Children's Home run by Westmorland and Furness Council in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children’s home: 2731613 1 Registered provider: Westmorland and Furness Council

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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 is a local authority home that is registered to provide short breaks for up to six children who may have learning disabilities, physical disabilities or sensory impairment.

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Information about this children’s home

This home and manager registered with Ofsted in April 2023.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 20 February 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2731613 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/02/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2731613 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy spending time with each other when they stay at the home. Children enjoy a range of activities such as painting, visits to the cinema and holidays on a boat. Children spend time at a local outdoor activity centre where they enjoy different activities. For example, sailing and climbing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to various resources including an outdoor sensory garden, indoor sensory light room and other specialised equipment. This provides children with opportunities to meet their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff plan children’s stays well. Staff know the children well. This helps staff to support children to enjoy their time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s introductions to the home are well planned and in line with their individual needs. Staff visit children in school and meet children’s teachers. This helps staff to understand children’s needs well. This considered approach means that children only stay at the home when it is in their best interests to do so and when staff can meet their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views, wishes and feelings are considered using a variety of communication tools. Staff encourage children to interview potential new staff. Another child has been selected to be part of an expanding young inspector programme for the service.

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

Staff do not use physical restraint. This is the ethos of the home, and leaders and managers ensure that all de-escalation and distraction strategies are used before they consider holding a child.

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

Children build trusting relationships with staff. Positive interactions were observed between children and staff. This demonstrates that children feel safe and settled when they stay at the home. Staff were observed using skilled techniques to communicate with nonverbal children.

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

Recruitment procedures and practices are safe and effective. All staff are checked and vetted before starting to work at the home. These checks ensure that only suitable adults are employed to work with children in the home.

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

External professionals say that staff communicate well and advocate for children. They say that staff keep them informed about children’s progress and experiences. A child’s social worker said they do not have any concerns about managers or staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2731613 4 Staff typically maintain clear and effective records. However, on one occasion, the details of a safeguarding incident lacked clarity, consistency and alignment with the safeguarding policy. This shortfall was not identified by the manager, which could compromise the effectiveness of safeguarding practices.

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

The home is managed by an ambitious and experienced management team.

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

Children receive care from a stable and consistent staff team. This helps children to maintain positive relationships with the staff who care for them.

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

Staff training does not fully meet the specific needs of the children. There are gaps in training in key areas, such as health. This could impact on the ability of staff to meet children’s individual needs.

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

The manager completes a six-month quality of care review. This does not always include the views of the staff. This is a missed opportunity for the manager to review staff views to make ongoing improvements to the care they provide for children.

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

Staff say they are supported by the registered manager. They say that they enjoy working at the home.

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

Supervisions are regular and reflective. The manager ensures that staff have their practice reviewed at annual appraisals. This helps the manager monitor staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2731613 5

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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 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

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that any safeguarding information is recorded contemporaneously, is clear and gives an overview of the incident. 23 July 225

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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 work as a team where appropriate;

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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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; 23 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2731613 6 ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff receive training which is specific to children’s individual needs and experiences; and that any lessons learned from feedback are shared with all staff. They should also ensure that monitoring of practice includes consideration of the quality of supervision being offered to all staff.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the quality of care review is evaluative and contains feedback from members of staff. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraphs 15.2 and 15.4)

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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: 2731613 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Westmorland and Furness Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Westmorland and Furness Council, Town Hall, Duke Street, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria LA14 2LD

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Inspector

James Meeks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2731613 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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