Children's Home run by A Wilderness Way Limited in Cumberland

Inspection report for children’s home: 2876473 1 Registered provider: A Wilderness Way Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

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 or have a learning disability.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home was registered in December 2025, and the manager registered with Ofsted in January 2026.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Two children have lived at the home since it was registered. The child currently living at the home was spoken with during the inspection.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2876473 2

p.1

Summary of findings

Staff are confident in addressing children’s previous life experiences, and children are helped to understand why adults are worried about them. As a result, children’s risks reduce. Children are helped to re-engage with education while in the home. They complete qualifications and are encouraged to aspire for the future. Staff support children to have safe, well-planned time with their families. Any issues with family time are addressed so as not to affect the child seeing their family.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff build positive relationships with the children through a wide variety of adventurous and outdoor activities. When children are struggling, staff help children to build their confidence to try new things. Children are encouraged to share their experiences of living in the home with parents and siblings, who are invited to visit and join their child on activities. This helps children remain connected with those most important to them.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The in-house education worker has supported both children to make good educational progress. Children have engaged in assessments to identify their needs and completed entry level qualifications in maths and English. The manager has escalated one child’s lack of an education, health and care plan to ensure that they have the support they need to access college when they leave the home. This has helped children aspire to start apprenticeships and attend college.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s health needs are well supported. Staff work with health professionals to support children in accessing routine appointments and understanding health interventions. As a result, children get the treatment and help they need, and their health improves.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff record their interactions with children and professionals in a detailed and child-friendly manner. Children’s plans routinely include their voice. However, some records of conversations with children are lacking in detail and richness and would not be suitably informative if the child was to read them in the future.

p.2

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

The manager and staff work with parents, social workers and other professionals to understand the children’s risks and create safety plans before children move to the home. When necessary, the manager arranges refresher training for staff on risks relevant to a new child. The help children receive increases their understanding of their risks; they settle well and in turn benefit from the support that helps them to be safer. Inspection report for children’s home: 2876473 3 Regular creative discussions about drug use and the proportionate use of room searches have supported one child to stop misusing substances. When children go missing from home, staff follow procedures effectively to return children to the home safely. All incidents and safeguarding actions are recorded in detail. This supports the managers to have a well-informed oversight of any actions taken to keep children safe.

p.2

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

Staff reflect with children to help them consider the choices they make and how these may affect their outcomes. The manager has follow-up conversations weekly with children to explore the rationale for any changes made to their care and how these relate to the child’s behaviour. When appropriate, staff involve parents in discussions to ensure that they understand how they are supporting their child to be safe. Together, children and parents learn about the effect their actions can have and to consider better choices.

p.3

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

When concerns are raised about staff practice, leaders and managers follow safeguarding procedures to keep children safe. They keep detailed records on all aspects of the concern raised and communicate with the relevant agencies, challenging appropriately when information-sharing does not occur as it should. The manager has reflected at length to see whether a concern raised could have been avoided.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is developing the team’s culture. They encourage staff to be involved in decisions and have a say about how things are run. Staff spoke positively about the manager’s presence in the home, and staff have a strong sense of belonging, citing improvements in communication, consistency and a family atmosphere as contributing factors.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers arrange regular reflective practice sessions for the whole team, facilitated by a psychotherapist. They use recognised tools to help staff understand a child’s early life experiences, life journey and what may be affecting them presently. In addition, staff access monthly training workshops on a variety of topics, including neurodiversity and mental health, to further develop their knowledge and skills.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When the manager identifies shortfalls in practice from other agencies, she addresses this appropriately. This has led to improved support for the children. Furthermore, the manager takes their own minutes of meetings to mitigate the risk of documents not being received in a timely manner, to ensure that staff have the information needed to care for children.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff benefit from a supportive induction and training programme that prepares them well to care for children. All staff receive regular well-structured supervision sessions that support them to carry out their role effectively. Staff wellbeing and development are regularly discussed. However, the level of detail recorded from supervision sessions is variable and may not be sufficiently detailed for a member of staff to refer to it to support their development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2876473 4

p.3

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. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff receive a written record of their supervision that is sufficiently detailed, to allow both the manager and the member of staff to refer to the record for guidance. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

p.4

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: 2876473 5

p.4

Children’s home details

Registered provider: A Wilderness Way Limited

p.5

Children’s home details

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

p.5

Inspector

Kirstie Sutherland, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2876473 6 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.

p.5

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.6

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.6

Inspector

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

p.6