Children's Home run by Witherslack Group Limited in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2615494 1 Registered provider: Witherslack Group Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to 4 children who may have emotional and behavioural needs.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. The home has recently changed from being a short-term assessment home to a longer-term children’s home.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a permanent registered manager in place who is registered 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 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: 2615494 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/08/2025 Full Good 18/03/2025 Full Good 28/02/2024 Full Outstanding 21/02/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2615494 3

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Summary of findings

The home is beginning to stabilise after a period of change and instability. There is now a permanent manager in place and a recently appointed therapeutic clinician. Children are all making positive progress with their education; this is a real strength of the home. Staff speak warmly about the children and know them well. There has been some learning from incidents in the home that could have been managed differently. This was quickly implemented across the staffing team. Management oversight is positive, and leaders have high hopes and aspirations for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff all have high aspirations for the children who live there. Children are spoken about warmly and with positive regard. Staff want the best for the children. This ethos and approach were reflected in feedback from children’s social care and education professionals. The home’s child-centred and supportive way of working was commented on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have made efforts to ensure that the home is a fun place to live. They mark events with food, dressing up and parties. Children are also taken to activities in the community that suit their interests and hobbies. The home environment feels relaxed and fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has access to its own specialist educational provisions. Staff have quickly and successfully supported their children to attend these settings. This has been both practical and emotional support, including tailored transition plans that were effective in settling the children. This is particularly positive progress for some children who may have found education difficult in the past. Staff are proud of the children’s attendance and attainment. This is reflected in feedback from one school, which was full of praise for the achievements of the children. Staff continue to have high hopes for the children’s educational outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home recently appointed a therapeutic worker, who attends the home two days a week. This staff member knows the children well. Clinically informed child-focused meetings are held once a month. They are specific to children’s behaviours, and the feelings that may be driving them. The therapeutic work is informed by a multidisciplinary approach. Clinically informed risk assessments are thorough and up to date. Although in its early stages, clinical oversight is beginning to be embedded within working practices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in direct-work sessions that are reflective of some of their experiences and needs. These are not consistently completed, particularly during holiday periods, which could impact on children having these targeted discussions. Inspection report for children’s home: 2615494 4 Weekly check-ins are held to ensure the children’s progress and achievements are captured. Although a positive working practice in principle, the records are not thorough or analytical.

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

Staff in this home understand the risks surrounding the children. Staff are aware of the children’s vulnerabilities, and this is being strengthened through a therapeutic approach, which is beginning to be embedded within the team. Risk assessments are individualised for each child, and there are plans to mitigate risks. There was one occasion when a child’s potential risk was not reflected in a risk assessment, and managers created a prompt and rational plan to manage this.

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

Care plans are thorough and cover a broad range of presenting risks. A strength of the home’s plans is that they are written to the child, which helps them feel more meaningful.

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

Consistent management oversight is a strength of this home in respect of missing-from- home or safeguarding incidents. Oversight is detailed, reflective and consistent. Positively, managers identify gaps in practice where there could have been a swifter or more suitable response and outcome for children. This is shared directly with staff to improve working practices.

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

The use of physical intervention is reducing in the home. Children are spoken to after incidents, and there is consistent management oversight. Children are encouraged to consider safe methods to let out frustration or worry, and de-escalation is always the first approach. There was one occasion when the need to use physical intervention may have been decreased with a different approach from a staff member. However, reflection on this incident was appropriate, and there has been subsequent learning in the team.

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

There has been work completed to improve the processes to follow when children are missing from care. Managers reflected on an occasion when a missing-from-home incident may have been prevented if staff had allocated themselves more appropriately to support children. Single-subject supervision sessions were held, and the missing-from- home process was amended for all the children. Although the incident was a concern, subsequent actions were taken to try and prevent this from happening again.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

After a period of instability, leaders and managers are taking steps to improve this in the home. They recognise the positive impact that a stable senior leadership team will have on the children. Recruitment for these posts is ongoing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers clearly want the best for the children, and this approach is filtering through to the rest of the staff team. The registered manager intends to lead a compassionate and love-led approach in terms of how staff communicate and work with Inspection report for children’s home: 2615494 5 children. This will support children to feel safe, secure and settled when speaking with staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is relatively new in post. Staff spoke positively about them and reported that they were visible and present. Supervision is provided partially by the registered manager but also by other members of the senior leadership team. Managers have a plan in place for more consistent supervision between a staff member and one manager to provide consistency. The aim of this is for staff to gain the most from supervision sessions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A strength of the leadership team is their ability to reflect and grow. Leaders and managers can identify where working practices need to be improved, and they have high hopes for their staffing team as well as for the children. Incidents that could have been managed differently are reflected on well, with the child at the centre of any learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Essential training for staff is up to date. There are some non-essential training courses that would be helpful for staff to have completed when considering the needs of the children. Similarly, there are a small number of staff who do not yet have the required childcare qualification. There is a plan in place to manage this, and progress is being made. Inspection report for children’s home: 2615494 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to staff maintaining safe staffing ratios when in the community with children. 25 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2615494 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. This includes sufficiently detailed and analytical records. This also includes mindfulness of the most appropriate choice of wording when writing up incidents. (‘Guide to The Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 51, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that in a restraint situation, staff use their professional judgement, supported by their knowledge of each child’s risk assessment, an understanding of the needs of the child (as set out in their relevant plans) and an understanding of the risks the child faces. (‘Guide to The Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 48, paragraph 9.53)  The registered person should ensure that they understand the key role they play in

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Recommendations

the training and development of staff in the home and ensure staff are up to date with their required training. (‘Guide to The Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that all their care staff, including external agency or bank staff, have the qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). (‘Guide to The Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 53, paragraph 10.12)

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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: 2615494 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Witherslack Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lupton Tower, Lupton, Carnforth, Lancashire LA6 2PR

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Inspector

Dan Griffin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2615494 9 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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