Children's Home run by RCS Operations Ltd trading as Cumulus Care Services in Halton

Inspection report for children’s home: 2817347 1 Registered provider: RCS Operations Ltd trading as Cumulus Care Services

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns this home. It provides care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties. The home and manager registered with Ofsted in February 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

This was the home’s first inspection, and at the time of inspection, two children were living in the home. One child spoke to the inspectors about their experiences of living in the home.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2817347 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by staff who are aspirational and want them to do well. Staff have developed trusting relationships with the children and know them well. One child that came to live at the home was overwhelmingly positive about the staff and the home. Staff practice ‘love-led care’, which has helped the child feel they live in a supportive home with staff attuned to their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to access education. Staff liaise with education providers to advocate on behalf of children. One child who previously did not attend, now attends college regularly. Staff worked with college staff to create a bespoke timetable to support the child’s attendance. A member of staff from college stated, ‘Being in this home has made a difference.’ Planned activities are in place for times when children are not in education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a wide range of activities in line with their interests. Staff make sure that they capture memories, and they have displayed photos across the home. Children’s cultural needs are met effectively, and staff have educated themselves in order to understand children’s faith and religious practices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are supported by staff, ensuring that they are registered with local services and are responsive when children need to see a health practitioner. Staff engage children in regular discussions on healthy eating, smoking cessation and substance use. This equips children with the knowledge to make informed decisions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are good transition plans in place for children moving into the home. The manager ensures that only children whose needs can be met are offered a place at this home. Staff visit children before they move in, and children are provided with relevant information to reduce anxiety. Staff have positive relationships with children’s families and recognise the benefits of these relationships for children. Children’s friends and families are welcomed to the home, which adds to the sense of belonging that children feel.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to their written records through their own electronic portal, which is helpful to them. However, some of the language that staff use in records is not always helpful to children and uses outdated terminology.

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

Staff know how to keep children safe and understand the risks for each child. Risk management plans are detailed. They provide staff with a clear guidance to reduce risks to children. Incidents in the home are managed well with clear records and good oversight from the manager. Inspection report for children’s home: 2817347 3 When children are missing from the home, staff work effectively with external professionals to locate them and support their return. The manager and staff are proactive in searching for and maintaining regular contact with children. Staff hold conversations with children to understand the reasons why they went missing and help them to understand risks. This supports children to develop important skills to keep themselves safe when they are away from the home.

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

The home is nicely decorated and well-presented and children can personalise their bedroom in line with their own tastes. However, the fire door in the lounge does not close fully into the doorframe. This is something that the manager has taken swift action to address.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is effectively managed by the manager. She is aspirational about helping children achieve their ambitions. She knows the children well and is committed to their success and wants to ensure that children’s lives are changed positively. The strong relationships between staff and children were clear to see.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the manager and her deputy. They are helped to understand their roles and responsibilities through a clear and well-structured induction. Staff have access to relevant training and team meetings. They receive regular supervision, which is reflective and helps them achieve the aims of the home. Staff and external professionals are complimentary about the manager and the positive atmosphere she has developed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the strengths and areas for development in the home. The responsible individual and senior manager support the manager and staff well and complete regular audits, and an internal monitoring system is continuing to be embedded. However, opportunities to identify that plans are missing for some children and keeping the training matrix and workforce development plan up to date have been missed. There is also no register of children living in the home. These shortfalls limit oversight of practice in the home by leaders and managers and does not ensure that staff have access to key documents to inform their care of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s children’s register statement of purpose has not been updated and sent to Ofsted as required by regulation. Inspection report for children’s home: 2817347 4

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that relevant placement plans and health assessments are in place for all child’s records. 27 August 2025

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that any issues such as ill-fitting fire doors are addressed immediately. 27 August 2025

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 27 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2817347 5 Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there is a register of children that are admitted and discharged from the home. 27 August 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2817347 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: RCS operations LTD trading as Cumulus Care Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cheylesmore Ltd, Unit 7, Edison Buildings, Electric Wharf, Coventry CV1 4JA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Victoria Wallace

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Inspectors

Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Danielle Allen, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2817347 7 regulates and inspects 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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