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

Inspection report for children's home: 2642423 1 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 provider. 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 registered manager left in July 2026.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living in this home and 2 spoke with the inspector.

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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: 2642423 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/03/2026 Full Good 19/03/2025 Full Good 05/02/2024 Full Good 07/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2642423 3

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Summary of findings

Children do not always feel safe and supported living in their home. There are insufficient staff to effectively manage risks and provide good-quality care to children. Interim managers and senior leaders do not demonstrate sufficient understanding of safeguarding incidents and have failed to provide effective oversight of children’s care. Staff and leaders do not consistently follow safeguarding procedures, increasing risks to children. Staff have not been adequately supported in their roles, meaning that they do not have the necessary skills to meet children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children do not receive individualised care, and there are inconsistencies in how different children are cared for. While some children benefit from a variety of activities, others have been unable to take part in agreed activities due to staff not being available. This approach is the result of staff using activities as a behaviour management strategy, but this has left some children feeling unfairly treated and as though their positive behaviours are not recognised.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not always provide children with the support they need to achieve in their education. Some children engage well in their learning and are supported in seeking employment. However, for one child, there has been a lack of effort and consistency in how they are supported to engage, meaning they have had very limited time in education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home environment is unclean and not safe in some areas. One child’s bedroom was dirty and damaged and had graffiti on the walls that reflected a negative self-perception. Furthermore, staff do not have keys for all areas of the home, and difficulties in finding correct keys for one child’s bedroom could lead to the child being at risk during an emergency.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not consistently recognise or respond effectively to the wishes and feelings of children, or to concerns raised by others about children’s care. Information shared in response to concerns raised has not always been factual or transparent as to why decisions have been made and, at times, has placed blame on senior leaders. This has significantly affected one child’s ability to build trusting relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

At times, staff have undermined decisions made by managers and have not followed management guidance. One child was supported in getting new pets without known risks relating to this being fully considered and managers being consulted. Staff also do not consistently follow guidance to conduct daily cleaning routines. Inspection report for children's home: 2642423 4 Children are provided with some help to prepare for their futures. Staff help children to develop their independence skills, and one child is being supported to learn to drive.

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

Staff do not have clear guidance to help them manage risks to children. One child has not had appropriate support to manage their emotions and anger. Children have been subjected to living in a home where there have been incidents of significant aggression on a frequent basis. Staff do not have the skills to manage these incidents, and this has led to children and staff being at risk. Some children say that they have felt unsafe and no longer wish to live in their home. Furthermore, no work has taken place with the child to support them to understand appropriate behaviours and help them learn how to manage difficult emotions in more positive ways.

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

There have been some incidents of children being missing from home. Staff respond appropriately by searching local areas, contacting children’s family members and informing professionals. However, staff do not recognise risks that children may have been exposed to at times when they have been missing from home, and leaders do not apply sufficient professional curiosity in their oversight of incidents. For example, no follow-up action was taken when information was received that a child may have been at risk of exploitation. This fails to adequately protect children from these risks.

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

Incidents of bullying between children are not recognised by staff. As a result, children are not supported in repairing relationships or to understand positive behaviour. This impacts on the emotional and mental health of children who are victims of bullying.

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

Physical interventions have on occasion been needed to keep children and others safe. However, management oversight of these incidents is delayed and provides inconsistent information. Staff are not always spoken to following incidents to inform learning and to seek to reduce the likelihood of future incidents.

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

Staff do not take effective action when children are involved in substance misuse in the home. Staff avoid taking action in the moment and do not follow plans that are in place. Positively, support is provided to children about the health effects of substance misuse, and they are supported to access cessation services.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers have ineffective oversight of children’s care. When changes in management occurred, the responsible individual shared plans with Ofsted to ensure the home had effective management support. However, these plans were not followed. Managers do not consistently review incidents and records, and when they do, they have not identified shortfalls in staff practice. When shortfalls have been identified, managers have failed to take effective action to address these. This has meant that opportunities to make improvements to children’s care have been missed. Inspection report for children's home: 2642423 5 Managers do not build effective working relationships with external professionals. Professionals describe communication as being poor, and children’s social workers and Ofsted are not consistently updated about significant incidents. This meant that one child’s social worker was unaware of concerns that led to managers making a decision

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

that the child needed to move from the home. A failure to effectively share important information leads to children’s local authorities and Ofsted not having effective oversight of children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders have not ensured that there are sufficient staff to provide safe and good-quality care to children. There are times when children are left unsupported due to staff supporting the behaviour of other children. This has left children feeling upset and devalued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are not adequately supported in their roles. Managers have not ensured that staff have the skills to meet children’s individual needs. Supervision sessions do not always take place regularly, and when they do, they do not include detailed discussion of children’s needs and how these are being met. A lack of support for staff has contributed to staff being absent from work through sickness or leaving their roles and increased inconsistency in the care provided to children. Inspection report for children's home: 2642423 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

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

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; and

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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)(v)(vi)(b)(d)) 31 August 2026

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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 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2642423 7 promotes their welfare.

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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 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

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; 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)(c)(d)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(e)) 11 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2642423 8 ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child; and

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2642423 9 de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(xi)(xii)(xiii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible; and

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(viii)(x)) 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

undertake appropriate continuing professional development; and 12 November 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2642423 10 receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: 2642423 11

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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: 2642423 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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