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

Inspection report for children's home: 2871837 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 is operated by a private provider. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children's home

This home was registered in November 2025. A manager was appointed but withdrew their application in December 2025. The current manager was appointed in March 2026 and registered with Ofsted in June 2026.

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Information about this children's home

One child has lived at the home since it was registered, and they were spoken with 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: 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: none Inspection report for children's home: 2871837 2

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Summary of findings

The child has developed positive relationships with the staff through participating in a wide variety of adventurous and creative activities together. The child's risks have reduced. Staff provide nurturing care and prioritise the child's needs. Staff enjoy working in the home and value the support and training provided by leaders and managers.

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Summary of findings

There has been some miscommunication with the child's local authority and other important people in the child's life. This has led to delays in planning for the child to leave the home as planned.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager completed a detailed suitability assessment prior to the child moving into the home. The manager worked with leaders to ensure that the staff received additional training and support to meet the child's needs. The child's move was quicker than the manager would have liked. In recognition of this, the manager ensured that the child was provided with information about the home as soon as possible prior to arriving to try and reduce the effect of the short notice change for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child benefits from a wide variety of experiences, including adventurous activities such as kayaking and bouldering and trips to historic sites and bird of prey centres. Staff are creative in using activities to promote learning opportunities for the child, such as foraging for elderflowers to make cordial and writing reviews of movies they have watched. Staff supported the child to engage in educational assessments when they first moved in and continue to encourage the child to complete the tasks required to achieve identified targets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to have regular and well-planned time with their family. Appropriate checks are completed when unknown family members also attend. The manager has worked with the provider's other homes and the child's former head teacher to support existing friendships and promote new ones. This supports the child's wish to be around other children their own age and allows staff to assess the child's progress in spending time with others and any effect this has on their behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to be healthy. They have a varied and well-balanced diet, including eating fruit and vegetables grown in the garden. Staff have used creative ways to support the child to engage in important health appointments, such as visiting health centres to let the child see what happens at a health appointment. Additionally, the manager has liaised effectively with the looked-after nurse for support in meeting the child's health needs. Inspection report for children's home: 2871837 3 Leaders and managers have not communicated effectively with the child's social worker and the wider care team. This has resulted in a delay in planning for the child to move on from the home following the completion of the period of intervention.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoys positive relationships with the staff, but the child says they no longer want to live in the home now their initial moving out date has passed. The staff have ensured that the child's voice is heard in meetings and have recently secured the services of an advocate for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have made every effort to maintain a structured routine for the child. However, staff do not record the extent of the actions they take to support the child to maintain a positive routine. Therefore, the child's records do not accurately reflect the child's experience.

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

The staff have developed positive relationships with the child. They ensure that the child is kept occupied throughout the day. Staff understand the child's risks. When minor incidents occur, staff respond effectively to de-escalate the situation. The child's risks have significantly reduced during their time at this home.

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

Leaders and managers ensured that staff were well prepared to support the child with their mental health. Furthermore, staff benefit from weekly sessions with their health and wellbeing lead to share ways to promote positive mental health for the child. Staff are attuned to noticing when the child is open to talking about their emotions, and the child recognises the importance of these discussions.

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

Furthermore, staff are responsive when the child brings things up in conversation. Together, they talk about topics including substance misuse, homelessness and the risks of going missing from the home. Staff reflect with the child about the child's previous missing-from-home episodes, helping the child to recognise unsafe situations.

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

Staff maintain their knowledge about a variety of safeguarding circumstances that they do not encounter often. They receive frequent refresher training and keep important documentation up to date. Staff check with on-call managers regarding their responses to incidents, and this provides immediate scrutiny of their safeguarding practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have created a small, committed staff team that works well together to provide the child with consistency. Any gaps in the staff rota are filled by staff from the provider's other homes to help maintain consistency. The manager understands the range of skills that different members of staff have and has created a balanced team. The manager prioritises building staff confidence and communication skills. Inspection report for children's home: 2871837 4 There is a positive team culture. Staff enjoy working in the home and get on well with one another. They talk about how reflective the team is and their shared commitment to providing children with excellent care. Staff value the support they receive from the manager and deputy manager. Staff feel valued and are encouraged to progress in their careers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that practice-related supervision sessions are regular, well structured and reflective. Staff are encouraged to talk about their wellbeing and work–life balance. All staff are up to date with their training and can access an array of other training to support their development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers have an effective suite of monitoring tools that cover every aspect of the functioning of the home. Training and workforce development is prioritised. The manager's system helps him to identify when staff are ready to progress in their career. Staff who are out of timescale for their qualification have a clear plan of monitoring and support for its completion. Inspection report for children's home: 2871837 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should seek to promote strong positive working relationships with local authorities and other key stakeholders, ensuring that children's needs are met in a timely and well-coordinated manner. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 11, paragraph 2.5)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home's policies on record-keeping. Information about the child's daily activities need to reflect the child's day and all their interactions with staff accurately. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62 paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2871837 6

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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: 2871837 7 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 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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Inspector

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