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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1249264 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 is operated by a private company. It provides care and accommodation for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s registered manager resigned in April 2020 and the post has been vacant since then.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1249264 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/04/2021 Full Inadequate 27/11/2019 Full Outstanding 30/07/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 1249264 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build trusted relationships with children through continuity of care. This helps children to develop their confidence and to make progress. A social worker said of one child: ‘The progress he has made in such a short space of time has been amazing. The support is brilliant.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff carry out regular key-work sessions with children. This helps children to reflect on their behaviours and actions. It also helps children to learn about different cultures and to talk openly in a safe environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are ambitious for children. They strive to find suitable vocational courses for them and support their education when they are not in school. This helps children to make progress. One child did not attend education for over a year before moving into the home. He now attends education regularly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in many outdoor activities. This promotes their physical and mental well-being. It also helps to expand their interests and experiences. One child said, ‘Staff encourage you to get involved, it’s really good.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress with their independent living skills. Staff support them with home improvement projects such as painting and decorating. This helps children to prepare for the future and learn valuable skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well managed. They access support for their emotional well-being from specialist services. Friends visit children at their home. This also promotes their emotional well-being and helps build relationships. One parent said: ‘[Name of child] has learned how to manage his emotions much better. I can’t praise the team enough, they’re brilliant.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a say in making choices, such as activities and decor in the home. However, children are not encouraged to access their case records or contribute to them. This limits the understanding that children have about their experiences and backgrounds.

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

Leaders review children’s risk management plans after all incidents and at least monthly. This ensures that staff identify and manage risks appropriately. Staff also receive an in-depth handover each day to discuss any issues or concerns. This promotes good communication across the team and provides consistent care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1249264 4 Staff use de-escalation techniques to help children to manage their behaviour. This ensures that physical interventions are rarely required. This means that staff maintain positive working relationships with children.

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

Children have clear missing-from-home risk management strategies. This helps to reduce the likelihood of children going missing and the length of time of each episode. Children are offered independent return home interviews following an episode of going missing. As a result, missing-from-home episodes have greatly reduced.

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

Children have access to all areas of the home. However, children’s bedroom doors activate an alarm. This limits children’s privacy in the home.

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

Staff support children to stay safe online. Through key-work sessions, they raise children’s awareness of risks, including child exploitation, and children learn about safe and healthy relationships. This helps children to stay safe.

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

The interim manager is aware of the risks associated with the location of the home. She reviews children’s needs to manage risks and to ensure that the location remains suitable. This helps children to avoid high-risk areas.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is currently managed by an interim manager who is applying to Ofsted for registration. She has worked hard to meet all the requirements raised at the last inspection. She has good oversight of the home and has effective monitoring and review systems in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager attends pre-placement meetings to discuss children’s needs. However, children’s placement plans are not consistently provided following the meetings. This affects children’s care planning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by leaders and managers. They receive monthly supervision and attend regular team meetings. This means they can work together and focus on children’s needs. As a result, children receive consistent levels of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is well informed, positive and child-centred. Staff attend a range of training which helps them to meet the needs of the children. This helps staff to develop their skills and experience. It also helps to retain staff and creates a stable workforce.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers promote multi-agency work. They have strong links with local providers. This promotes children’s education, health, and emotional and social well-being. Staff escalate concerns if responses are not satisfactory. This helps children to access their support without drift and delay. Inspection report for children’s home: 1249264 5 The manager provides a regular quality of care review. However, the views of children, their parents and placing authorities are not directly captured in this report. This affects the analysis and evaluation of the quality of care. Inspection report for children’s home: 1249264 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, 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.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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 help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(f)) 30 June 2022

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Requirement Due date

This regulation applies to a child who is looked after by a local authority.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must co-operate with the child’s placing authority in agreeing and signing the child’s placement plan. (Regulation 17 (1) (2)) 10 June 2022

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (2)(a)(b)(c) (5)) 30 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1249264 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that any limits to children’s privacy or access in the home should be informed by a rigorous assessment and kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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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 for children’s home: 1249264 8

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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, Leeds LS2 7JU

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Inspector

Mark Woodbridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1249264 9 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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