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

Inspection report for 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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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

Date of last inspection: 14 December 2021

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/12/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2642423 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have lived at the home since it opened. They feel happy, relaxed and settled in their home. One social worker said, ‘[Name of child] is very settled at home and consistently expresses that they feel cared for.’ The manager and staff have positive relationships with children, which means that they can support, guide and advise them, to enhance their development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can share their views, wishes and feelings and have input into decisions about their lives. They feel listened to, valued and respected by staff. Children enjoy a wide range of activities with the staff, such as shopping trips, trampolining and a summer holiday to Spain.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop their independence skills in line with their age and individual needs. One child is learning to drive, and two children are working part time while also attending college. The manager and staff support children to make progress in all aspects of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to see their family and friends. Staff have good relationships with family members, which helps children to maintain relationships with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a good routine and structure in place, and they all attend education. One child is now in full-time education after not attending education prior to moving into the home. Children are working towards their educational targets and have aspirations for further education and employment in the future. One child was enjoying a trip abroad with college at the time of the inspection, to further enhance their knowledge in their chosen studies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are a priority. They regularly attend routine health appointments. Children engage with the home’s assistant psychologist on a regular basis, which supports their emotional health and well-being needs. The manager and staff regularly consult with the assistant psychologist to inform individual planning for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated and furnished to a high standard. Children are encouraged to have a choice in the decoration of the home and their bedrooms, and they have all personalised their own space. The children and staff are working together to develop an art room where they can create their own pottery.

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

The manager and staff know the children well. They understand and follow their care plans and risk management plans. The plans are detailed and provide clear Inspection report for children’s home: 2642423 4 strategies to support staff to safely manage children’s behaviour. Children say that they feel safe living at the home and are supported to stay safe by the staff.

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

Staff undertake a range of safeguarding training, including training on harmful sexual behaviours, exploitation, self-harm and internet safety. This means that children’s risk-taking behaviours are understood and managed well by the staff.

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

Incidents of children going missing from home are rare, and staff use their professional curiosity to safeguard the children. They consult with relevant professionals, including the police, youth offending service, teachers and social workers, to share their knowledge to minimise risk to the children.

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

Incidents of children displaying negative behaviours are rare, which means that staff have not had to physically intervene to manage children’s behaviour since the last inspection. However, staff are trained in physical intervention and de-escalation in case the need arises.

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

When allegations are made, the manager takes appropriate action to share the concerns with the local authority designated officer.

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

The manager has not notified Ofsted in a timely manner of some significant incidents that have taken place in the home. This does not support effective monitoring and scrutiny by the regulator.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has managed the home since it opened and holds a relevant childcare and management qualification. The manager and staff have high aspirations for the children in their care. Children know what is expected of them in terms of their behaviour. One child said, ‘When I first moved in, I used to kick off all the time, now I’ve stopped doing that.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel supported by the management team. Staff receive regular supervision, which supports them to discuss children’s progress and consider their own professional development. Supervision would benefit from staff having the opportunity to reflect on their practice and discuss their well-being and how this may affect them in their role. The manager needs to have her performance evaluated annually.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular training and team meetings to develop their skills and enhance their practice. The manager is a lead trainer in therapeutic parenting and in physical intervention and de-escalation, which provides the team with additional support on a day-to-day basis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective monitoring systems in place for her to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She regularly gathers feedback from stakeholders, children, families and staff to further develop the service. Staff morale Inspection report for children’s home: 2642423 5 is high. One member of staff said, ‘It’s like my second family, it doesn’t feel like coming to work.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff new to the home have been supported into the role through a thorough induction and have completed training and shadow shifts prior to starting as a team member. Five requirements raised at the last inspection have been met. Inspection report for children’s home: 2642423 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that supervision enables staff to reflect and act on how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15)  The registered person should ensure that all staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should consider, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. As part of the performance management process, poor performance should be addressed by a timely plan to bring about improvement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should ensure that they have a system in place so that all

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Recommendations

serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should cover the action that should be followed if the event arises at the weekend or on a public holiday. Notification must include details of the action taken by the home’s staff in response to the event. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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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: 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

Julie Elder, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for 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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