Children's Home run by Cumberland Council in Cumberland

Inspection report for children's home: 2729821 1 Registered provider: Cumberland Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a local authority. It provides care for up to 6 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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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

This home and manager registered with Ofsted on 1 April 2023.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2729821 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/07/2025 Full Good 11/06/2024 Full Good 18/01/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2729821 3

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Summary of findings

Children are settled and making progress. They enjoy spending time with their friends and staff at the home. Children’s moves into and out of the home are well planned. Staff have a good understanding of the children’s needs. Risk assessments and personalised crisis plans help identify risks and keep children safe. There is good management oversight of staff practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 3 children have experienced moves out of the home. The moves have been well planned and in the children’s best interests. Staff supported one child to return to live with their family, and another child moved in with their partner’s family. One child maintains regular contact with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are settled living at the home, and their friends are welcome to visit. Staff provide children with stability and a sense of belonging. Family members and professionals speak highly of staff and the care that they provide for children. A social worker reported positive progress regarding a child’s behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to access specialist services to support them, including advocacy and an emotional and wellbeing team. This provides children with an opportunity to share their thoughts, feelings and views with supportive and safe adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager advocates for children to attend education, and staff work closely with education professionals. Staff ensure that children attend an education provision that meets their individual needs. Three children have recently completed their GCSEs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite the property not having been purpose built as a children’s home, the manager and staff have made efforts to create a warm and homely environment. Children and staff spend time together in the lounge, and bedrooms are personalised to the children’s individual taste. However, the lack of photos in the shared areas of the home contributes to a more institutional feel, which detracts from the overall warmth of the environment.

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

There have been several incidents when restraint has been used to keep children and others safe. Staff use de-escalation techniques with children. However, these are not always effective. Discussions take place with children following restraints, and the incident records include management oversight. Inspection report for children's home: 2729821 4 Staff have a good understanding of the children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities. Risk assessments are specific to the children’s needs and risk. They include clear strategies for staff to follow to keep children safe and reduce risk. Staff follow these strategies effectively and consistently.

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

Children have individualised crisis plans in place. These have been developed with the child and include clear strategies about how to support them at different stages. These plans help to ensure that staff provide children with consistent and trauma-informed care.

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

Consequences are proportionate and effective. Children understand why they have received a consequence. Management oversight is detailed and includes ensuring that the consequences continue to be effective.

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

Safer recruitment processes are followed, which means that only suitable staff are employed to work at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are caring and ambitious and advocate well for children. Staff speak highly of managers and of the support they receive. One member of staff said they are a ‘good management team who are proactive’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children receive support from a well-trained staff team. Staff engage in training specific to the children’s individual needs. The organisation’s therapeutic team provides consultation sessions to staff to help improve their practice.

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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. Team meetings take place regularly. These provide staff with an opportunity to reflect further on their practice as a group and share good practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers understand the strengths and areas for development at the home. Monitoring and review systems are effective, and the manager has good oversight of staff practice. This helps leaders and managers identify and address any shortfalls in staff practice in a timely way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers do not always ensure that serious events are shared with Ofsted, and, when they do, they are not always reported in a timely way. This limits the regulator’s oversight of the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2729821 5

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all serious events, including allegations against staff, are notified to Ofsted. This must be done in a timely way. 9 August 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home has a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children and as far as possible maintains a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children's home: 2729821 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: 2729821 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cumberland Council, Cumbria House, 117 Botchergate, Carlisle CA1 1RD

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Elizabeth Curtis

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Inspectors

Karen Andrews, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Shane North, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2729821 8 regulates and inspects to 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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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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