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

Inspection report children’s home: 2642423 1 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 registered with Ofsted on 19 June 2021. It is run by a private organisation and provides care for up to three children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager also registered with Ofsted in June 2021 and is appropriately qualified.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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 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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2642423 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are extremely settled, happy, and they enjoy living at the home. They enjoy trusting and meaningful relationships with staff. Two of the three children have previously been cared for by the manager and staff team at another home run by the company. Their move to this home has successfully maintained their continuity of care and sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they feel loved and know that staff genuinely care for them and want the best for them. Children speak of the home being like a family. One child commented, ‘All that has changed is bricks and mortar. Love makes the home, and the staff and the children are the best part of this home. It’s the love that makes us family.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are interested and enthusiastic about their education. They are all making good progress. Two children have recently settled in college, and another child about to restart school after a successful limited period of home tuition. As well as attending college, both children have been successful in gaining part-time jobs in the local community, which has improved their confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are healthy and encouraged to keep active. They enjoy their favourite pastimes and outdoor activities, including bike rides, horse riding and walking. Children are encouraged to develop friendships outside the home, which expands their social circle and provides further opportunities for children to have fun and enjoy themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are being suitably prepared for eventual independence in accordance with their age. For example, two children travel independently to college, and they work part-time in the hospitality industry. All are encouraged to participate in meal preparation, shopping, laundry tasks and learning budgeting skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children share very positive attitudes and views about their future lives as they move towards adulthood. Families and professionals speak highly of the home and feel very welcome when visiting their children.

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

Children enjoy a strong sense of safety and feel well protected by staff. Children’s inclusion is developing robust plans for their care, and support has helped to build the strong and trusting relationships they share with staff.

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

The quality of care provided by staff has clearly made a positive difference to children’s confidence and self-esteem and building their resilience. Children treat staff with respect and show a level of maturity that reflects the success of their relationships. Inspection report children’s home: 2642423 3 Children are described by staff to generally be very well behaved and trusting of staff to discuss any concerns or worries they may have. Children know their views and opinions matter to staff and that staff care and will always advocate for them.

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

Staff’s support focuses on ensuing that children have clear boundaries, good routines, and consistency in their day-to-day life. Because of the quality of relationships shared, there have been no incidents at this home that have required the use of sanctions or physical intervention. Although staff are familiar with local safeguarding protocols and procedures, there have not been any incidents of children going missing from the home.

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

Medication is safely stored and administered within the home. However, one record for a child was found to be incomplete, which does not promote accurate auditing of medication.

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

During this inspection, it was identified that visitors’ identification is not routinely checked by staff and, contrary to the home’s COVID-19 risk assessment planning, visitors’ temperatures are also not routinely checked. While this did not compromise the safety of the children on this occasion, it did not meet with best safe practice.

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

In addition, the home has failed to demonstrate that visitors are routinely advised about the home’s fire safety arrangements, in particular the procedure for evacuation in the event of a fire. This may compromise a visitor’s safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led and managed effectively by a competent and experienced registered manager who has previously achieved outstanding outcomes for children. The manager and staff team are clearly familiar with children’s needs and know them well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have included children in planning the move into this new home. This has been beneficial in helping them to settle in a new environment, achieve and maintain stability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are passionate and strongly invested in providing children with a high quality of care that will enable them to achieve good outcomes and have an experience as close as possible to family life. One staff member commented, ‘I quite often refer to this as my second home and family.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Morale among the staff team is high. Staff feel well supported by their manager and the arrangements in place to promote their personal development and maintain a high level of care and support for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Good internal and external monitoring arrangements exist. This provides good scrutiny of the home and maintains good transparency with Ofsted. The home is working in accordance with its statement of purpose. However, this has not been Inspection report children’s home: 2642423 4 published as required on the company’s website to ensure that it can be accessed by other professionals and families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the home opened, the company has made a change in its responsible individual. At the time of this inspection, Ofsted had not been appropriately informed of this change. Consequently, a requirement has been made in relation to this. Inspection report children’s home: 2642423 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 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 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, this includes checking visitors’ identification and temperature as a possible sign of infection in accordance with the home’s COVID-19 risk assessment. 31 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

If a home has a website, the registered person must ensure that a copy of the statement of purpose is published on that website unless the registered person considers that such publication would prejudice the welfare of children in the home. (Regulation 16 (4)) 31 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that records reflect the amount of medication remaining after administration of tablets or oral suspension to enable accurate auditing. 31 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as 31 January 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2642423 6 reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of a fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that visitors working at the home are aware of the arrangements should the fire alarm sound.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must give notice in writing to HMCI, as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so, if any of the following events take place or are expected by the registered person to take place—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered provider is an organisation—

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Requirement Due date

any change in the identity of the responsible individual. (Regulation 49 (e)(iii)) 31 January 2022

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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: 2642423 7

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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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Inspector

Gillian Walters, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2642423 8 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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