Children's home run by Northridge Care Group Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2746055 1 Registered provider: Northridge Care Group Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2746055 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home was registered with Ofsted, two children have moved into the home and one child has moved on from the home. When children move into the home, they are welcomed sensitively and with care. When possible, staff visit the children beforehand and children have the opportunity to visit the home and meet staff. When children arrive, they are given a welcome gift box and staff spend time with them to understand their likes and dislikes. One child has very recently moved into the home and is beginning to build positive, trusting relationships with staff. The child scored living in the home as nine out of 10 and identified the staff team as being a real positive of living in the home. The staff’s approach helps children settle quickly into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of home-based activities that appeal to their individual interests. Staff take the children on outings and activities in the community. Staff also support children to join clubs so that they can pursue their chosen hobbies. This provides the children with opportunities to socialise in their wider community and to broaden their experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met. They support children to attend all health appointments, including therapeutic work. When children are in crisis, staff advocate on their behalf to try to secure the necessary treatment and support required. Staff support children to lead a healthy lifestyle and encourage physical activity through walking in the local community and joining a local gym.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When barriers to the children attending education have been identified, the manager works effectively with external agencies to find a solution that works best for the child. Consequently, the child who is living in the home is now accessing daily tutoring and is on track to complete their GCSEs this summer.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to see the people who are important to them. Children’s family and friends are welcomed into the home. Staff keep family regularly updated on children’s care and progress. One parent said, ‘I can’t fault them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming and is decorated and furnished to a good standard. Children can decorate their bedrooms to reflect their personality. Children’s views have been sought when purchasing items for the home including garden furniture and they are involved in menu and activity planning. This means that children feel that their views and opinions are valued and helps them settle quickly into the home. However, none of the children’s bedrooms have lockable cabinets in their bedrooms. This means that children cannot store their personal items securely.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the children’s needs. When safeguarding concerns arise, staff consistently follow safeguarding procedures. When incidents of self-harm Inspection report for children’s home: 2746055 3 occur, staff respond quickly and appropriately to remove any items children could use to harm themselves.

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

Staff respond quickly when children go missing from the home and they make persistent attempts to locate the children themselves. Staff talk to the children about their experiences of going missing from the home and they use this information to understand and reduce the risks that the children face.

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

Staff regularly use rewards, de-escalation techniques and distraction methods to manage children’s behaviour. Consequences implemented by staff are proportionate and appropriate to the behaviour displayed. On a small number of occasions, children have been physically held by staff as a last resort, to protect children from harming themselves or others.

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

Effective recruitment procedures enable the careful selection and recruitment of staff. Monitoring of visitors to the home further ensures the protection of the child from potential harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Shortfalls identified during the inspection have not been identified. This means that the current internal auditing systems are not effective in monitoring how the home functions and the performance of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Most serious incidents are appropriately notified to Ofsted in a timely manner. However, on two occasions, there has been a delay in notifying the regulator. This means that Ofsted is unable to scrutinise information to ensure that children are kept safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are shortfalls in record-keeping. There is a lack of consistency in the quality of record-keeping and there are inaccuracies and omissions in records. For one safeguarding incident, there was a significant recording omission. This means that the staff do not have the most up-to-date information when providing care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Children do not know how to make a complaint. Discussions about how to make a complaint are not recorded on the admission paperwork. Complaint forms are not readily accessible in the home, so if children want to make a complaint confidentially, they are unable to do this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff say that they benefit from supervision. However, the quality of the recording of these sessions is poor. There is little evidence of discussion about the children, staff’s learning and development or reflective supervision. This is a missed opportunity for the staff to discuss their practice and make any changes needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The independent visitor does not consistently consult with the children, staff, professionals and family. By not regularly consulting, the visitor cannot accurately evaluate whether children are effectively safeguarded. Inspection report for children’s home: 2746055 4 Staff say that they feel supported by the manager and enjoy coming to work. They describe the manager as being approachable and passionate. The staff team is driven and enthusiastic about offering good-quality care to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

When complaints have been made, these have been managed efficiently and appropriately. Records of complaints demonstrate action taken by the manager to resolve issues and evidence clear rationale for decision-making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager communicates well with partner agencies and family members. Professionals and family members say communication is ‘really good’ and they are kept well informed about children’s progress. The manager advocates effectively on children’s behalf. As a result, there is effective partnership working in place to benefit the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2746055 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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

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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)) 24 July 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) 24 July 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are provided with appropriate furniture, such as a lockable cabinet or drawers, to securely store personal items, including any personal information. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.19)  The registered person should ensure that children are aware of the complaints procedure and reminded of this when necessary. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13) Inspection report for children’s home: 2746055 6  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations,

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Recommendations

including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that there is a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that the independent person consults regularly with children, families and other professionals and records the outcome in their report. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.8)

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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: 2746055 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Northridge Care Group Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Michelle Donaghey

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Inspector

Leanne Carr, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2746055 8 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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