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

Inspection report for children's home: 2732129 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 home is owned and managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to 4 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The home has been registered with Ofsted since 1 April 2023. The manager registered with Ofsted on 4 March 2025.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of this inspection, there were 3 children living in the home. The inspector spoke to all children.

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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

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: 2732129 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/03/2026 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/01/2025 Full Good 17/10/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2732129 3

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Summary of findings

Children are settled in a home that is welcoming and filled with photographs of children doing activities. Children spend time with people who are important to them.

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Summary of findings

Children have access to advocacy and emotional and wellbeing support, which supports them to feel confident and share their views.

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Summary of findings

Staff know how to keep children safe. Children have individualised risk assessments that include effective strategies to manage risks. Online safety is a priority, and children understand how to keep themselves safe online. Staff reflect on incidents to enhance their safeguarding knowledge.

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Summary of findings

Managers are committed to learning and supporting staff to improve their practice. Staff have regular supervisions and attend weekly team meetings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 2 children have experienced positives moves out of the home. Staff supported one child to move into supported living accommodation and one child to return to their family. One new child has moved into the home. This was a planned move. The child is beginning to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are settled and staff provide children with stability. Family members and professionals speak highly of staff and the care they provide for children. One social worker said, 'They [children] are thriving.' This demonstrates that the manager and staff are providing children with consistent and effective care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a welcoming and homely feel. The environment is decorated with bright colours and furnished to a good standard. Photographs of the children are displayed throughout the home, helping to create a sense of identity for children. 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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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their family and people who are important to them. Staff maintain regular communication with children's family members and keep them updated about their child's progress. This helps children to maintain their identity and continue to maintain relationships with the people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to access services to support them, such as advocacy and emotional and wellbeing team. This helps children to feel confident to share any worries they may have. Inspection report for children's home: 2732129 4

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

Children have individual risk assessments. Staff frequently update risk assessments. This helps to ensure that staff have the most up-to-date information in relation to children's vulnerabilities and risks. Children's risk assessments include strategies for staff to follow in practice. This helps staff to reduce risks to children.

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

Staff reflect on incidents and share their learning in team meetings. This reflective practice helps staff to continue to make improvements to their safeguarding practices.

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

Online safety is a priority for staff. Children learn how to keep themselves safe online through discussions in meetings and key-work sessions. Incidents are responded to quickly and appropriate boundaries are in place.

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

Staff use rewards and consequences to help children understand rules and boundaries. The children are given a choice of consequence. These consequences are proportionate and effective. This helps children to develop positive behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and 2 deputy managers are caring and ambitious for children. A member of staff said that they feel supported by managers and there is open communication with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff maintain effective relationships with relevant professionals. Communication is praised by professionals. This supports a coordinated approach to meeting children's needs and contributes to providing children with consistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has effective review and monitoring systems. These help her to continually improve the quality of care that staff provide for children. The registered manager meets with the deputy managers weekly to discuss incidents, debriefs and strategies to address these. These are shared with staff to ensure that they continually develop their practice to meet children's needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. This provides staff with the opportunity to discuss and reflect on their practice. Staff attend team meetings, which help to support their development. Team meetings also provide staff with the opportunity to share good practice. Inspection report for children's home: 2732129 5

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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: 2732129 6

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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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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Elizabeth Curtis

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Inspector

Karen Andrews, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2732129 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 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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