Children's Home run by Radical Services Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report children’s home: SC061158 1 SC061158 Registered provider: Radical Services Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is privately run and is registered for one young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since October 2009.

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: 5 December 2018

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC061158 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/12/2018 Full Good 16/08/2017 Full Good 22/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/12/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC061158 3

p.2

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, 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.3

Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(c)) 26/06/2019

p.3

Requirement Due date

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

p.3

Requirement Due date

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

p.3

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. (Regulation 12(2)(a)(i))

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, children’s risk assessments should be kept up to date with their most recent risks. 26/06/2019

p.3

Recommendations

 When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30) Inspection report children’s home: SC061158 4

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person has been living at this home for a considerable time and, as such, has developed exceptionally strong and positive relationships with the manager and staff. He reports that he enjoys spending time with staff on a daily basis and was observed to have highly positive interactions with staff during the inspection. The young person states that he knows that staff care about him and want the best for him. He feels able to speak to staff if he has any worries and could identify different staff he would choose to speak to for different issues. These positive relationships have had a significant impact on his life over the course of the placement.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home itself offers a warm and homely environment for the young person. He stated that he would not change anything about it other than its location. This was because of the negative peer relationships he had formed in the area.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person’s engagement with education is also highly positive. The home has worked in partnership with the local authority to identify a bespoke package of education suited to the young person’s needs and learning style. He is supported during his time in education by staff who take an active role in keeping him on track and interested. This has facilitated him achieving a level 1 qualification in engineering and a bronze ASDAN ( curriculum development and awarding organisation) award .

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Similarly, the young person has made very good progress with his youth offending order. He has completed a referral order and is at the end of a youth rehabilitation order. His youth offending service (YOS) worker reports that his engagement has been positive, and this is partly due to the support he is given by staff during the sessions. Additionally, staff incorporate learning from sessions into the direct work they do with the young person in the home to further improve his understanding of the issues.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Central to the ethos of the home is placing the young person at the core of all planning and decision-making. The young person freely shares his views, wishes and feelings and these are acted on where possible and appropriate. The young person has expressed a desire to move from the home due to contextual safeguarding issues in the community, and managers have advocated on his behalf to put a planned move in place for him. The young person reports that staff take his views seriously and he feels that they listen to him and want the best for him.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person is in good health and is supported to attend health appointments, although there are some that he has refused. Since coming to the home, he has stopped taking medication for a previously diagnosed condition and has been discharged by child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), which are positive steps for him. He is supported to choose and participate in a range of healthy activities which have included walking up the highest mountain in England, which is a huge achievement.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and external agencies spoken to as part of this inspection all confirmed that the Inspection report children’s home: SC061158 5 young person has made good progress, particularly regarding his increased confidence and his ability to form and maintain relationships, and in developing empathy.

p.4

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

The young person’s risk-taking behaviours have increased since the last full inspection of this home. However, there is no evidence to suggest that this is in any way attributable to the care he receives from staff at the home. Several external agencies contacted as part of this inspection spoke very highly of the efforts that the manager and staff make to keep the young person safe. The young person himself recognises that staff cannot keep him safe, despite their best efforts, and as such has requested a placement move to a different area. The young person’s social worker commented, ‘It is a constant battle for us to work to balance his needs with keeping him safe. The home works really hard and we constantly review safety plans and strategies. I can’t praise them enough for their attempts to maintain his safety.’

p.5

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

The young person has placed himself at significant risk of harm while missing from the home. The manager and staff go to great lengths to try to prevent him from going missing, for example by not taking him out for activities near any large towns where there are transport links he could use to abscond. Staff are clear about the protocol to follow when the young person goes missing. The manager has made very good use of social media sites to locate and communicate with him during missing episodes, which is an example of good safeguarding practice. Independent return home interviews still do not always take place as they should, which was a recommendation made at the previous inspection that is repeated at this inspection.

p.5

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

The young person is at risk of gangs, weapons, county lines and child sexual exploitation. Staff are trained in these areas so that they can provide tailored support for him. Key-worker sessions often focus on these specific areas of risk, and staff work with the young person to educate him as well as encouraging him to make appropriate choices.

p.5

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

Although the young person has engaged in criminal activity and is subject to a youth rehabilitation order, staff do work hard to prevent him from being further criminalised. This means that they do not call the police out to the home to manage his occasional very volatile and threatening behaviour unless absolutely necessary. However, some incidents have been serious enough for him to be arrested and charged and have put staff at risk of harm. Staff know him extremely well and are empathic in respect of his incidents of violence and aggression towards them. They do not take any aggression directed towards them personally, and show that they still care about him after each incident, which helps him to feel secure and cared about.

p.5

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

Staff have a very good understanding of the young person’s risks. They know him extremely well and are fluent in speaking about the risks he poses to himself and others. His risk assessments are detailed and have clear information about how risks should be managed and negated. One risk assessment relating to fire setting was not up to date with the most recent information about this risk, and a requirement is made to reflect Inspection report children’s home: SC061158 6 this. However, there was no evidence that this had an impact on his safety.

p.5

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

Consistency is achieved regarding rules and boundaries because staff have good communication and handovers that clearly state the boundaries which have been set.

p.6

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

Restrictive physical intervention is used very rarely and only in circumstances where it is necessary. When restraints are used they are brief, low-level and effective. Although the young person is offered an opportunity to express his views about each incident when he is restrained, this is not always carried out by someone who was not involved in the intervention, which potentially limits his opportunity to express an honest view.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is registered, suitably qualified and experienced. He leads a home where the young person’s welfare and well-being are central to every aspect of the home’s leadership and management. He has high aspirations for the young person in his care and high expectations of the staff team in delivering that care. The manager has developed an extremely strong and trusting relationship with the young person and has been a good advocate for him in respect of his wish to move to another area.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses. He takes decisive action to address any area of weakness. There are good systems in place for internal monitoring, and external monitoring visits and reports are used to continuously improve the service. The manager is responsive to ideas and suggestions to make improvements.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is stable, and all except one are qualified to the required level 3 diploma in residential childcare. The staff team works well together to provide care, consistency and nurture to the young person.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Individual staff members spoken to feel supported in their roles. They are offered development opportunities; for example, one member of staff now takes the lead in monitoring checks and another for updating plans and assessments. Training takes place on a regular basis. Staff have training in areas that are specific to the young person, for example county lines, child sexual exploitation and gangs. This helps them manage the young person’s risk to the best of their ability and to have confidence in their roles as care givers.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager reports that his own support and supervision have improved following the recruitment of a new responsible individual who he speaks to regularly and feels offers him an appropriate level of support.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed close links with a wide range of agencies involved with the young person. His commitment to working as part of a multi-agency team to secure the best outcome for the young person is exceptional. Several agencies were contacted as part of this inspection and all gave highly positive feedback about communication and collaborative working. Inspection report children’s home: SC061158 7

p.6

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

p.7

Information about this inspection

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 children’s home: SC061158 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Radical Services Ltd

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Rouse House, 2 Wyther Lane, LEEDS LS5 3BT

p.8

Inspector

Charlie Bamber, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC061158 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 http://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: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9