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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC475710 1 SC475710 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

It provides care for up to 8 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since April 2025. There is an acting manager who has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

There are 8 children currently living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

All the children were seen and 5 were spoken to during the 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: 16 January 2025

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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: SC475710 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/01/2025 Full Outstanding 23/01/2024 Full Outstanding 08/02/2023 Full Outstanding 30/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC475710 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have warm, trusting relationships with the managers and staff. Staff know the children well. Children say they are happy, settled and feel well supported in the home. Professionals are universally positive about the care children receive. One social worker said, ‘They [staff] treat them like their own.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to access a variety of leisure activities in line with their personal interests. Children ride horses, paddle kayaks, and join local sports teams. Children enjoy when managers and staff join them in the activities or come to cheer them on. Staff share their enthusiasm for football with children, attending matches with them regularly. Community activities are meaningful for the children, for example fundraising for causes that are close to the hearts of the children and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager completes detailed compatibility assessments that consider all the children individually before a new child moves into the home. The in-house therapeutic team offers advice where needed. The manager coordinates a staged introduction to the home, including staff visiting the child at their current placement and the child coming to the home to meet their new peers for tea.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The in-house therapist and professionals from other specialist services support staff in meeting the children’s health needs. Children are in good health and for some children previous health concerns are no longer relevant. Children are encouraged to understand their own diagnoses and make positive choices about managing their own needs, such as reengaging with the child and adolescent mental health service to explore whether medication would be helpful for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly and make good progress with their education, improving their reading and studying for their GCSE exams. Older children are supported to take exams and research new college courses.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with social workers, carers for the children’s brothers and sisters and family members to ensure that children have regular meaningful time with their families. This ensures that children remain connected with the people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who are preparing to move from the home are supported to research college placements and accommodation options. One child is developing their independence skills and now can make simple meals. Children are encouraged to take the lead in their preparation for independence, increasing their confidence and feelings of autonomy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have not always prioritised eating healthy meals together with the children, with children more commonly snacking on unhealthy foods. Some children rarely eat breakfast, and others will miss the evening meal. Most staff are adaptable and can Inspection report for children’s home: SC475710 4 prepare healthy snacks, but some staff are less capable. The new manager is encouraging children to participate in meal planning. He is slowly reducing the quantity of unhealthy snack foods in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is generally well decorated and there are ongoing improvements to several areas of the home. However, some repairs have not been addressed in a timely manner, and one child’s shower room needs urgent attention.

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

The children are safeguarded effectively and say they feel safe. Staff help children to manage their feelings and cope with difficult emotions better. Children learn to be safe online relevant to their age and understanding. Staff have discussions with children when new risky behaviours become apparent. For example, work was completed around mobile phone use with one child and a plan agreed for them to demonstrate how they could use it more safely.

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

Missing from home incidents are rare. However, when children have been missing from home, staff have taken appropriate action to look for them, contacted the police for assistance when needed, to help children return home safely.

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

The manager deals with allegations and complaints against staff swiftly and thoroughly. Appropriate action is taken to make sure that children are safe. Some children have contacted the police to make complaints against staff when they have been frustrated. Staff have helped ease this frustration through discussions to give children reassurance they are being listened to. Children receive feedback once any investigation is completed and they are made aware of the outcome.

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

There has been a high number of physical interventions since the last inspection. Many of these are from the children becoming unsettled after important people to them have left the team. The need for interventions has reduced more recently. The managers review of incidents has identified that some of the interventions could have been avoidable and is making changes to address this. However, staff who hold children also complete discussions with them after incidents, preventing children from freely expressing any concerns they may have about the hold.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the registered manager left, the provider has taken sufficient action to recruit to the role. However, unforeseen circumstances have resulted in continued changes to the person in charge. Leaders have acted swiftly to minimise the disruption though children and staff have experienced some instability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager continues to settle in after being in post for 2 months. He is still developing his understanding of the team’s strengths and areas for development. He is prioritising developing trusting relationships with the staff and children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC475710 5 Staff say they love working in the home, they feel well supported by the managers and are proud of the children’s achievements. There have been a lot of staff changes since the last inspection, but the experienced core group of staff is largely intact. Their in- depth knowledge of the children and consistent guidance and support by the deputy manager have been instrumental in maintaining continuity for the children through what has been a challenging year.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Practice-related supervision is regular, and staff fully contribute to the discussions. The supervision agenda is set but staff wellbeing is prioritised to ensure that staff have the help they need to perform well. Inductions for new staff are thorough to get them up to speed about what children need to feel well cared for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are approachable and encourage staff to learn and develop. Staff have access to a variety of training to help them in their roles. Leaders and managers recognise that the children have been affected by staff leaving and have prioritised staff maintaining and building relationships with children and provided training to raise staff awareness around loss.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children are supported to attend meetings with professionals and are confident in sharing their wishes and feelings. Additionally, children’s meetings in the home enable children to raise any issues formally and staff provide a timely response, to help children know their views have been taken seriously. Inspection report for children’s home: SC475710 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

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that the child is spoken to by an adult who was not involved in the use of the measure

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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 registered person to—

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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

In particular that all documentation is recorded in such a way that it is easily understandable by the child. 2 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC475710 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are provided with nutritious meals suitable to each child’s needs. Children should be involved in choosing and preparing meals and opportunities to sit together and eat should be promoted. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 15 paragraph 3.8)  The registered person should ensure that repairs to the home are timely so the children’s day to care needs can be met. Any delays in repairs should be challenged appropriately. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 15 paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC475710 8

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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

Kirstie Sutherland, Social Care Inspector (lead) Amy Groom, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC475710 9 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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Inspectors

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