Children's Home run by Northamptonshire Children’s Trust Limited in West Northamptonshire

Inspection report children’s home: 2608968 1 Registered provider: Northamptonshire Children’s Trust Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home was operated for several years by the local authority but has recently re- registered as part of a new children’s trust. This is the home’s first full inspection since re-registering as part of the trust arrangements. The home provides care and accommodation for up to six children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s registered manager has been in charge of the home for nearly 10 years. He is suitably qualified.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 24 February 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2608968 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2608968 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy living at this home. They feel listened to and valued. Staff tell the children how proud they are of them and their achievements. An independent reviewing officer said that the staff ‘truly invest in [Name of child] and he is definitely aware of this in my view’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress from their starting points. For example, some children are in education when they have previously refused to attend. Some children are working towards living independently and have found employment. One child has been invited to join a football academy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff go to great lengths to help children to stay in contact with important people in their lives, such as their families or previous foster carers. For example, staff enable one child, whose family live in Scotland, to travel to spend time with them. A similar trip is being arranged this Christmas for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to make complaints or suggest improvements. Children are generally comfortable to address issues directly with staff but also have access to the home’s ‘niggles’ book. Managers respond to children quickly to ensure that any issues are resolved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are generally in good health. They are supported with their emotional and physical well-being. Specialist healthcare professionals are sought to help children manage any aspects of their health that they find difficult. Staff also promote healthy eating and exercise. For example, the children all have gym memberships. They also play sports, go cycling and go for walks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to become more independent. Staff encourage children to help with chores around the home. Children do their own washing and are expected to keep their bedrooms clean and tidy. They also enjoy cooking and baking with the home’s chef. Recipes for meals children cook are collated into a file that they can take with them when they leave. This provides children with an excellent tool to help them in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they like their bedrooms and they have personalised them. They have lots of communal space to relax in. However, the environment is not always welcoming and has an institutional feel. For example, the lounge is referred to as ‘the TV room’ and a kitchen is called ‘the YP kitchen’. Decor is poor and the children say that they don’t like the pictures or the graffiti art on the walls. The kitchen is hard to clean because cupboard doors are old and one is broken. Inspection report children’s home: 2608968 4

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

Children say that they feel safe. Staff have warm and nurturing relationships with children that help them to feel safe and secure. Staff have a good understanding of the home’s child protection procedures.

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

Staff understand the risk of each child going missing from the home, and they always follow agreed strategies when children go missing. Staff speak to children after each missing-from-home incident to gain a better understanding of triggers. Good multi-agency work helps to keep children safe. There is good oversight by managers of all missing-from-home incidents.

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

Children’s behaviour is generally good and incidents are infrequent. When serious incidents have occurred, these have been managed well. Staff are trained to de- escalate conflicts, and this works well. Consequently, there have been no physical interventions since the last inspection.

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

Risk management and safety plans are understood and fully adhered to by staff. These comprehensive and up-to-date documents help staff to mitigate risks for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is very experienced and appropriately qualified. He is ably supported by the assistant team manager. The management team knows the children very well. Monitoring systems are effective. This means that managers have a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the service and address identified shortfalls quickly. Managers are strong advocates, ensuring that children have access to the services they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are nurturing and dedicated to the children. A teacher said: ‘They are a very caring and committed team who always have the best interests of the child at heart.’ There are good training opportunities that help staff to gain the knowledge and skills they require. However, there are some delays with getting new staff onto the appropriate diploma course. The registered manager is currently looking into alternative courses.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective partnership working with other agencies ensures that children’s health, safety and well-being are promoted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The COVID-19 pandemic has been managed well. There have been no cases of COVID-19 among the children. Children continued to attend their education provision during lockdown periods. Staff spoke to children about personal protective equipment and their social responsibilities, and children responded well to the advice they were given by staff. Inspection report children’s home: 2608968 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming by ensuring that the home is clean and well maintained. The home should be decorated in consultation with the children living in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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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 children’s home: 2608968 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Northamptonshire Children’s Trust Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: One Angel Square, Angel Street, Northampton, Northamptonshire NN1 1ED

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Inspector

Joanne Vyas, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2608968 7 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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