Children's Home run by Radical Services Limited in Cumberland

Inspection report for children's home: SC487549 1 SC487549 Registered provider: Radical Services Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home is operated by a private company. It provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2025.

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Information about this children's home

Two children were living in the home at the time of this inspection, and both spoke with the inspector. No children have left the home since the last inspection.

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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: 10 February 2026

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be 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

10/02/2026 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/02/2025 Full Good 20/11/2023 Full Good 14/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC487549 3

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Summary of findings

Children are making good progress living in this home. They say that they are happy living in the home and they build positive relationships with staff.

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Summary of findings

Staff know the children well and understand their individual needs. This contributes to staff being able to deliver good-quality care, which meets these needs.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers create a home environment that is supportive of children's wishes and feelings. Staff are provided with high levels of support and training, which help them to understand children's needs and care for them confidently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive experiences living in the home. They say that they are listened to by staff and that staff feel like family. Children's bedrooms are personalised and the home environment is warm and welcoming.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience well-planned moves to the home and have opportunities to meet staff before they move in. Their needs, and those of other children, are fully considered before they move to the home and professionals who support children are consulted as part of this process. The manager seeks relevant information about children's needs and considers how staff can best meet these. This information is used to inform clear care plans before children move in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's wishes and feelings are routinely considered and reflected on by staff. The manager supports children to have advocates who help to share their views relating to their education and future care planning. This has helped children to feel listened to and prevented changes to their care plans which were not in line with their wishes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in their education. When children do not attend a full-time provision, staff support them with alternative educational activities, which help to develop their skills and learning. The manager works closely with professionals to reintegrate children back into formal education and shares behavioural management strategies with education professionals. This helps children to receive consistent care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from taking part in a wide range of activities with staff, peers and their families. These help children to have new experiences and promote and develop positive and meaningful relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have their health needs met and attend health appointments as needed. When children are prescribed medication, it is reviewed by professionals and staff support children to take it safely. When children do not want to take certain medications, staff support children to express these views with professionals. Inspection report for children's home: SC487549 4

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

Staff have a good understanding of children's risks and behaviours. Staff complete clearly written risk management plans that are reviewed regularly and include clear strategies to manage risk. These help staff to know how to respond confidently when children become upset or worried.

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

Staff support children to understand their feelings and help them find alternative coping strategies. This helps children to feel understood and safe. This level of security has allowed children to disclose past traumas and harm to staff. The manager shares these concerns with wider professionals as needed.

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

There have not been any incidents of physical intervention or police call outs to manage children's behaviour since the last inspection. This is a significant reduction. Staff, with the support from the home's psychologist, understand triggers for children becoming upset. Staff appropriately promote positive behaviour and effectively de-escalate unwanted behaviours when necessary. However, staff do not consistently discourage children's use of inappropriate language. This does not support children to effectively communicate with others.

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

Staff provide good support for children who are at risk of self-harm. They recognise deterioration in children's mental health and explore children's feelings with curiosity. However, staff do not always remove unsafe items from children's bedrooms, despite this being outlined in children's plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have effective and robust monitoring systems that enable good oversight of all aspects of the children's care. They ensure that all staff are supported to make improvements to children's care through reflective and regular supervisions and team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training and learning opportunities, which are specific to children's needs, are regularly provided for all staff. This helps staff to be confident in caring for children and understand how to respond to their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders have positive and collaborative relationships with children's families and external professionals. The manager escalates concerns and appropriately challenges external professionals when children's experiences do not meet high standards. This has helped to ensure that children are attending education provisions that meet their specific needs. Inspection report for children's home: SC487549 5 The manager provides praise and recognition for children and staff. This helps to develop a stable and consistent team with high morale. Staff say that they enjoy working in the home and feel supported by each other and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is available to both the children and staff. Her high expectations and support help to upskill staff, which contributes to the children receiving consistent and good-quality care. However, the manager has not identified some inconsistencies in how staff complete children’s records. Inspection report for children's home: SC487549 6

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the home environment is safe and free from hazards that pose a risk to children. 12 July 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have expectations for children's behaviours and help them to understand what are appropriate behaviours. ('Guide to the Children's Home Regulations, including the quality standards', page 39, paragraph 8.11)

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Recommendations

 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. In particular, ensure that staff consistently record information that reflects the children's experiences of care. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children's home: SC487549 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: SC487549 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

Amey Henry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC487549 9 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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