Children's Home run by Witherslack Group Limited in Leicestershire

Inspection report children’s home: 2615494 1 Registered provider: Witherslack Group 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 by a private company. It provides care for up to four children. The home provides short-term care placements for an agreed period of assessment.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home. Their views were considered during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is registered with Ofsted, they were not present at time of inspection.

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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: 28 February 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2615494 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2024 Full Outstanding 21/02/2023 Full Good 02/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2615494 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well presented and finished to a high standard. Children’s bedrooms are spacious and modern. There is a homely environment and ample space for children to enjoy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good educational progress. They are working towards or are meeting their individual learning targets. Staff support children’s attendance at their educational settings. One child who has previously struggled to go to school is now engaging and attends daily. Another child is receiving support in relation to their GCSE’s.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are valued as individuals and there are opportunities for their voices to be heard. There are regular conversations with children that allow them to be involved in the planning of activities and the development of the home. One child spoke fondly of the staff and the warm relationships between children and staff were observed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Any moves for children into or out of the home are exceptionally well planned. The manager ensures that children are given information available to helps them settle quickly. One child who was leaving the home during the inspection was visited by staff from their new home, they spent the day with the child. This together with the nurturing support provided by the staff team enabled the child to regulate their emotions, which in turn enabled them to achieve a positive move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are generally healthy. Staff successfully support children to understand their health needs and implications of not having a healthy lifestyle. However, they have not ensured that children are provided with nutritious and healthy meal choices.

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

Children have built extremely secure attachments with staff in a short period of time. The manager and staff provide children with a consistent routine. Children have enjoyed this and greatly benefit from this structure. Staff provide emotional warmth and understanding. A social worker was extremely complimentary and informed the inspector about the positive atmosphere for a child who had recently moved into the home. They said, ‘The staff are very child centred, and I would place another child in this home.’

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

Children are supported to personalise their bedrooms. When necessary, the manager ensures that they obtain consent from the placing authority to use surveillance mechanisms.

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

Safeguarding practice is effective. Staff understand their responsibilities. Communication with social workers and placing authorities is good. This means children feel safe as a result of living here. Inspection report for children’s home: 2615494 4 Managers take any complaints from children very seriously. A personal response is written to the child to acknowledge the complaint. The manager investigates the complaint in detail and provides feedback of the outcome. However, when children share concerns or grumbles with staff, this is not always acknowledged as a complaint. As a result, children may not always feel safe and well cared for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy have a good understanding of the needs of the children. Professionals and staff say that they ensure that children and staff feel valued and supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team benefits from regular and reflective supervision and team meetings. This included reflection and learning from the support given by the home’s psychologist. This supports staff to meet the needs of the children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has ensured that there is diversity within the staff team. As a result, children benefit from having a culturally diverse team with positive role models.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that they enjoy coming to work and receive good support from the staff team and their manager, as a result team morale is high and there is a committed and motivated team. Staff retention has ensured that the children experience a high level of consistency in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The responsible individual completes internal quality assurance activities to assure himself of the quality and impact of practice in the home. Leaders and managers do not routinely capture the feedback from the children, parents, other professionals or staff, to better inform the home’s development and improvement plans. Inspection report for children’s home: 2615494 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. With particular reference to seeking independent feedback from all those involved in the care of each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards,’ page 55, paragraph 10.24  Staff should encourage children to share any concerns about their care or other matters as soon as they arise. Children must be able to take up issues or make a complaint with support and without fear that this will result in any adverse consequences (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4,13)  The registered person should ensure that, in line with their individual health plans and

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Recommendations

the ethos of the home, children are offered advice, support and guidance on health and well-being. Staff should have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to help children understand, and, where necessary, work to change negative behaviours in key areas of health and well-being such as, but not limited to, nutrition and healthy diet. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 35, paragraph 7.18)

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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: 2615494 6

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Richard Matthews

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Latasha Mayes-Preston

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Inspector

Corline Parker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2615494 7 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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