Children's home run by Witherslack Group Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children's home: SC480422 1 SC480422

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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

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

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in July 2014 and the manager registered on 27 August 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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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: 16 November 2023

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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: SC480422 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/11/2023 Full Good 17/01/2023 Full Good 26/01/2022 Full Good 10/02/2020 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: SC480422 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have positive relationships with the staff, who have a good understanding of their individual needs. This supports the children to feel safe. One child said, ‘This is the best home I have ever lived in.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff encourage children to share their views, wishes and feelings about their care and the home. The manager and staff have high aspirations for the children and provide a caring and nurturing environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are in good health and the staff support them to attend all health appointments. Managers advocate on behalf of the children to ensure that they have the support in place to meet their individual health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff consult well with education staff to support the children’s participation in education. As a result, all children are now regularly attending education provision and have all made good progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have individualised independence plans that are specific to their age and development. The plans are thorough and demonstrate that children are supported with budgeting, shopping, personal hygiene and developing resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support children to safely take part in a range of planned activities, both inside and outside of the home. Activities include cycling, swimming, a driving experience, cinema night and visiting friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have access to the organisation’s therapist. This contributes to the support that children receive in relation to their emotional well-being and development. The therapist collaborates with staff to further develop their understanding of the children’s needs. The staff use strategies advised by the therapist to manage children’s feelings and behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to spend time with and remain in contact with their family. This encourages the children to stay connected with people who are important to them and supports their identity and sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a large house that is warm and welcoming. The living rooms are spacious and well furnished. There are photos of the children throughout the home. Some areas of the home need redecorating, carpets need replacing and the kitchen needs refurbishing.

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

Inspection report for children's home: SC480422 4 Children say that they feel safe and protected. They have developed trust in the people who care for them. Children say the staff are approachable and they feel that staff and the managers care for them well. This supports children to share any worries or fears they may have.

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

Children’s care plans and risk assessments are individualised to their specific needs. The registered manager updates children’s plans monthly or following a significant incident. The children contribute to their plans, for example, by including information about what makes them upset and how staff should respond to this. This ensures that staff understand how to respond effectively to the children’s needs.

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

The staff use restorative strategies to encourage and reinforce positive behaviours in children. Additionally, each child has an individual incentive plan. For example, one child receives immediate rewards for demonstrating good behaviour.

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

Safer recruitment processes are followed by the leaders and managers. The staff team is stable and there has been only one new member of staff since the last inspection. The home does not use agency or bank staff.

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

There has been one incident of a child going missing from home since the last inspection. Staff followed the home’s missing-from-home policy and were proactive in seeking the safe return of the child. On their return, they were welcomed warmly by staff.

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

Physical intervention is used as a last resort to keep children safe. Staff are trained in physical intervention and de-escalation techniques. The registered manager evaluates all holds used in the home and has assessed them as being appropriate and proportionate.

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

The children’s views are regularly sought in different ways. Children engage in monthly consultation depending on their age and understanding. Staff then provide feedback to the children on their specific requests. For example, children asked to take part in a driving experience, which they did in the summer. This supports the children to feel listened to and valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy manager are experienced in residential care and hold relevant childcare qualifications. They manage the home effectively and promptly address any issues. They provide stability for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are effective monitoring systems in place, which help the manager to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the home. This enables the manager to take swift action to address any shortfalls as they arise. This helps to develop consistency in staff practice and the care provided to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Relationships with external agencies and professionals are effective and positive. The registered manager collaborates closely with professionals to ensure that the children receive the right support. For example, the manager is working with staff from a new Inspection report for children's home: SC480422 5 initiative to find additional learning opportunities for the children. One professional said, ‘Communication is excellent with the staff.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they feel supported by the management team. Staff receive regular supervision and annual appraisals. In addition, staff have regular meetings with the therapist. This supports them to discuss children’s progress and consider their own practice and professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses effective monitoring and reviewing systems. Team meetings are held monthly. Other review mechanisms are used in response to specific incidents, such as the use of restraint. Records of scheduled and non-scheduled reviews are all up to date.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular supervision and appraisals that consider the needs and progress of the children. In addition, staff have monthly reflective sessions with the home’s therapist. This ensures that staff have current knowledge of care practices and opportunities for continuous learning and development. The children feel secure knowing they have staff who can respond effectively to their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses research to inform and improve professional practice. The manager and therapist work closely together to support staff to use research in their practice. For example, they have developed a programme of learning for staff to complete in team meetings. This improves the staff’s ability to meet the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff are trained in issues such as child exploitation, online safety, self-harm and allegations, which supports them to manage the children’s behaviours effectively. However, not all staff have completed training specific to the needs of the children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safeguarding incidents and allegations are managed well. The manager takes appropriate action and communicates effectively with other professionals to ensure that children are safe in the home. However, there was a delay in notifying Ofsted of a serious incident. Inspection report for children's home: SC480422 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 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 that staff—

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)) 5 November 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 promotes their welfare.

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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. (Regulations 13 (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that all staff complete training to ensure that they are able to meet the specific needs of the children, to avoid children being at risk of further harm. 5 November 2024

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who— 5 November 2024 Inspection report for children's home: SC480422 7 develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that Ofsted is notified if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)  The registered person should ensure that the quality of care review is evaluative and contains feedback from wider stakeholders. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and weakness in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. Specifically, include the views of the children living in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraphs 15.2 and 15.4)  The registered person should ensure that the house provides a homely environment and that repairs and redecoration are completed in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the

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Recommendations

Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children's home: SC480422 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: SC480422 9

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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

Debbie Dawson, Social Care Inspector James Meeks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC480422 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

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

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