Children's Home run by Radical Services Limited in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children's home: SC476083 1 SC476083 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 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The new manager has been in post since March 2026 and has submitted an application to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children's home

One child was living in the home at the time of this inspection, and one child has moved into and out of the home since the last inspection. Both children spoke with the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC476083 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/06/2025 Full Good 21/05/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/05/2023 Full Inadequate 28/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC476083 3

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Summary of findings

While children make some progress in this home, shortfalls in relation to how they are helped and protected, and in the leadership and management of the home, have lessened this progress and effected their overall experiences.

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Summary of findings

Children's behaviour and risks are not always consistently responded to by staff. This has resulted in potentially avoidable harm being experienced by children. The manager does not have effective oversight of children's experiences and staff practice. This results in her not identifying patterns of children's behaviour and staff shortfalls. This has affected children's overall progress and experiences in the home.

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Summary of findings

Children are happy living at the home and have good relationships with staff. They say that they feel supported when they are upset and worried. Children benefit living in a home that is homely, family orientated and personalised to their specific likes and interests.

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improvement to be good

Staff are committed to developing good relationships with children and offer opportunities for them to socialise with peers and family through individual and group activities. Children say that staff feel like family, and one child celebrated their birthday with their family in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to develop skills and engage in enjoyable activities that enhance their independence, which helps to prepare children for adulthood. This has included staff helping children to save up money to contribute towards additional activities on a holiday. This helps children to understand the value of money and have new experiences.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to make progress in their education. One child has achieved several GCSEs and is attending further education. When education is a challenge for children, the manager works closely with education professionals to encourage engagement and attendance. Children who are not attending school have alternative educational activities to encourage learning and help prepare them to return to school.

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improvement to be good

Some staff are not confident or consistent in their approach and responses to children's needs and behaviours. This can leave children feeling confused and dysregulated due to differing responses, resulting in escalations in behaviours. This contributed to the decision for one child to move on from the home when managers felt that staff were no longer able to keep them safe. Inspection report for children's home: SC476083 4 Children moving to the home have positive experiences and the needs of all children are considered. When one child moved on, they were supported in understanding this decision. Staff have provided them with ongoing support, which has helped the child to settle.

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improvement to be good

Children are helped by staff to understand online risks and exploitation concerns. This helps children to be open in discussing concerns, which has enabled staff to respond and report risks to professionals. However, when risks do not reduce, staff do not take action to consider alternative strategies to manage these risks for children.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to receive medical attention when they self-harm and support them emotionally. Staff work with professionals to understand these risks and develop clear strategies in how to reduce self-injurious behaviours. However, managers do not fully consider advice received to proactively reduce harm by removing potentially unsafe items in the home. As a result, some incidents that have occurred could potentially have been avoided.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported by staff to have relationships with their families and peers. However, some risks from adults and others are not fully considered by the manager or understood by staff. This has left staff not knowing how to ensure that children are protected, resulting in children being exposed to inappropriate conversations and behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond effectively when children go missing from the home, searching for children and informing professionals. When children return, they are supported emotionally by staff to ensure they are safe. However, managers do not always review incidents, resulting in children's experiences and the risks they may face not being fully understood.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not have effective oversight of staff practice, including their responses to children when risk or harm have occurred. There are inconsistencies in the quality of the manager's reviews of significant incidents and, at times, no oversight. Furthermore, staff and children are not always spoken to following incidents of physical intervention. As a result of these shortfalls, there are missed opportunities to recognise when children's plans are not being followed. This has impacted on learning opportunities that could help to improve staff practice and the safety and quality of care being provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not always feel supported in their roles by managers. The quality and consistency of team meetings and staff supervision sessions vary. When staff have raised concerns about staff practice and conduct with children, actions have not been consistently followed up by the manager, meaning that concerns have gone Inspection report for children's home: SC476083 5 unaddressed. Some staff have not received supervision for several months. This impacts on the quality of care experienced by children and staff's morale due to not feeling listened to and valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers' support for newly employed staff is not in line with the home's induction plans. Mandatory training, supervision and lone working agreements are not adhered to or adequately reviewed. This has resulted in children have experienced care that did not adequately protect them as staff did not have experience, knowledge and skills specific to children's needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers, as well as the home's therapeutic practitioner, have positive working relationships with external professionals, which help children to access services that are tailored to their individualised needs. When children's care planning is not in line their wishes or needs, the manager strongly advocates on behalf of the children. She also explains outcomes to children so that they understand why certain decisions have been made. Inspection report for children's home: SC476083 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—

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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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child's health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(vi)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff are equipped with the skills to keep children safe, follow children's plans in order to do this, and that these plans include strategies to manage all known risks to children. 28 August 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC476083 7 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

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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home's workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h)) 28 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children's home; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that arrangements are in place to— 28 August 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC476083 8 manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child's relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction;

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1)(a) (4)(b)) 28 August 2026

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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: SC476083 9

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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: SC476083 10 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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