Children's Home run by A Wilderness Way Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children’s home: 2867896 1 Registered provider: A Wilderness Way Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home registered with Ofsted in October 2025 and is operated by a private provider. It provides short-term care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties or have learning disabilities. Children are supported through a focused intervention programme.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children have lived at the home. At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home, and they were spoken with during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There have been 2 acting managers since the home registered. The current acting manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2867896 2

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Summary of findings

Children develop trusting relationships with staff who encourage them to try adventurous outdoor activities and engage in education. Leaders and managers welcome children into the home who have struggled to be safe in other environments, and, over time, children’s risks reduce. Staff are happy and enjoy working in this home. They receive training to help them meet children’s needs effectively. However, there are some gaps in the monitoring and oversight of managers, which includes ensuring that feedback is obtained from relevant individuals as part of the external monitoring visits by the independent person.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work effectively to build positive relationships with children. They take the time to learn about children before they arrive at the home, enabling them to welcome them warmly and respond to their needs. As a result, children settle in quickly, often following challenging circumstances before their move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their families when it is safe and appropriate to do so. The staff facilitate family time at venues closer to the children’s hometown to enable family members to attend. Children see their families at special times, and some children have been helped to return to their care because of the progress they have made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The in-house education worker delivers individual tailored learning plans based on assessments carried out when children move into the home. Creative methods, such as playing games and outdoor activities, encourage children to engage with their education. Learning sessions incorporate preparation for independence work to help children develop their life skills. As a result, children regain their confidence to learn and engage well. One child who moved on from the home is now attending more formal education following their return to their parents’ care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from focused support targeted at helping them make healthier and safer choices. They access specialist support to stop vaping and undertake courses on healthy relationships. This supports children to better understand how their choices may affect their wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel listened to and learn how to advocate for themselves. Leaders and staff work well with other professionals and advocate for the children when needed, regularly challenging decisions that they feel are not in the child’s best interests. Advocacy for the removal of a court order and an assessment of parenting capacity contributed to one child returning to the care of their parents. Inspection report for children’s home: 2867896 3

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

Staff’s understanding of the children’s risks, alongside the trust they build with them, helps staff to positively influence the children’s behaviour. As a result, children’s risks reduce. The location of the home contributes to reducing risks as soon as a child moves in. Furthermore, staff engage children in adventurous activities that help them learn how to assess and manage risk in less familiar surroundings.

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

Staff use a staged approach to internet safety. Children do not have access to the internet when they first move into the home. Through educational work, children develop their understanding of online risks and unsafe situations. As a result, they are gradually given increased responsibility for using a mobile phone and accessing the internet. Furthermore, children learn the advantages of not being constantly online and how to keep themselves safe when they are.

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

Concerns about staff practice are managed appropriately. Managers act quickly to keep children safe, following safeguarding procedures and notifying the relevant agencies, including the local authority designated officer and the police, as required. Internal disciplinary matters are thoroughly investigated and clearly recorded.

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

Incidents of children going missing from the home are responded to effectively. Staff work closely with the police when there are concerns about a child’s safety. When children leave the home, staff, where possible, follow them to encourage their safe return.

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

Staff rarely need to restrain children for their safety. They use their positive relationships effectively with children to help them regulate their emotions when they are upset or angry. However, on one occasion, a new, inexperienced and untrained member of staff was left unsupported caring for a child. This left them in a vulnerable situation, where they had to restrain a child using an improvised hold. Although safeguarding procedures were followed, this incident could have been avoided.

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

The home has been without a registered manager since October 2025. Managers have been appointed but none have registered successfully with Ofsted during this time. This does not offer children or staff permanence and has had a limiting impact on the leadership and management judgement.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that new staff are recruited safely and receive a comprehensive induction. Staff benefit from access to a range of training opportunities. In addition to formal training, staff have uniquely named ‘Training Thursdays’ sessions that help them to focus and reflect on topics that are relevant to their experiences of caring for children.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that staff receive regular, well-structured and reflective supervision sessions. Staff find these sessions supportive. Their wellbeing and progress Inspection report for children’s home: 2867896 4 are discussed, and staff are supported to reflect on their achievements and the care of the children.

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

The manager has a suite of monitoring tools to support their oversight of the home. He challenges professionals when essential documentation for children has not been received. However, there are some gaps in oversight. The manager’s oversight of safeguarding notifications is inconsistent. The information submitted to Ofsted in notifications often lacks context or clarity. For one significant missing-from-home episode, staff did not record the actions they took correctly, and this was not identified or addressed by the manager. Consequently, gaps in practice could be overlooked.

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

The independent person who carries out external monitoring at the home struggles to gather external feedback to inform their review of the children’s care. Leaders and managers have not been able to help resolve this. As a result, the views of important people in the children’s lives do not contribute to the independent person’s analysis, which may result in important feedback being overlooked. Inspection report for children’s home: 2867896 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 registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

does not satisfy regulation 28. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(ii)) 30 August 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that notifications submitted under Regulation 40 include sufficient information to allow the regulator to form a view regarding the effectiveness of any actions taken to safeguard children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.14)  The registered person should ensure that records of missing-from-home incidents are maintained for the duration that the child is away from the home and that other daily recordings continue to be updated. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.31)  The registered person should ensure that the independent person has the support and the skills to gather feedback on the quality of care provided by the home from a range of sources. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.8)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff who are new to the home receive the appropriate training and support they need to physically hold a child to keep them safe. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.37) Inspection report for children’s home: 2867896 6

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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: 2867896 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: A Wilderness Way Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Stoneybeck Inn, Bowscar, Penrith CA11 8RP

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Inspector

Kirstie Sutherland, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2867896 8 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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