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

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private organisation and provides care for up to two children who may have emotional and social difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home registered in 2017. The registered manager post is currently vacant. There was an interim manager in post.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There were two children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

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

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/06/2024 Full Good 08/08/2023 Full Good 18/05/2023 Full Inadequate 24/05/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1249264 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported by the managers and staff, who hold them in high regard. Children have positive relationships, built on trust and affection, with the staff who care for them. The manager and staff have created an environment where children feel listened to and can express their wishes and feelings.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with their family and friends. Staff maintain good communication with children’s families. This provides children with a support network where they feel safe to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. One family member said, ‘There is positive communication with staff, and we are always made to feel welcome when we visit.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities both inside and outside of the home. Activities include horse riding, drawing, graffiti art and baking. This supports children to pursue their hobbies and interests.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to become more independent and develop new skills, based on their age and understanding. Children have been supported to be involved in decorating their bedrooms. Staff support children to tidy their bedrooms, prepare meals and do their own washing, which helps to promote their independence skills.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff promote children’s education. The managers remain persistent in their attempt to fully engage children in education. One social worker said, ‘Staff have supported [Name of child] to visit a new school when they have previously been out of school for a long period prior to moving to the home.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are in good health, and staff actively encourage and support children to attend health appointments. However, there is a lack of consistency in staff’s practice to help children to stop using vapes. This means that there are missed opportunities to support the children’s health and well-being.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s bedrooms are personalised. This gives the children a sense of belonging. However, the home environment requires some maintenance and cleaning, including the replacement of stained carpets and general cleaning.

p.3

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

The managers and staff have a therapeutic approach to the care they provide and regularly speak to the children about their emotions. Staff work closely with the home’s therapeutic practitioner, who also supports the children to process their feelings and emotions. The therapeutic practitioner said, ‘Staff are very nurturing and supportive of the children.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 1249264 4 There is good multi-agency working. The manager and staff work closely with professionals to ensure that the children receive appropriate levels of support. One social worker said, ‘[Name of child] has been able to advocate for themself for the first time in a year. Staff have made them feel safe by consistently caring.’

p.3

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

Staff understand the children’s risks and vulnerabilities. Staff communicate regularly with the children about any safeguarding concerns and risky behaviours, which helps the children to understand how to keep themselves safe. However, not all relevant plans for children contain accurate and current information.

p.4

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

Staff have a good understanding of the missing-from-home procedures. They actively look for the children when they are missing and liaise with professionals to help minimise risk. However, upon children’s return to the home, not all children have engaged in independent return interviews.

p.4

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

Staff are provided with regular training. Training topics include first aid, fire safety, attachment, therapeutic parenting and safeguarding. However, not all staff have completed self-harm and transgender training. This does not ensure that all staff have the skills and knowledge to support children’s individual needs.

p.4

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

Safer recruitment procedures are followed when employing new staff. This means that children are cared for by individuals who are safe to work with children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has been no registered manager since June 2025. A new manager has been appointed and is currently going through the safer recruitment process. The interim manager and deputy manager work closely in the day-to-day running of the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

A six-monthly quality of care review has been completed. The report does not consider feedback from children, staff or external professionals about the home. This is a missed opportunity to fully evaluate the care provided to children effectively.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has assessed the suitability of the home to ensure that children remain living in a safe area. However, some information in the report is out of date. This does not ensure that the suitability of the location is fully considered.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The workforce plan is in place; however, it does not include information about current staff qualifications, training or experience. The interim manager is currently updating the information contained within the document.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

When a serious incident has occurred, the provider has not always notified Ofsted in line with regulation. This does not ensure that the regulator has good oversight. A referral had not been made to the Disclosure and Barring Service following a safeguarding concern. Inspection report for children’s home: 1249264 5 Staff say that they feel supported by leaders and managers. One member of staff said, ‘There is lots of support. There is an open and receptive attitude from the management team.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 1249264 6

p.4

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all relevant plans for children contain accurate and current information.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that following missing-from- home incidents, children have an independent return interview.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that referrals are made to the Disclosure and Barring Service when investigations have concluded and a decision has been reached that safeguarding concerns against a person in a position of trust have been substantiated. 29 August 2025

p.6

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 29 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1249264 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

p.7

Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

p.7

Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(g)(ii)(h))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the regulation 45 reports include feedback from children, staff and external professionals about the home.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the workforce plan is up to date and includes information about current staff’s qualifications, training and experience.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff have access to additional training that enables them to meet the specific needs of the children living in the home.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

p.7

Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

p.7

Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.7

Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to— 29 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1249264 8 take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

understand and develop skills to promote the child’s well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

p.8

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff encourage children to take a proactive role in looking after their day-to-day health and well-being, particularly around the use of vapes.

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

p.8

Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

p.8

Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

p.8

Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

p.8

Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

p.8

Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

p.8

Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

p.8

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when a serious incident occurs, a notification is made to Ofsted. 29 August 2025

p.8

Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

p.8

Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation (46) (1) (2)) 29 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1249264 9 In particular, the registered person must ensure that relevant persons are consulted and include their views when reviewing the location of the premises and information included is current.

p.8

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is maintained to a good standard, that repairs and maintenance tasks are completed in a timely manner and that all areas of the home are kept clean and tidy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children’s home: 1249264 10

p.9

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 11

p.10

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Radical Services Limited

p.11

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 The Calls, Leeds LS2 7JU

p.11

Inspectors

Vicky Wainwright, Social Care Inspector Stacey Ilaboya, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1249264 12 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.

p.11

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.12

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.12

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.12