Children's Home run by Witherslack Group Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC475748 1 SC475748 Registered provider: Witherslack Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a private children’s home registered to care for up to seven children. The home provides care for children who may have a range of social and emotional difficulties or special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in June 2014 and the manager registered in April 2022. The manager is suitably experienced and qualified.

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Information about this children’s home

There were seven children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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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

Date of last inspection: 22 February 2024

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC475748 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/02/2024 Full Outstanding 28/02/2023 Full Good 15/03/2022 Full Good 21/01/2020 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC475748 3

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improvement to be good

The home is welcoming, with plenty of space for the children who live here. The children have influenced the decor of their own bedrooms as well as some of the communal areas. Downstairs, there is space for doing homework and gaming; however, most of the children choose to spend their time in their bedrooms. They have TVs and their own belongings in their bedrooms, which means they spend limited time interacting with each other.

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improvement to be good

Children have established relationships with staff and are making good progress. Staff care about the children. Children who move into the home do so in a planned way. Staff visit the children and share videos of the home and their bedroom with them before they move into the home. One child who has moved into the home since the last inspection said, ‘It was good to see where I was going and where I’d be sleeping.’

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improvement to be good

Most of the children have consistent attendance at school. One child was supported to attend a local college, and when this provision did not meet their needs, they were supported to attend sixth form and continue their journey in education. During the inspection, one child refused to attend school and remained in their bedroom all day. Staff were not proactive and innovative in engaging with the child. The children benefit from a tailored educational plan that addresses their individual learning needs and aspirations. Staff members actively engage with the connected school and other external education providers, which facilitates a smooth transition from home to school.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to spend time with people who are important to them and support them to understand healthy relationships and boundaries. Children enjoy spending time with their friends in the community. This helps children to develop and maintain positive relationships.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to attend local activities, football clubs, cadets and volunteering opportunities, with one child helping every week at the local coffee morning held at the church. Children have the opportunity to attend events that reflect their individual interests.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to access local health services and are proactive in supporting some children to access the internal therapy provision to meet their complex emotional needs. This provides an insight into how children view their own experiences, and support is tailored around this.

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improvement to be good

Staff teach children how to take care of themselves and support them to develop independent living skills to prepare them for adult life. Staff encourage children to think about their future and what they will need to achieve their goals. This encourages children to continue striving to reach their ambitions. However, one child said, ‘I have Inspection report for children’s home: SC475748 4 asked for my own gym membership and bus pass so I can be more independent, but this never happens, they just say get school’s gym pass.’ This does not demonstrate that staff consider each child individually and promote their independence in accordance with their abilities and wishes.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments do not include details of all known risks and vulnerabilities for children. This compromises safeguarding practice.

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improvement to be good

Records made in respect of the children vary in quality, and some include language that holds the child accountable for being in care, such as daily logs and key-work sessions. When children raise concerns in relation to risk-taking behaviours or worries about staff, these are not always progressed, escalated or reported and do not always have any management oversight. This does not help to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

One social worker spoken with during the inspection said, ‘Communication is inconsistent and I do not find things out in a timely manner.’ Staff say that they speak up for children to remain in their care.

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improvement to be good

The management team ensures that local authority documentation, such as care plans, placement plans and delegated authority, is accessible to staff. This means that the staff have access to the background of and current information for each child. The manager guides staff effectively to understand and follow risk management and care plans.

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improvement to be good

Children rarely go missing from the home. When children do go missing from the home, there is a robust and consistent approach to managing this, and staff are proactive. Staff consult with the relevant professionals and family members so that the child is returned home safely. Children have an independent return home interview. This gives the child an opportunity to share any concerns and helps staff to implement strategies to reduce risk.

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

The manager is experienced and suitably qualified. He has a broad understanding of each child’s history, behaviours and permanency planning. He is ambitious for them all in terms of their future care and achievements.

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

The manager’s oversight of some areas of staff’s practice is inconsistent. This includes daily records for the children, and key-work and individual sessions with them. This inconsistency means that the manager is not able to identify and address shortfalls in practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC475748 5 The home is sufficiently staffed to meet the needs of the children. Safer recruitment practice ensures that new staff are safe to work with children. Staff are provided with appropriate training centred around the specific needs of the children in their care.

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

The staff team members are provided with regular supervision and have access to the internal therapist to discuss the children and how best they can support them.

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

Team meetings are held monthly. The manager has taken steps to increase attendance at team meetings by making them more accessible to staff. This ensures that all staff are aware of key updates for children.

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

Management oversight is poor, with key safeguarding risks missed. The manager is aware of some of these gaps and has introduced new systems to improve monitoring and oversight in the home. However, these have only recently been put into practice, so the impact cannot be assessed. Inspection report for children’s home: SC475748 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that language used in records or with children recognises the need behind the behaviour and does not blame the child. 1 April 2025

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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; 1 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC475748 7 help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the actions for staff to take are individual to the child and that children can share their views, wishes and feelings around their individual risks.

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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

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; 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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they have oversight of all work being completed, ensure that work is evaluated to establish patterns and trends and identify areas of learning in order to make continuous improvements. 1 April 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the quality of the key-work session records are purposeful, evaluative and non-stigmatising, so that they are helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that children have a safe environment to live in and that maintenance issues are escalated and addressed appropriately. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 33, paragraph 7.3) Inspection report for children’s home: SC475748 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: SC475748 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

Deborah Turner, Social Care Inspector Sarah Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC475748 10 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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