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

Inspection report children’s home: SC476083 1 SC476083 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

The children’s home is run by a private organisation. It provides care for up to three children.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager appointed. A manager (who is not yet registered, and has not yet applied for registration) from another of the company’s homes is currently overseeing this home, in addition to the other home she manages.

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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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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 requires improvement to be 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: Outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children’s home: SC476083 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/03/2020 Full Outstanding 15/01/2019 Full Outstanding 22/11/2017 Full Outstanding 26/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC476083 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This home has been relocated to different premises/another house. The three children who previously lived at this home were making good progress. They were settled and achieving in line with expectations. Two of the children moved to a newly registered home. One child was supported to move on to independent living. Staff from the home continued to support her after her move, to ensure that she did not feel isolated and alone. The home’s previous manager reported that all three children have settled into their new accommodation/homes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child currently living at the home was placed at short notice. This was following a placement breakdown at one of the company’s other local homes. She has settled in quickly. She told the inspector that she is happier here, and that this is a home to her. She stated that this home is the best she has lived in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff invest a lot of time in the child. They listen to her views, wishes and feelings and design her care package around these. This has helped her to respond positively to the jointly agreed rules in place. For example, she is happy to hand her phone over to the manager for checks to take place, and she hands the phone in at night time. She has written the agreed rules up and displayed them around the home, so that all staff know the rules and can follow them consistently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive relationships between the child and staff are developing. Staff spend time with her doing things she enjoys, such as making TikTok dance videos, cooking and watching movies. This supports the child to develop trust in the staff, and has resulted in her being open and honest with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have been responsive to the child’s requests for the home to be less institutionalised. For example, she prefers not to plan her meals and activities a week in advance. This is because she prefers to choose what she would like to do and eat on the day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is not yet in school. A meeting has been held to arrange schooling, and an application has been made to a local provision. Staff have supported the child to have a virtual tour of the school and to look up the rules and expectations that the school imposes. This has helped the child to prepare for going to school and has relieved some of her anxieties about starting a new school. In the interim, staff are supporting informal learning. Examples of this include learning about budgeting, shopping and following recipes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the start of the inspection, some issues were noted in respect of the home environment, such as excess rubbish and an old mattress propped against a wall in the lounge. conditions. These were quickly rectified. However, a requirement has been made to reflect those issues. Additionally, the child’s placement plan had not been fully updated following her placement move. Despite her care plan remaining Inspection report children’s home: SC476083 4 the same, it would be good practice to update it to reflect the change of placement and changes to the approach taken by staff in relation to caring for her.

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

The three children who lived at this home before it was relocated were kept safe by staff. There were few incidents. None of the children went missing from home. There was only one restrictive physical intervention. The record of this intervention was unclear. The record did not describe the hold. Further, a member of staff felt unsupported by her colleagues during this incident. There is no information relating to how the manager addressed this with the staff involved.

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

The child currently living at the home has been much safer since moving there. There has been a dramatic reduction in the severity and the frequency of incidents.. The child self-reported that she is safe and feels safe. She trusts staff and is opening up to them about her past. Staff have followed safeguarding protocols when she has disclosed issues of concern.

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

Staff understand the child’s individual risks. They use their trusting relationships with the child to support her to be open and honest about her social media activity. This means that she is happy to give them information about who she is sharing messages with, and who she is speaking to on her phone. This allows staff to determine whether her activity online is safe.

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

Direct work is relevant to the child’s risks. She knows that she will have to complete work on internet safety to help her to make safe decisions. There is a clear plan in place in respect of her mobile phone. She has agreed to this plan and is adhering to it.

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

Staff understand that the child does not respond well to authoritative imposition of rules and boundaries. They have empowered her to be involved in decision-making about house rules. Her ownership of this helps her to feel more in control. As a result, she is abiding by the rules and keeping herself safe.

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

The home’s acting manager is working with the wider system to ensure that there is a joined-up approach to keeping the child safe.

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good

The home closed after the previous residents and staff team moved house. No new manager or staff team were appointed for this registered building before accepting an admission. A manager from another of the company’s homes is currently jointly managing this home. This means that the manager has had insufficient time to ensure that all managerial tasks are done.

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good

There is now a core staff team in place and there has been minimal reliance on agency staff. The staff are unqualified and mostly inexperienced in residential Inspection report children’s home: SC476083 5 childcare. Although there is no evidence that this is having a detrimental impact on the child, a requirement is made to reflect the lack of experience and qualifications of the staff. Further, the child’s matching risk assessment does not reflect how the staff’s skills and experience match the identified needs and risks of the child.

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good

The staff spoken to reported that they feel supported by the manager and that they regularly receive informal supervision. However, they have not received formal, recorded supervision on a frequent basis. It is particularly important for the staff at this home to receive regular formal supervision because they lack experience and qualifications.

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good

There are also some gaps in staff training. The manager provided explanations for the gaps. However, if staff are to undertake shiftf in which they are lone working with a child, they should have completed all of the mandatory training. In particular, all staff should be trained in de-escalation and behaviour management.

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good

The requirement made at the previous inspection relating to regulation 44 is not met. The manager had not had sight of the report for August on the day of the inspection in October. The report had not been sent to Ofsted as required. Additionally, the manager has not devised a development plan for the home. This is essential for continuous development and driving improvements in the service. Inspection report children’s home: SC476083 6

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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 registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

HMCI. (Regulation 44 (1) (7)(a)) 11 November

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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. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)) 11 November

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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 promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 11 November Inspection report children’s home: SC476083 7 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is an organisation or a partnership. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)) 11 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 11 November

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all records relating to children that are kept in the home are up to date and contain the most recent and relevant information about the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are kept which enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint in order to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure that it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59) Inspection report children’s home: SC476083 8

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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: SC476083 9

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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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Inspector

Charlie Bamber, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC476083 10 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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