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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2730932 1 Registered provider: Westmorland and Furness Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

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

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 6 children were living at the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager in post. The current manager has submitted an application to register with Ofsted.

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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2730932 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/07/2025 Full Good 13/08/2024 Full Good 22/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2730932 3

p.2

Summary of findings

The home provides children with a welcoming environment. Children benefit from participating in activities of their choice. Staff support children’s moves into and out of the home well.

p.3

Summary of findings

Children attend education and are making progress.

p.3

Summary of findings

Children feel safe and have individualised risk assessments that help staff to keep them safe.

p.3

Summary of findings

Children know how to make complaints. Complaints are investigated; however, there is no evidence that children are informed of the outcome.

p.3

Summary of findings

There is no registered manager in post. A new manager has been recruited. The new manager knows the children as they were previously the deputy manager at the home. Staff benefit from reflective supervision and regular team meetings.

p.3

Summary of findings

Staff know how to respond to allegations. However, on one occasion when a child retracted an allegation, it was not investigated by the manager. This did not affect the child’s safety.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has experienced a positive move out of the home and moved into independent living accommodation. The child stated that they felt prepared to move on. One child is currently getting ready to move into a foster home. Three new children have moved into the home. All children experienced positive transitions into the home and are beginning to make progress in all areas of their lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a welcoming and homely feel. The environment is decorated and furnished to a good standard. Photos of the children are displayed throughout the home. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to reflect each child’s preferences and are decorated with their own belongings. This helps children to feel settled.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with stability. Professionals speak highly of staff and the care they provide for children. One social worker said, ‘The home has provided wraparound care.’ This demonstrates that the acting manager and staff are providing children with consistent and effective care.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop positive relationships with staff. Staff help children to develop their independence skills. Some of the children enjoyed a holiday abroad. This helped them to develop their social skills. Inspection report for children’s home: 2730932 4 Staff prioritise children’s education. Children attend school and are making progress. This demonstrates that staff support children’s ongoing learning and development effectively.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in activities they enjoy, such as rugby and swimming. This supports the development of their identity.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health is identified in their care plans. However, plans do not help staff to support children with their health needs.

p.4

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

Children say that they feel safe and that they can talk to staff if they have any worries or concerns.

p.4

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

Children’s risk assessments and safety plans are effective. The acting manager and staff update them regularly. Children’s risk assessments include all relevant information. They provide staff with information about children’s risks and vulnerabilities. This ensures that staff have the necessary knowledge to help keep children safe.

p.4

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

Staff try to manage situations when children are in crisis. However, on one occasion, staff held a child. Recording of this incident is not in line with regulation. This limits opportunities for staff to learn from incidents and prevent further occurrences.

p.4

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

When children go missing, staff respond promptly. Partnership working with the police and family members is effective, and staff take proactive steps to ensure that children return home as soon as possible. Staff have a good understanding of the missing-from- home procedures. Staff ensure that children have opportunities to speak to a professional who is independent and that follow-up work is carried out.

p.4

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

Staff use rewards and consequences to help children understand rules and boundaries. The consequences are proportionate and effective. This helps children to develop positive behaviour.

p.4

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

Safer recruitment processes are followed. This helps to ensure that staff are suitable to care for children.

p.4

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

Complaints made by children are investigated. However, there is no evidence that children are informed of an outcome.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A new permanent manager has been recruited. The change in manager has not affected the care afforded to the children as the acting manager was recruited from the staff team. The responsible individual and managers know the children well. Inspection report for children’s home: 2730932 5 The acting manager and deputy managers provide reflective supervision to all staff. The acting manager reviews staff practice effectively. She ensures that staff practice is carefully monitored. This helps staff continue to provide good care for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have frequent meetings. Staff share their caring and safeguarding practices. External professionals are invited to attend to share their knowledge and experiences.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The acting manager and staff maintain effective relationships with relevant professionals. This supports a coordinated approach to meeting children’s needs and contributes to staff providing consistent care for children.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Decisions about children moving into the home are well thought out and planned by the responsible individual, managers and staff. When appropriate, other relevant professionals are involved in decisions about children moving into the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The appropriateness and suitability of the review of premises assessment does not include consultation with a variety of relevant people. This is a missed opportunity for the registered manager to continually assess the local community to help manage any risks to children.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff understand what to do if children make an allegation. On one occasion when a child made an allegation, this was not investigated, as the child retracted the allegation. This could have affected children’s safety. Inspection report for children’s home: 2730932 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

Behaviour management policies and records standard The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

p.6

Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

p.6

Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

p.6

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(b)(i)(ii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the manager must ensure that staff are spoken to within 48 hours of a measure. 8 November 2026

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi)) 8 November 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2730932 7 The manager must also ensure that allegations made by children or staff are notified to the local authority designated officer and Ofsted.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The manager must ensure that children understand the outcomes of any complaints they make.

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that each child’s day-to-day health and wellbeing needs are met through strategies outlined in their plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3)  The registered person should ensure that all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should 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 13.5)  The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and

p.7

Recommendations

strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

p.7

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: 2730932 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Westmorland and Furness Council

p.8

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Elizabeth Curtis

p.8

Inspector

Karen Andrews, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2730932 9 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.8

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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9