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 5 children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has no registered manager; the previous manager left the role in April 2026.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2817347 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/06/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2817347 3

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Summary of findings

Significant shortfalls have been identified in the safeguarding practice and leadership and management in the home. As a result, children have not been safeguarded effectively or received adequate care. Consequently, the home has been judged to be inadequate in all areas.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home experienced a period of ineffective leadership that significantly undermined the safety, stability and outcomes for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home. Since the last inspection, 4 children have moved on. Those children did not consistently experience safe or effective care. The previous manager failed to ensure that children had positive, well- planned transitions into and out of the home. Several children moved on because staff were unable to keep them safe and meet their needs effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Several changes in the staff team affected their ability to build positive relationships with some children. Staff sometimes spoke to children in a negative manner, which undermined trust and prevented the development of supportive relationships. During one missing-from-home incident, staff failed to answer 15 calls made by a child. These inconsistencies left some children feeling uncared for and unsupported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff have not consistently delivered care in line with the home’s therapeutic model or statement of purpose. They have missed opportunities to provide nurturing support and strengthen positive relationships with children. Staff do not always respond proactively when children go missing from home and, on occasion, have failed to take appropriate action to locate or collect them. In addition, some staff demonstrated limited empathy, with external professionals describing their interactions as rude and abrupt. These shortfalls undermine children’s experiences and the provision of therapeutic care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Despite the safeguarding shortfalls, some children made progress in education. Staff recognised the importance of education and adapted their support to meet each child’s individual learning needs and style. As a result, one child achieved their Compulsory Basic Training licence, and 2 children improved their school attendance and engagement in education.

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

Incidents of children going missing from the home have been frequent. Staff have not managed these incidents effectively, and leaders have not provided sufficient oversight. Risk assessments lack key information and clear strategies to reduce risk. Staff have not demonstrated professional curiosity about children’s whereabouts and have failed to Inspection report for children’s home: 2817347 4 search known or likely locations when children have been missing. External professionals have raised concerns about this practice in multi-agency meetings. These significant shortcomings in safeguarding practice have left children exposed to ongoing risk of harm.

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

Risk management plans do not provide staff with clear or effective guidance to manage known risks. For example, plans do not include instructions for carrying out welfare checks when there are concerns that a child has misused substances. As a result, staff lack clear strategies to reduce risks and cannot provide a consistent response to safeguarding concerns, limiting the effectiveness of risk management and potentially compromising children’s safety.

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

Management oversight of incidents is poor. Safeguarding records lack sufficient detail and, in some cases, contain conflicting information, limiting leaders’ ability to review incidents and make informed decisions effectively. Staff report a lack of consistent boundaries and structure, which contributes to an unsettled environment for the children. Leaders had relied heavily on external professionals and agencies to manage safeguarding concerns, rather than implementing and leading robust safeguarding practice within the home. This weakened safeguarding arrangements and reduced accountability for keeping children safe.

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

Poor care planning increased the risks for children and resulted in children being placed together despite known concerns that they would heighten each other’s vulnerabilities. This led to 2 unplanned and unsuccessful moves from the home. For one child, progress in reducing missing-from-home incidents deteriorated following their introduction to another child in the home. Although leaders were aware of these risks, they failed to adequately consider this information when making placement decisions. As a result, leaders compromised the safety and welfare of children.

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

The implementation of boundaries within the home has been inconsistent. Although the interim manager has made some improvements in this area of practice, previous inconsistencies have had a significant negative impact on children’s safety, staff morale and children’s behaviours. The lack of clear and consistent expectations has contributed to increased risks and an unsettled living environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There were significant shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home under the previous management team, particularly in relation to safeguarding and the effective operation of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager left the home in April 2026 following a prolonged period of weak oversight and ineffective management. At the time of this inspection, the interim manager had been in post for 6 weeks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management oversight is poor, records are poor and these have not been addressed through management oversight. Leaders and managers complete lessons learned and Inspection report for children’s home: 2817347 5 chronologies into incidents; however, these records do not reflect the information shared and therefore do not evidence positive practice. This has resulted in limited opportunities for learning and a lack of improvement in practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have not consistently received good-quality supervision. Although the interim manager has recently reintroduced supervision sessions, staff previously had limited opportunities to discuss children’s needs, reflect on their practice or identify training and development needs. This represented a missed opportunity to support staff, improve practice and promote positive outcomes for children. Staff report that in a short space of time with a new manager, communication has improved and this will help to improve staff morale.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not make sufficiently informed or child-centred decisions when considering children’s moves into the home. They failed to fully assess the needs and risks of children requiring a placement alongside the needs, vulnerabilities and dynamics of children already living in the home. As a result, some children have been placed together despite known concerns that they may negatively influence one another’s behaviour, increase vulnerability or escalate risk. These decisions have not consistently promoted children’s safety, stability or wellbeing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The interim manager has worked proactively during a short period in post to support the staff team, strengthen communication with external professionals and provide regular updates on the child’s care, welfare and progress. Staff and professionals report noticeable improvements in communication and information-sharing since their appointment. The interim manager has also begun to establish clearer expectations for staff, increase accountability and strengthen management oversight. Inspection report for children’s home: 2817347 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that the registered person must implement risk assessments that contain clear strategies for adults to follow. 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2817347 7 Additionally, adults must take proactive action when children are missing from home.

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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—

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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

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Requirement Due date

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 has sufficient staff to provide care for 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

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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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. 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2817347 8 (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the home is led in a manner that promotes children’s wellbeing and keeps children safe. The registered person must ensure that reporting and recording across all records is accurate, to allow sufficient oversight of all aspects of the home.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the registered person must ensure that children are cared for by a consistent team of staff who conduct themselves with professionalism.

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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

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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 children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that decisions about children coming to live at the home are inclusive and balance the needs of children requiring a placement and those already living in the home. 11 October 2026

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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; and 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2817347 9 have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they maintain a nurturing and homely physical environment for the children. This includes maintaining the home’s gardens to a good standard. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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 10

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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: Unit 7, Edison Buildings, Electric Wharf, Coventry CV1 4JA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Louise Ashe-Crowe

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Inspectors

Rose Maddocks, Social Care Inspector Vicky Byron, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2817347 11 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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