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

Inspection report children's home: SC061158 1 SC061158 Registered provider: Radical Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is one of several children’s homes operated by a private company. The home provides care and accommodation for one child.

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Information about this children’s home

There is an acting manager in post who is not yet registered. The manager does not have the relevant level 5 qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 24 March 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded, and the care and experiences of children are poor, and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children's home: SC061158 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/05/2019 Full Good 05/12/2018 Full Good 16/08/2017 Full Good 22/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC061158 3

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inadequate

The child living at this home made significant progress when he first went to live there. However, his progress has significantly deteriorated over the months since the home’s monitoring visit in March 2021. In part, this deterioration can be attributed to the previous manager and several care staff leaving the setting. This has disrupted his relationships and caused him significant distress. This results in feelings of loss, loneliness and grief. He reported he is often cared for by strangers.

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inadequate

Staff rotas show that agency staff and staff from other homes are regularly used. The home has only two core members of staff. The child stated that he only had a positive relationship with one of those members of staff. Observations of him in the home supported this.

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inadequate

Staff have not provided the right support for the child to access external help for physical and emotional health issues. This has left his needs in these areas unmet.

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inadequate

Staff have not prioritised, or correctly escalated, arrangements for education. The child does not have a school place. Staff were unable to motivate the child to engage in any educational activities that would support informal learning.

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inadequate

Staff have not responded to the child’s need for structure nor put positive routines in place. This means that he experiences uncertainty on a daily basis.

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inadequate

The home environment is not of a good standard. The garden is littered with cigarette butts and rubbish waiting to be taken to the tip, and is overgrown and uncared for’ .Interior decoration is not of a high standard, particularly in the child’s bedroom.

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inadequate

Staff were heard using language that stigmatises. They were also careless in their use of gender pronouns. This does not ensure that the child is treated with dignity and respect, and that his views, wishes and feelings are taken into consideration.

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

Staff do not have the skills to ensure that the child always remains safe even when presented with significant risks. These risks include going missing from home, self- harm, alcohol misuse, sexual exploitation, anger, aggression and drug use.

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

A serious incident occurred during the inspection. Staff did not follow the child’s behaviour management plan to support de-escalation. This does not evidence that the child is helped to learn self-regulation. Inspection report children's home: SC061158 4 Staff showed a lack of response to the child’s distress and urgent need on one occasion.

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

The home does not provide a safe environment. A lawn mower was stored in the conservatory. There were also several metal poles in the garden which the child used to damage the shed during the inspection. He sustained preventable injury through doing this.

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

Shortfalls were identified in records relating to risks. One missing-from-home incident was not recorded in full. Another was not recorded as a missing-from-home incident. Risk assessments were not clear and contained conflicting and sometimes incorrect information about risk levels. This means that staff may not be clear about the child’s risks or the severity of those risks.

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

Staff do not all have the relevant training to be able to safeguard the child and understand his risks. Deficits were noted in training in suicide prevention, e-safety, drug and alcohol misuse, sexual abuse and recognising grooming.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are significant issues with sufficiency and continuity of staffing at the home. This has left staff working excessive hours and the manager working care shifts. This means that she has not had time to attend to her managerial duties. This has exacerbated shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staffing arrangements are disorganised and last minute. This means that the child does not know who will be caring for him overnight or the following day. This does not provide him with settled and predictable staffing arrangements. On the day that inspectors were on site there was uncertainty about night-time staffing arrangements. No staff arrived for the night, so last-minute arrangements had to be made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home’s rotas were unclear and did not record the full names of the staff working in the home. Nor did they record whether the staff member was allocated to this home, another home within the company or an agency. Staffing arrangements in the near term had many gaps to be filled.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Shortfalls were identified in several records sampled by inspectors. Some documents needed to be updated and some had no managerial oversight. Documents were not all checked for accuracy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Recoding systems are disorganised. The manager struggled to locate some key pieces of evidence in a timely manner. Inspection report children's home: SC061158 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, 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that staff should use appropriate and respectful language. 17 September

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. 17 September Inspection report children's home: SC061158 6 (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that the home provides a welcoming and homely environment and is individualised and personalised in line with children’s views, wishes and feelings.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that the registered person liaises with the virtual head to make arrangements for the child to be in education. 17 September

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills.

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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

develop the child’s interests and hobbies;

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Requirement Due date

participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences; and

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Requirement Due date

make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 17 September Inspection report children's home: SC061158 7 The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10(a)(b)(c)) 17 September

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(v)(ix)(xi)) 17 September

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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

that staff— 17 September Inspection report children's home: SC061158 8 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

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

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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

*The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; 17 September Inspection report children's home: SC061158 9 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 17 September

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)) 17 September

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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 children's home: SC061158 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Radical Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 The Calls, Calls Wharf, Leeds, West Yorkshire LS2 7JU

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Matthew McFadzean

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Inspectors

Charlie Bamber, Social Care Inspector Kathryn Grindrod, Her Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC061158 11 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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