and endings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in the home attend the on-site school. Staff have developed strong partnership working with education professionals, which means that children receive consistent care at school and in the home. Regular consultations between the staff and school ensure that children’s educational progress is understood and further supported in the home environment. Children engage well in school and are making good individual progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a variety of activities in the home and in the local community. Staff provide children with opportunities to enjoy existing hobbies, and encourage their engagement in new interests. Children spend time together enjoying new activities and have recently been on holiday with staff. As a result, children have developed positive relationships with each other and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use a research-informed therapeutic model of care to support children. This model is embedded in staff’s daily interactions, and support is adapted to the children’s individual needs. One social worker said, ‘[Staff’s] approach and their model really works. They see [name of child] before their behaviour.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individual identities are well promoted in the home. Staff support children to express themselves and their personalities. The registered manager has advocated strongly on children’s behalf so that their identity is respected by their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote and facilitate children’s time with those who are important to them. When staff identify potential barriers for family members spending time with children, they provide appropriate support to overcome these. Staff understand the importance of family relationships for children and work hard to ensure that time spent with family is positive and safe. Where children have limited contact with family members, staff have been proactive in sourcing information that children request about their background and share this in a sensitive and supportive way.

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

Staff know children well and have a good understanding of their risks and vulnerabilities. The registered manager has developed clear and individualised risk assessments for children, which are regularly reviewed and updated. This means that children’s needs are assessed and understood. Staff are aware of potential risks for children both in the home Inspection report for children’s home: SC032838 4 and out in the community. Staff are proactive in providing support to reduce risks and de-escalate situations. As a result, children’s overall risks have reduced.

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

The registered manager’s emphasis on building positive and trusting relationships between staff and children means that staff can de-escalate incidents of challenging behaviour. On the rare occasions where staff have physically held children to keep them safe, these have been managed well. Staff use strategies that require minimal physical intervention, and children are only held as a last resort. The registered manager has oversight of all incidents and provides both children and staff with opportunities to reflect on and learn from these.

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

Staff are proactive and consistent when responding to children in times of crisis or challenge. This helps children to manage and regulate their emotions effectively. The registered manager strives to maintain a positive and safe home environment so that children feel happy and safe. As a result, children do not go missing from the home.

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

Consequences are rarely used in the home, with the registered manager encouraging a restorative approach to challenging behaviour. As a result, children develop their understanding of socially acceptable behaviour. Staff promote positive behaviour with personalised incentives alongside clear and consistent routines and boundaries. Children’s achievements and progress are celebrated, which means that children feel valued and respected.

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

Children with a learning disability are being cared for in the home when the home is not registered to provide care to children with learning disabilities. The registered manager has not sought to amend the conditions of registration. This means that staff are providing care to children with specific needs when the suitability of this has not been assessed by Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a dedicated and experienced registered manager. She is committed to providing high levels of care to children and leads by example. Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the support and leadership provided by the registered manager and they feel empowered to share in her commitment and aspirations for children. An open-door culture has been created by the registered manager, and staff enjoy working in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager supports staff to reflect on incidents and offers guidance to support learning from these. Shortfalls in staff practice are addressed sensitively within a timely manner. The registered manager has a good understanding of the strengths in the staff team and offers support in areas for development. The registered manager is actively involved in the children’s care and has a good oversight of daily practice. Consequently, staff develop their skills and are encouraged to identify any practice that could be further enhanced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has developed positive working relationships with all professionals involved in the children’s care. Professionals speak highly of the registered Inspection report for children’s home: SC032838 5 manager and her staff team and compliment their advocacy for children. Professionals and family members say that communication is excellent and that children’s progression in the home is positive and evident. One parent said that they ‘could not ask for more’ from the staff at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are regular and provide staff with clear updates and reflection on any practice issues. Staff benefit from regular and reflective supervision, which is provided by the registered manager or a senior worker in the home. The registered manager receives external clinical supervision in addition to her supervision with the provider’s responsible individual. However, the records of supervision for the registered manager are not consistently reflective of professional discussion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff engage in a range of mandatory and additional training opportunities, which are a hybrid of online and face-to-face sessions. The registered manager promotes effective communication between staff, which means that they provide a consistent approach to children. However, not all staff members have received training in children’s diagnosed conditions, specifically autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD), and global developmental delay. This means that the support needs for some children could be misunderstood. A small number of staff have also not completed refresher training within timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s statement of purpose is not consistently reflective of the therapeutic model of care provided in the home. This means that parents, Ofsted and other professionals do not have the correct information available to them to ensure that the children are cared for in line with the statement of purpose. Inspection report for children’s home: SC032838 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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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.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose; and

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a)(b)(ii)) 20 September 2024

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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

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

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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)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff have access to regular training that relates to children’s 4 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC032838 7 diagnosed needs of ADHD, autism, FASD and global developmental delay.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that all staff members complete mandatory refresher training within timescales.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is child focused and that language is reflective of the home’s approach to individualised care for children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person must ensure that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision that is recorded in a manner that is evaluative and reflective of professional discussion with the supervisor. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: SC032838 8

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Appletree Treatment Centre Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Meathop Park, Meathop, GRANGE-OVER-SANDS, Cumbria LA11 6RF

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Inspectors

Carrie Mayes, Social Care Inspector Rebekah Tucker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC032838 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 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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