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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2731613 1 Registered provider: Westmorland and Furness Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a local authority. It provides short breaks for up to 6 children who may have learning disabilities, physical disabilities or sensory impairment.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in April 2023. The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2026.

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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: 2731613 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/05/2025 Full Good 20/02/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/02/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2731613 3

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Summary of findings

Children have positive experiences of staying at the home and receive support to develop skills which will help them as they enter adulthood.

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Summary of findings

Managers have effective oversight of any concerns and work with parents and professionals to understand and support children’s development needs.

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Summary of findings

Managers are aspirational about what children and staff can achieve. There is a positive culture of accountability, learning and improvement within the team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive individualised care to meet their needs. There is detailed planning with parents and professionals before children access the service. The manager goes the extra mile to meet with families to respond to any concerns before visits begin. Parents value the efforts staff make to reassure them when their children begin to stay over.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents speak highly of the quality of trusting relationships that their children have with staff. One child who recently left the service spoke about the memories they made at the home and how it led them to want to help other children coming into the service. They described the care they were given as ‘beyond numbers’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are often complex. Staff understand children’s needs and respond quickly in line with plans to ensure that children receive the best care possible. They work well with parents and health professionals when there are issues to look at ways to achieve better outcomes for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to communicate with children and to understand their views. Children’s views are acted on by arranging activities they wish to get involved in or by writing to children to share feedback on any concerns they might have.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s engagement records demonstrate the activities and experiences they have been involved in. This includes activities to support their development and independence such as cooking, interviewing new staff, inspecting community facilities or the monthly youth group. Records are mostly photograph based and would benefit from personal information as a reminder for children and their families about their engagement. Staff arrange regular coffee mornings for parents and carers to provide support and information about relevant services. Inspection report for children’s home: 2731613 4

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

Incidents are managed well, with timely actions taken to safeguard children. There is appropriate follow up with professionals and parents to consider how risks will be managed going forward.

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

Following one serious incident there was a significant amount of reflection carried out with staff to consider their actions and understand if this incident could have been prevented. This period of reflection enabled staff to consider what could be put in place to monitor any emerging concerns going forward. Staff debriefs were completed after the incident. However, this debrief took place as a group discussion which then lacked robust challenge.

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

Managers complete detailed timelines when considering incidents to support their oversight. In response to recent concerns about changes in a child’s behaviours, managers have completed monthly monitoring to consider patterns and trends. However, the reports do not demonstrate a cumulative view or consideration of the wider factors impacting on the child’s daily life such as sleep or diet.

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

There are safer recruitment practices in place to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff, professionals and parents all spoke about how managers go above and beyond what is expected of them. The manager has a clear drive to continue to make improvements and demonstrates pride in the team’s and children’s achievements. There is a passion in the team to ensure that children and their families receive the best care and support possible.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported and valued by managers. There is a balanced mix of staff including those who are experienced who know children well alongside newer team members.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that staff are well trained to meet children’s needs. There is regular refresher training along with focused sessions in team meetings and development days.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are used to good effect. Managers ensure that staff are engaged and well informed with updates for children. Recordings would benefit from more detail on the reflections of staff and the team to benefit those not in attendance. While actions are discussed these are not recorded in a way which ensures that progress is tracked.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions and annual appraisals encourage staff to reflect on their practice and wellbeing. Recordings evidence the support managers provide and the value they place on team members. Appraisals would benefit from the addition of feedback from children, parents, peers and professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager did not report a serious incident for a child to Ofsted. This meant that the regulator was unable to have oversight of safeguarding practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2731613 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 person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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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 (a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 30 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2731613 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff keep and encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia of their time spent at the home and help them record significant life events through photographs and text. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)  The registered person should ensure that the registered person and staff review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. Reviews of restraint practice with staff should be completed and recorded individually to ensure there is a robust oversight of incidents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should make best use of internal monitoring and reviews of incidents to understand changes in children’s presentation. Monitoring should consider

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Recommendations

analysis over time cumulatively and consider the impact of all relevant factors for the children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should oversee the welfare of the children in their care through engagement with the home’s staff in regular team meetings. Recordings of meetings should set out and review any actions agreed with timescales and outline staff input and reflection on the care provided to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.23)  The registered person should ensure that annual staff appraisals take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph

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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: 2731613 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Westmorland and Furness Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Duke Street, Barrow in Furness, Cumbria LA14 2LD

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Inspector

Andrea Foreman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2731613 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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