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

The home is part of a group of homes run by a private company. The home is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed by a new manager, who registered with Ofsted in January 2024.

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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: 2642423 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2023 Full Good 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 developed strong relationships with staff, which helps them to feel safe living in the home. The strength of these relationships helps children to feel supported, particularly at times when they are struggling with their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves in and out of the home are managed well, including when children are placed in an emergency. Two young people who had lived in the home for a considerable amount of time recently moved on to independent placements. They both had positive endings and receive ongoing support to help them settle into their new homes. One young person said, ‘It felt like home,’ and explained how staff had given her ‘the best time’ and taught her how to be independent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care is individualised to support them to make progress with their health, emotional well-being and education. The staff team has close working relationships with schools, which supports children’s emotional needs. One child has been given an education plan at the home while staff pursue decisions which will enable them to re-engage in education face to face. The manager is conscious of the impact of this not only on the child’s education but also in terms of their socialisation with peers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There has been significant support for one child to manage a health issue in a sensitive and empowering way, supporting them to make informed decisions about their care. The care provided to children is good. However, care plans are not kept up to date, meaning they do not reflect the current circumstances for children and the progress made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive support from staff to engage in activities and to spend time with people who are important to them. Staff understand the significance of these relationships and have developed good working relations with children’s family and friends which support positive outcomes.

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

Children’s risks are well understood by staff and there are detailed plans in place which give clear directions for them to follow. The team understands children’s backgrounds and works hard to recognise both their triggers and the things that help them to manage their emotions.

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

Consideration is given to assessing the potential dynamics between children already living in the home and children moving into the home, and the known risks for children moving into the home. However, consideration is not given to the risks linked with children already living in the home. This does not demonstrate that assessments for children moving into the home are robust and ensure that all risks are considered. Inspection report for children’s home: 2642423 4 Significant work with children has been completed to help them to understand risks and to learn how to keep themselves safe. The team uses interactive tools to create engaging ways to help children learn. As a result, there are clear expectations and boundaries for children, which they understand.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home, and physical restraint is only used as a last resort to prevent children from harming themselves. Effective follow-up discussions take place with children after incidents to support their relationships with the staff members involved and to identify what can be done to avoid similar incidents in the future. Although staff are spoken to about incidents, these are not always recorded as debriefs and included in incident records, which compromises the manager’s review.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is new to the role but has significant experience. She is enrolled to complete the relevant leadership and management qualification, which will support her development. The deputy manager is also new to the role but is an experienced care worker. They have a stable and experienced team around them along with ongoing support from leaders. No new members of staff have joined the team since the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Over recent months, the manager has handled a great deal of change for children in the home in a sensitive and nurturing way. She has high aspirations for the children in her care and encourages a culture of reflective practice in her team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Reflective discussions take place with staff following significant events such as physical interventions and during regular supervision and team meetings. However, some discussions with staff are not recorded as debriefs following incidents, meaning the manager has not included them in her review. This limits opportunities for the manager to monitor practice and ensure interventions are fair and proportionate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is up to date with their training, having completed training which helps them to meet the needs of the children in their care. Staff have the support of a therapist, who regularly visits the home and provides opportunities for discussions around therapeutic practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is developing her oversight of the home. However, greater scrutiny of staff’s practice is required, for example when reviewing one-to-one discussions with children. The manager is developing her relationship with the independent person to ensure that there is rigorous oversight of the home. However, the monthly reports from the independent person often lack valuable feedback from children, staff and family members. Inspection report for 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, 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 registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s care plans are kept up to date. 29 February 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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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. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the feedback and opinions of children are included. 31 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2642423 6 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

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure there are robust monitoring systems in place in the home. 31 March 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that physical intervention records include debriefs with all the staff members involved to enable the manager to carry out scrutiny to ensure their use is fair. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)  The registered person should ensure that actions agreed during supervisions with staff are recorded and shared with the staff member. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4)  The registered person should ensure that visits to the home by the independent person are robust, with opportunities to talk with children, their parents, their relatives and people working at the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)  The registered person should ensure that impact risk assessments completed

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Recommendations

when considering a new placement for the home take into account the potential impact of risks for the children already living in the home and not just the known risks for the child being considered. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Inspection report for children’s home: 2642423 7

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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 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

Andrea Foreman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2642423 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 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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