Children's Home run by RCS Operations Ltd trading as Cumulus Care Services in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: 2814078 1 Registered provider: RCS Operations Ltd trading as Cumulus Care Services

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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 4 children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of inspection, 3 children were living in the home. All 3 children met with the inspector and spoke about their experiences.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a suitably qualified and experienced manager in post.

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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 outstanding

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2814078 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/06/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2814078 3

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Summary of findings

Children are provided with stability. Those who have previously experienced multiple moves are settled in the home.

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Summary of findings

Children are making progress from their starting points. They enjoy living in the home and enjoy positive relationships with staff.

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Summary of findings

Safeguarding incidents are well managed and are reducing.

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Summary of findings

Managers are ambitious for children and work closely with children’s families and other professionals. They have embedded a strong learning culture in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in a home that provides them with large, clean and comfortable spaces to relax and enjoy themselves. Children’s rooms are personalised to reflect their individual tastes and interests. As a result, children score the home highly, giving it 10 out of 10.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy positive relationships with staff, whom they feel able to talk to. Staff regularly have conversations with children about important topics. These conversations help children to be safer, healthier and develop skills they need to succeed in later life. As a result, children are making significant progress from their starting points in a range of areas, including their education, physical and mental health and in their independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is treated as a priority. Staff work in close partnership with children and their education professionals to identify barriers to education and overcome them. As a result, children who have previously not been in education are now engaging in full-time education, and one child has returned to mainstream education. This support is enhancing children’s lives, building their confidence and increasing their opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported with their physical and emotional health. Staff use research to help children understand their thoughts and feelings and how to manage them. As a result, children are better able to self-regulate and say that their mental health has improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities of their choosing. They take part in sports, go on days out and go on holiday. This supports children to make memories, develop new skills and enhance their life experiences. Inspection report for children’s home: 2814078 4 Children are supported to spend time with people who are important to them. Where appropriate, staff work in close partnership with children’s family members. This helps children to settle in the home and to understand their identity. Feedback from family members was very positive. One family member said, ‘I can’t speak highly enough of the home. [Name of child] feels like they genuinely care about her, and they actually do. This home, the staff, really care about her.’

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

Children feel safe living in the home, and they are becoming safer, with safeguarding incidents reducing. Staff involve children in plans to keep themselves safe. When children go missing from home, staff work with the relevant professionals and family members to quickly locate the children and ensure they return home safely. Managers and staff work with children to understand the reasons behind them going missing. This focus on understanding and providing support has resulted in a reduction in incidents of children going missing.

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

Staff rarely restrain children. When they do, it is as a last resort and only for the purpose of keeping children or others safe. Staff understand the harm inherent in such interventions, and managers scrutinise their use to ensure they are proportionate and in children’s best interests. Because of the strong focus on learning, incidents of restraint, although already infrequent, have reduced further.

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

When allegations are made, leaders and managers take these seriously. Managers promptly conduct detailed investigations. Children are kept informed, and when learning is identified, it is shared with all staff in order to improve children’s experiences. Leaders and managers seek to create a culture that is open and transparent. They are vigilant to signs of a closed culture.

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

On one occasion, managers did not ensure that staff had the training they required to manage an incident of a child becoming distressed. Insufficient planning was completed to mitigate the gaps in staff training. This contributed to staff calling the police to manage the child’s behaviour. Leaders and managers have since addressed this shortfall; however, the experience exposed the child to a risk of criminalisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers have high aspirations for the children in their care. They use a range of tools to ensure they have a detailed understanding of all aspects of children’s care. They use this oversight to support them in constantly trying to improve children’s experiences. As a result, children have made exceptional progress from their starting points.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers have embedded a culture of learning in the home. Team meetings and supervision sessions are frequent and focus on the use of research to Inspection report for children’s home: 2814078 5 support reflection and learning. Staff are provided with space and support to reflect on their experiences and the care they provide for children. As a result, children are cared for by staff who are knowledgeable and understand them well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers have high expectations of their staff, pairing this with a high level of support. Staff appreciate the restorative approach, describing managers as very supportive and approachable. Because of this, the staff team in the home has stabilised since April. Before that, there was a high staff turnover. When staff leave, children are not always helped to understand how and why staff have left. This may have contributed to children experiencing further feelings of loss.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers are skilled at effective partnership working. Other professionals describe the manager as professional, understanding and an excellent communicator. This joined-up approach to caring for children means they receive the support they require promptly. One professional said of the child they work with, ‘Since being at [name of home], there has been a significant change; they are such a happy child. I can’t describe how much the staff have helped them. [Name of child] tells me they feel loved, they feel helped and wanted. The positive changes are down to the staff.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2814078 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there are sufficient staff in the home who are trained in the home’s model of behaviour management and restraint. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 48, paragraph 9.53)  The registered person should ensure that when staff leave, children are supported to understand the reasons why and, where possible, that these endings give children opportunities to commemorate and celebrate the staff’s time in their lives. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 21, paragraph 4.3)

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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: 2814078 7

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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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Inspector

John Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2814078 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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