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

Inspection report for 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 in 2020 reregistered as part of a new children’s trust. The home provides care for up to six children who are currently unable to live with their family and who have behavioural and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has overseen the home for over 10 years. He is suitably qualified.

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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

Date of last inspection: 15 November 2022

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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: 2608968 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/11/2022 Full Good 20/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2608968 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with a nurturing environment. The home is furnished and decorated to a good standard. There are photos of the children together with staff in the home. Children use all areas of the home as their living space. They receive good care. Staff have positive relationships with children and children say they are happy and feel safe and cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

From their starting points, children are making good progress. Staff work hard to develop good relationships with children and their families. For one child, this has meant that a decision has been made that they can go and live with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children attend education. Staff work very closely with education professionals and children have worked with the child in their school to support the child’s emotional well-being. The communication between the staff and school professionals is very good. This ensures that children receive consistent support to enable them to learn and make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to participate in a range of activities in the home and in the community. This supports children’s confidence and gives them a sense of belonging. In addition, there are plans for children to have a summer holiday this year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children come to live at the home, this is well managed. One child who has recently moved in said that they feel supported and like living there.

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

The inspector’s observations of children and staff reflect the good relationships that exist between them. Children look relaxed and comfortable in the presence of staff. This contributes to children feeling safe and cared for. Staff rarely have to use physical intervention to manage children’s behaviours. On the one occasion when physical intervention was used, this was to protect the child.

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

Staff have worked closely with children to reduce their self-harming behaviours. There have been weekly meetings with professionals to ensure that the child’s mental health needs are understood by all. Risk assessments address ways of working with individual children. As a result, children have been helped to manage their behaviours and feelings safely. Staff respond to children with clear boundaries about what is safe and acceptable and seek to understand the triggers for behaviour.

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

Children’s healthcare needs are met and they are provided with a varied and nutritious diet. When it is safe to do so, children are given opportunities to cook independently or with the support of the home’s chef. Inspection report for children's home: 2608968 4 When children leave the home without permission, staff ensure that information is shared appropriately with external professionals. Return home interviews are consistently requested from the local authority.

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

There are safe practices in the home which help to protect children, for example, in the recruitment of staff and the storage of sharp items. In order to ensure that medication is administered correctly, the home’s policy is that two staff are required to observe and confirm all medication administered. During the inspection, one member of staff had not adhered to the procedure and the manager was unaware of this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a manager who has worked in residential settings for many years. He is supported by a very committed deputy manager. They have a shared vision for the home. They are passionate and aspirational for children and have ensured that they have made good progress since the last full inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Multi-agency working is a strength in this home. This approach promotes the full involvement of the professional network around the child. There is very good daily communication between the care staff, school staff and other professionals. This means that approaches to care are well coordinated. Feedback from professionals is positive. One professional said the relationship with staff is ‘ brilliant’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision meetings with their manager. They say that they are supported by the manager. Supervision allows staff the opportunity to explore the effectiveness of their work with each child. It is also a time for them to consider any personal development. One staff member said that they felt able to raise any issues with the manager. However, not all staff are aware of the whistle-blowing policy. The manager has not ensured that all the policies and procedures are available to support staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some minor shortfalls in practice are still not being identified and addressed quickly enough. As a result, some of the records remain difficult to read. The manager has not ensured that all staff complete mandatory training within timescales. Despite this, the manager is reflective and thoughtful and seeks to improve practice. He has a real desire to make positive changes to get it right for children. Inspection report for children's home: 2608968 5

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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 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 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

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 refers to ensuring robust quality assurance and monitoring systems are in place, used regularly and records are kept. This is also in relation to the oversight and monitoring of procedures for giving children medication. 15 September

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. Specifically, staff should be supported to gain a better understanding of whistle-blowing procedures and restorative approaches. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: 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

Corline Parker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for 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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