Children's Home run by Active Ark Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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SC439956 Registered provider: Active Ark 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 privately operated and provides care for one child with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in May 2012.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 29 April 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living at the home at the time of this inspection. The child was spoken to by the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and/or the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/07/2024 Full Good 22/08/2023 Full Good 30/01/2023 Full Good 08/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Poor and ineffective leadership and management arrangements and safeguarding practices have had an adverse impact on the experiences and progress of the child living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not provide the child with care that meets their individual needs. Several incidents have occurred that have had a negative impact on the child’s overall progress and experiences. The conduct of some staff has escalated incidents when the child has been in crisis.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home’s statement of purpose states that staff care for children by implementing the PACE (playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy) model of care. However, staff do not demonstrate a clear understanding of this approach. As a result, children do not consistently benefit from therapeutic care that reflects the model’s principles. This impacts on staff’s ability to provide children with good care and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home environment is poor. There was a broken television in the child’s bedroom, multiple wires were exposed and dirty cups and plates. The fire doors were kept open with door stoppers. Therefore, children and staff do not have adequate protection in the event of a fire.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child’s care plan is not in line with the placing authority’s care plan for the child. This means that staff do not have up-to-date information to support the child to reach their full potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s plans and records include contradictory information. For example, one risk assessment records that the child is not allowed to have friends in the home. Another risk assessment records that this is only in respect of the child’s bedroom. These discrepancies do not support staff to provide consistent care for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child says that they are happy living in the home. The child describes positive relationships with staff. They said that they can talk to staff and raise concerns when needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child’s artwork is displayed throughout the home, which reflects efforts by staff to promote the child’s self-esteem and create a nurturing, child-centred environment.

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

Leaders and managers do not take sufficient action when safeguarding concerns are raised, such as when the child raised concerns about a staff member’s conduct. Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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

Leaders, managers and staff do not understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to safeguarding practice and processes. They do not manage safeguarding incidents well. This poor response has left the child at risk of harm.

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

Leaders, managers and staff do not understand the child’s vulnerabilities. Risk management plans do not include sufficient strategies for staff to follow to reduce the risk of harm to the child. This compromises the child’s safety and wellbeing. For example, on one occasion, the child was found to be under the influence of unknown substances. The registered manager and staff did not take sufficient action to ensure that the child was safe.

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

Leaders and managers do not report all serious incidents to Ofsted in line with regulation. Some incidents are reported to Ofsted with significant delay, in one case several months after. This limits the oversight that the regulator has of the home.

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

Since the last inspection, there has been a noticeable reduction in incidents of the child going missing from home. This demonstrates some progress from the child’s starting point.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The leadership and management arrangements are poor. Leaders and managers do not demonstrate that they have sufficient oversight of incidents. Leaders and managers have not reflected on incidents with staff to improve their safeguarding practices. This has an adverse impact on leaders and managers making improvements to staff practices.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager does not ensure that children’s risk assessments include up-to- date information. Children’s records and plans include contradictory information, for example, in relation to missing-from-home protocols. This impacts on staff’s ability to reduce the risk of harm to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has provided a quality of care review. However, this does not include a robust analysis of children’s care. The review does not include sufficient feedback from children and relevant professionals. Therefore, this impacts on leaders and managers’ ability to identify any shortfalls in staff practices to improve the quality of care that staff provide for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not receive supervision in line with the home’s statement of purpose. When staff do have supervision, the quality is poor. Staff do not have the opportunity to reflect on their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Team meetings are not used to share good practice and reflect on incidents. This is a missed opportunity to improve the care that staff provide for children. Leaders and managers do not ensure that all staff receive training that is relevant to children’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

When incidents occur, they are not consistently reviewed in detail or used as learning opportunities. Poorly managed incidents are not shared with the wider team to identify any learning opportunities. Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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

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

help the child understand how to keep safe;

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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

understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)(v)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that children’s risk management plans provide robust strategies and guidance for staff to follow in practice to reduce the risk of harm to children. 12 October 2025

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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

promotes their welfare. 12 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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 as 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’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements to the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that there are effective monitoring and review systems in place.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that all staff have the relevant knowledge and skills to meet children’s individual needs.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the 1 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 8 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children personal items that are appropriate for their age and understanding; and

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the child’s home is clean and safe and any damaged equipment is replaced without delay.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the 1 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 9 OFSTED USE ONLY

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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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the child receives carefully planned care based on the placing authority care plans.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 1 November 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that induction, team meetings and supervision take place regularly and in line with the home’s statement of purpose. 1 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 10 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 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 possible weaknesses in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next six months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. (‘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: SC439956 11 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Active Ark, Unit E, Baron Way, Kingmoor Business Park, CARLISLE CA6 4SJ

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Inspector

James Meeks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC439956 12 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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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