Children's Home run by Radical Services Limited in Cumberland

Inspection report for children's home: SC487549 1 SC487549 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 home is part of a group of homes operated by a private company. The home is registered to provide care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, there were two children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed by an experienced manager who registered with Ofsted in April 2022.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC487549 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/03/2023 Full Good 17/08/2021 Full Good 04/06/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 06/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC487549 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with the staff team. One child describes the staff team as ‘changing my life’ and being ‘like my family’. Another child shares their feelings with staff and shows pride when they receive positive praise. The children actively seek out staff members to spend time with, which demonstrates the strong bond they have developed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has made considerable progress in education and enjoys school life. There has been a delay in identifying a suitable school placement to meet one child’s needs, and a school has only been identified recently. The child has developed a good relationship with their home tutor and engages in face-to-face work, although this is inconsistent. The child has not had the routine and socialisation with peers that school can provide, which has impacted negatively on their behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met. Assessments have been completed with one child, which have identified the need for therapeutic support. The team uses appropriate tools to support another child’s developmental needs, meaning they can share their feelings through pictures rather than words.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been positive transitions for one child moving to semi-independent living, with regular meetings and visits to see their new home and meet the staff. The staff team provided support to help the child settle in and planned special celebrations for the children and staff to say goodbye.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is support for children to maintain important relationships with family and friends. Life-story work completed with one child has explored and developed wider family connections with the support of staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are sought in several ways. Meetings, one-to-one discussions and key-work sessions show how children’s views are heard and acted on, and feedback is given in response to children’s views, wishes and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has recently been redecorated, and there are plans for further work in the coming months. Children’s bedrooms are decorated to suit their interests and are well kept. The gardens are extensive and include a garden house for children to relax in. However, this is let down by the poor condition of an unused outbuilding.

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

Children feel safe living in the home. Staff understand the risks to children, and there are detailed plans that set out the possible triggers for behaviours and the strategies to be used to keep children safe. Inspection report for children's home: SC487549 4 There have been a high number of incidents of one child going missing from the home. Staff manage these incidents well, going to great lengths to locate the child and support them to understand the risks involved. There are detailed records of missing incidents and the follow up with the child and professionals. The manager is working with the provider’s psychologist and the child’s social worker to explore strategies to reduce risk.

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

No physical interventions have been used by staff. Staff implement consistent boundaries for children, with one child responding well. Another child does not respond well to boundaries, which is reflected in the high number of incidents of them going missing from home. Proactive discussions are taking place between staff and professionals about the strategies to be used to support this child to ensure that they are effective.

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

Allegations made by children are taken seriously and acted on in a timely way. Staff discuss children’s views and feelings about allegations with them in a sensitive way that supports their understanding. For one child, their feelings about a member of staff were taken on board, meaning the individual moved to work at another home in the organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has an inclusive approach, which is demonstrated in his interactions and the positive feedback he receives from staff, children and professionals. The manager encourages a reflective culture in the team, which is evident in detailed staff meetings and supervision records. However, records do not outline the actions agreed or set targets to ensure that they are acted on and completed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a detailed understanding of children’s backgrounds and the progress they are making, as well as any barriers that may prevent progress. He works well with professionals, taking action to challenge appropriately to ensure the best outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has recently begun to manage another of the provider’s homes as a short-term measure until the manager returns from extended leave. There is a stable staff team in this home and a deputy manager who is developing in their role. Agency staff are used at times when children need additional supervision, and the manager ensures that the same agency staff are used to provide consistency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is regular, detailed monitoring completed by the manager. However, the monitoring lacks analysis around key themes and trends, which is needed to review the care provided. This means the manager’s oversight and six-monthly review of care do not demonstrate his reflection on shortfalls and good practice to ensure continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses the external monitoring by the independent person effectively. However, the manager has not challenged the independent person about the announcement of visits to ensure that they remain robust. Inspection report for children's home: SC487549 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the condition of the outbuilding to the rear of the home is improved so that it is no longer an eyesore. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that visits by the independent person are not all announced, to ensure that the independent person is able to scrutinise the home in a robust way. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that actions discussed during team meetings, staff supervision and children’s meetings are set as actions to drive improvement. They should also set achievable targets that can be measured. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)  The registered person should make the best use of independent and internal

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Recommendations

monitoring to review and reflect on lessons learned and good practice to ensure continuous improvement. This should be reflected in the review of the quality of care provided at least once every six months. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: SC487549 6

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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

Andrea Foreman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC487549 7 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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