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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2615067 1 Registered provider: Northamptonshire Childrens Trust Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a local authority home that is registered to care for five children who are currently unable to live with their family.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2615067 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/08/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2615067 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has struggled due to staff shortages and the registered manager being away from the home. However, the commitment of staff to the children has meant that children have not felt the impact of this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and they like the staff. Staff form warm and nurturing relationships with children.

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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, children who were regular non-attenders at school are now engaging fully with education. Children are safer now because of the progress they have made in understanding how to keep themselves safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have participated in voluntary work such as helping out at a local stable and a local homeless shelter. They have also raised money for a local charity by baking cakes to sell. Charitable work helps children to build their self-esteem and resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities and holidays. They have been on individual holidays to Bulgaria and to London. They also enjoy horse riding, bowling, cinema and day trips. A child proudly talked about getting into the police cadets and two football teams. Staff are keen to provide children with the same opportunities as they would receive if they were not living in a children’s home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s hobbies and interests are encouraged. For example, a member of staff dressed up as a famous wizard and waited, in the heat, for some time before the child returned home. He did this because he knew it would make the child smile as she loves the story about this famous wizard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health. They have access to healthcare professionals including mental health services. Medication is safely managed, and staff are starting to promote children’s independence with their own medication where appropriate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who are struggling with their identity are sensitively supported. Consequently, they are starting to have a better understanding of who they are and who they want to be.

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

Children feel safe and secure. They feel able to talk to staff and know how to make a complaint. They have made complaints, and these have been resolved quickly and effectively. Children have been happy with the resolution. Inspection report for children’s home: 2615067 4 Staff have a good understanding of how to keep children safe. Safeguarding concerns are regularly discussed in team meetings, staff supervision meetings and with children.

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

Safeguarding children is at the centre of all practice, but staff are not risk averse. Children are supported to take appropriate risks to help them to develop their self- confidence and resilience. For example, a child has a bike but also wears a cycle helmet. Another child travels on public transport independently and confidently.

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

Children are mostly well behaved, polite and helpful. However, all the children can show behaviours that are concerning. They can become upset and angry. Some will try to hurt themselves or others. Staff manage these times well by building strong, nurturing relationships. They use established therapeutic approaches and regularly talk to each child about any concerns the child may have.

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

Children have been physically restrained when their behaviour has put them or others at risk. Staff support the child when they are upset by using a range of de- escalation techniques such as talking to the child or offering the child a quiet space to calm. None of the children have been restrained since the end of June 2022, showing that children’s behaviours of concern are reducing.

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

Children have gone missing from the home, but these occasions have been managed well. Staff look for the children and encourage them to come home. None of the children have gone missing since the end of July 2022.

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good

The managers and staff have gone through a turbulent time since the last inspection. The registered manager has been supporting another home and has only recently returned full time to this home. The deputy manager and other staff have stepped up to support the registered manager in her absence.

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good

Staffing shortages have added to the strain, which has meant that managers have been working shifts and staff have been working long days to maintain continuity for the children. This has meant that formal supervision of staff and some monitoring in the home has not been completed fully or to timescales. However, the commitment from staff and managers to ensure that children are looked after by people they know is to be commended.

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good

A member of staff was allowed to start work in the home for a short period without an appropriate Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate. However, a risk assessment was implemented to ensure that the member of staff was fully supervised while in the home until her DBS certificate arrived.

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good

The home is clean, safe and comfortable. However, some issues with the environment have not been identified: Inspection report for children’s home: 2615067 5  The cable has been removed from the children’s telephone which does not work.  The door closer to an external fire door was unhooked and therefore not working as it should.  External doors need painting.  Several doors (including children’s bedroom doors) close too quickly.  A radiator cover was missing.  A bedroom door was damaged on the inside of the room.  The garden contains a lot of weeds.

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good

Some of the above concerns were addressed during the inspection and some had been reported some time ago, but no action has been taken. Staff shortages have meant that managers have had less time to ensure effective monitoring of the environment.

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good

Risk management planning for holidays is not always individualised or appropriate to the holiday. For example, a holiday to London included information about flights which were not part of the trip. This inaccuracy makes the risk assessment meaningless. However, holidays have gone well for the children.

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good

The management team has worked tirelessly to ensure that children are safe, and that their health and well-being is promoted. Children can access the resources they need because managers strongly advocate for them and work closely with other professionals. Managers and staff are child centred and committed to providing children with a loving, secure and stable home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2615067 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, 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to poor-quality risk management planning for holidays that are not individualised to each child. 30 September

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the monitoring of the environment to ensure that it is well maintained, and supervision records to ensure that they are clearly recorded so that they are not misleading. This also relates to ensuring that supervision of staff is carried out in accordance with the home’s policies. 30 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2615067 7 Ensure that the registered person permits an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (7)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to a member of staff working in the home prior to receiving an appropriate Disclosure and Barring Service certificate. 30 September

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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: 2615067 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Northamptonshire Childrens 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 for children’s home: 2615067 9 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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