Children's Home run by Northridge Care Group Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2679574 1 Registered provider: Northridge Care Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in August 2022 and is owned by a private company. The home offers care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties or who have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2023.

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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: 24 January 2023

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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: 2679574 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2679574 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. Children have experienced planned moves into the home, which have been managed sensitively. One child had recently moved out to an alternative provision. Staff have remained in contact with this child, which has supported a positive transition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with opportunities to engage in activities inside and outside the home. Staff regularly seek views from children and ensure that activities relating to their interests are promoted. Children have been supported to attend swimming, rugby and participate in activities with the local youth club.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children are not in education, staff are proactive in seeking alternative education provision. Staff have worked closely with education providers to identify and remove barriers to learning that are faced by children. This has supported an improvement in children’s attendance in education while living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are registered with health professionals, and appointments are made as necessary. When children have chosen not to access medical appointments, staff provide appropriate support and encouragement. This helps children to understand the importance of accessing relevant services. Children lead healthy lifestyles and receive support to access a healthy diet. Staff help children through direct-work sessions to understand the importance of improved sleep patterns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff nurture children’s relationships with their families and friends. This includes facilitating children’s time with their family and providing them with regular updates. This helps children to maintain important relationships and further develop their networks for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are developing trusting relationships with children. Children’s views are sought regularly and acted on by staff at the home. This enables children to feel valued and listened to. Children know how to make a complaint and feel confident that staff will respond effectively.

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

Individual assessments take account of children’s known behaviours and the triggers that can escalate behaviours further. Staff consistently follow the agreed strategies to support children in crisis. When incidents do occur, the manager undertakes a review to identify any learning to improve future practice.

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

Praise and rewards are used regularly to promote positive behaviour. Consequences are used only when necessary, in line with children’s behaviour management plans. These are proportionate and staff support children to have a clear understanding of Inspection report for children’s home: 2679574 4 why these have been used. The registered manager has recently developed a new process that ensures that consequences are restorative and balanced.

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

Missing-from-home protocols are in place in the event of a child being missing from home. These protocols are followed consistently by staff and ensure that children return to the home as quickly and safely as possible. Children are offered the opportunity to speak to an independent person on their return to the home, which enables staff to develop their understanding of the reasons children have been missing. The manager has developed individual strategies to support a reduction in occasions children are missing from the home.

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

Staff have the skills and knowledge to support children and to de-escalate situations when needed. The use of physical intervention is rare, and only when necessary to keep children safe. Staff are trained to hold children safely. Staff undertake searches of children’s bedrooms sensitively. The manager ensures that staff and children are spoken to after any incident. This ensures that practice in this area remains safe and appropriate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an enthusiastic and committed manager, who is child centred in her approach and leads by example. Several new workers have been recruited to the staff team so that there is sufficient staff to care for children in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have positive experiences of working in the home and say that the manager is very supportive. Team meetings take place on a regular basis. They are well attended, and staff are engaged in the process. Ideas are shared, specifically when looking to improve the outcomes for children. Staff’s views are valued by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff engage in a range of mandatory training and receive regular supervision from the manager, which is supportive and reflective. The manager has a clear vision for the home, including staff development. However, this is not formally documented to evidence how she will action these plans. This needs to be completed to ensure that the staff and wider agencies are fully aware of the development plans for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff team have created positive working relationships with children’s families and partner agencies. Professionals who are involved with the children currently living in the home are complimentary about the standard of care provided to the children. An independent person visits the home regularly. On occasions, family members state that their experience of working with the home has been very positive. However, the independent person does not regularly source this feedback. This would strengthen the report.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has compiled a location risk assessment. This includes the risks that children may face in the local community. However, there is no recent input from external sources such as the police, which would strengthen this assessment. Inspection report for children’s home: 2679574 5 The manager has actively challenged care plans for children where she feels their needs are not being promoted. She has advocated strongly on children’s behalf where she has felt this has been required to promote children’s safety. This resulted in a child’s care plan being reviewed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2679574 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, 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 registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that consultation takes place with relevant persons and that their views are considered when reviewing the location of the premises. 26 March 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1, paragraphs 19 and 20. The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff – including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home. This should include regular, independently sourced feedback from children, family members and professionals. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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) Inspection report for children’s home: 2679574 7 Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2679574 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Northridge Care Group Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Richard House, 9 Winckley Square, Preston, Lancashire PR1 3HP

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Inspector

Carrie Mayes, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2679574 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 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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