Children's home run by Northridge Care Group Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2640099 1 Registered provider: Northridge Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in July 2021 and is owned by a private company. The home offers care for up to three children who have experienced childhood instability that has resulted in trauma and associated complex behaviours or who have learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since the home opened in July 2021. She holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2640099 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2640099 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming. There are many photos on the walls, displaying positive images of the children. This gives children a sense of belonging and ownership. One child said, ‘It’s like a proper family home.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff develop positive relationships with children. This enables children to talk openly about their feelings. Independent advocates also support children. This helps children to develop social skills while building resilience and self-confidence.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend weekly meetings to raise issues and to discuss activities and meals for the week ahead. This gives them a sense of ownership and helps them to develop negotiating skills.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to manage their health needs. Children register with doctors and dentists and access support from a wide range of other services. This means that children’s routine appointments and checks are up to date.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel supported with their learning. Staff help children to access suitable education and ensure that children’s plans are up to date. As a result, children are making good progress from their starting points.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend activity groups and clubs. They also do voluntary work with local charities and undertake fundraising activities. This helps children to make a positive contribution to their community while developing their confidence and skills.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work collaboratively with parents and maintain regular contact with them. This helps to strengthen relationships between children and their parents. One parent said, ‘Relationships have vastly improved between us, and we learn how we can nurture them. She [their child] is now so much better with adults and her peers.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children complete life-story work. They update their ‘memory files’ regularly with pictures, photographs and comments. This helps children to reflect on and understand their life history.

p.3

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

Children benefit from living in a warm and welcoming home. Children said that they feel safe in their home and feel cared for by the staff. One child said, ‘It’s a nice area and the staff are great. I feel safe living here.’

p.3

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

All staff have suitable background checks before starting work at the home. This ensures that children are not placed at risk from unsuitable adults working at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2640099 4 There is inconsistency in the quality of recording when a physical restraint is used. Records do not consistently evidence that staff or children reflect on an incident with a member of staff who is not involved in the incident. This is a missed opportunity to improve the team’s learning and practice.

p.3

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

There are clear missing-from-home risk-management strategies in place. This helps to reduce the likelihood of children going missing and the length of time of each episode.

p.4

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

Staff support children to stay safe online. They raise children’s awareness of risks through key-work sessions. This includes learning about child exploitation and about safe and healthy relationships. Outside agencies also provide support.

p.4

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

Staff use restorative consequences with children. This helps children to understand the consequences of their behaviour on themselves and others. As a result, there have been fewer incidents in the home recently.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably experienced and passionate about her work. She is developing a culture of high aspiration for children. One worker said, ‘I absolutely love working here; this has been the best experience I’ve had.’

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision and training and feel supported in their roles. They attend regular team meetings to share their knowledge and to discuss current issues. This promotes a consistent approach across the team.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have a clear understanding of each child’s plans and the progress they are making. Managers review and monitor the quality of the care provided. This allows the registered manager to identify the strengths of the home and make plans for areas for improvement.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager assesses the needs of children as part of a pre-admission plan. However, the registered manager did not fully assess the specific needs of one child. As a result, the staff team could not meet the child’s needs, and the child’s placement ended.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has monthly monitoring systems in place to track children’s progress and has good oversight of any incidents that occur. However, the report on the review of the quality of care lacks the opinions of stakeholders, including children. It also lacks evaluation to help the registered manager develop the care provided to children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers develop a range of resources for staff to use with children. This promotes children’s health and well-being through innovative approaches. As a result, children can understand and manage their emotions better. Inspection report for children’s home: 2640099 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.5

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.5

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;

p.5

Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(ii)) 30 September

p.5

Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

p.5

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 30 September

p.5

Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, 31 October 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2640099 6 reviewing and evaluating—

p.5

Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

p.6

Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

p.6

Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

p.6

Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (5))

p.6

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: 2640099 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Northridge Care Group Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fylde House, Skyways Commercial Campus, Amy Johnson Way, Blackpool FY4 3RS

p.7

Inspector

Mark Woodbridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2640099 8 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8