Children's Home run by Reflexion Care Group Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children's home: 1249123 1 Registered provider: Reflexion Care 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

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It offers care for up to 6 children who experience social and emotional difficulties or have learning disabilities. It provides short-, medium- and long-term placements with a therapeutic outdoor activity- based response for children in crisis.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 4 children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered provider has recently appointed a new responsible individual, and Ofsted is currently checking that this person has the relevant capacity, experience and skills to carry out the role.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1249123 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/05/2025 Full Good 30/10/2024 Full Good 21/03/2023 Full Good 15/03/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: 1249123 3

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Summary of findings

Overall, the children are making progress in all areas and have access to a wide range of different activities. Children have positive relationships with staff.

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Summary of findings

De-escalation techniques are used, and physical intervention is used as a last resort. Staff keep children safe and know what to do when they go missing from home. Allegations are managed thoroughly.

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Summary of findings

The responsible individual (RI), who has taken on the day-to-day management of the home has not taken the steps required to register as a registered manager (RM) with Ofsted. They are not operating in line with their conditions. There is not effective oversight of risk assessments, as they are not individualised. Supervision sessions and team meetings support staff practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive long-term relationships with staff. Staff know the children well and understand their needs. Two of the children have lived in the home for over 4 years. This supports the children’s stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to receive education. Children’s education providers are varied, dependent on the children’s individual needs; this includes mainstream school or tutoring. One child’s education has increased since they moved in. This supports children’s continuing learning and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from opportunities to enjoy different activities of their choice. Activities include climbing, paddle boarding, swimming lessons, time with friends, spending time with the house dogs and activities in the home. Children have achieved things such as climbing a mountain with staff. Children have holidays planned that they are looking forward to. This helps them to increase their social interactions and develop interpersonal skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are recognised, understood and met by staff. Staff take appropriate action when medical treatment is needed. Therefore, children are in good health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with their family and friends. Staff support children to visit family members, which is a significant journey from the home, and support family to visit the local area. This supports children to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Inspection report for children's home: 1249123 4 The home has a relaxed atmosphere. However, locks on two internal doors and cobwebs throughout the home make it less homely. Photos of the children are displayed throughout the home, helping to create a sense of identity. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to reflect each child’s preferences and are decorated with their own belongings. This gives children a sense of belonging.

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

Staff endeavour to understand children’s behaviours and focus on this in discussions. Staff focus on rewarding children’s positive behaviour. As a result, children are beginning to understand the boundaries in place to support them.

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

There have been several incidents requiring the use of physical intervention. Staff use de-escalation techniques with children before using a physical intervention. Children are spoken with in a timely manner. Records include information in line with regulation and overseen by management. One child told the inspectors that they are supported to manage their emotions and that physical interventions are reducing.

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

Allegation management is thorough, and prompt action is taken to ensure that children are safeguarded effectively. Relevant professionals are notified to ensure that there is independent scrutiny of the allegations and support for the child. This ensures that there is a transparent and safe culture.

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

Although there have been no complaints, children know how to make a complaint and are confident it would be taken seriously.

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

Safer recruitment processes are followed. This means that staff are recruited safely. Recruitment checks ensure that only suitable staff are employed to work with children in the home.

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

Staff are aware of children’s vulnerabilities. Children have risk assessments and behaviour plans. However, strategies in the risk assessments are not individualised to each child. Although this has not had an impact on staff practice with children, staff who are new to the children may require more direction and strategies.

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

Staff know what to do if a child goes missing from the home. Children are supported to understand the importance of keeping themselves safe and staying in touch with staff. However, staff do not provide the children with an opportunity to speak to somebody independent when they return home. This is a missed opportunity to identify any patterns or triggers to these incidents to prevent recurrence.

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

Leaders and managers have daily oversight of the home. Leaders are operating outside of the conditions of registration, as it is registered for 6 children, and there are 4 bedrooms available for children. Inspection report for children's home: 1249123 5 Staff have not received training specific to the children’s individual needs. This includes gaps in training to enable staff to support the children around e-safety and self-injury.

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

In the review of the quality-of-care report, there is no feedback from children, family, professionals or staff. This does not effectively support the overall monitoring of the quality of care provided to the children.

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

Risk assessments do not always include individualised strategies to help staff support each child effectively and in line with the child’s need and preferred way of being supported. This has not been highlighted through monitoring processes and management oversight. In addition, the information gathered before children move in to inform decisions made is not always recorded.

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

Staff benefit from a detailed induction. This provides staff with relevant knowledge and skills to care for children.

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

Staff receive regular supervision sessions. This provides staff with the opportunity to discuss and reflect on their practice. Staff attend team meetings, which helps to support their development. Team meetings also provide staff with the opportunity to share good practice.

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

Staff speak highly of the support from leaders and managers. One staff member said, ‘The home is well managed, and managers are always part of the daily running of the house. No concern is not listened to, and we all support each other no matter our role.’ Inspection report for children's home: 1249123 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 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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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; 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)(a)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that risk assessments identify children’s individual risks and strategies to reduce risk.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff have received training to meet children’s needs. 21 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 1249123 7 *The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

Nothing in paragraph (5) or regulation 46 (review of premises) requires or authorises the registered person to contravene or not comply with—

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Requirement Due date

any other provision of these Regulations; or

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Requirement Due date

any conditions in relation to the registration of the registered person under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b) (5)(6)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that when the statement of purpose is updated, a copy is sent to Ofsted.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must review the statement of purpose in line with the notice of proposal to vary the conditions.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that no children reside in Bents Barn, as this is unregistered, unless the child has a bed at Cote Garth. 21 June 2026

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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. 21 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 1249123 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that all children’s needs are understood before they move in to ensure that this does not impact on the other children living in the home.

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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 when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that the home seeks as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression, for instance no locks on kitchen doors, regular cleaning to be completed and replacement of old furniture. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9 and 3.10)  The registered person should ensure that they 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

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Recommendations

responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Inspection report for children's home: 1249123 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: 1249123 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Reflexion Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fitzroy Academy, Cruckton, Shrewsbury SY5 8PR

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Inspectors

Karen Andrews, Social Care Inspector Cheryl Field, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1249123 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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