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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2699790 1 Registered provider: Northridge Care Group Limited

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. The home is registered to provide care for one child with social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home does not currently have a registered manager. An interim manager is in post and has submitted their application to register with Ofsted.

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: 2699790 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/04/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2699790 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has made excellent progress since living in the home. There is considerable evidence of change and improvement because of the high quality of care provided to the child by staff. Staff support the child to understand and process the impact of their childhood experiences. Court-ordered restrictions of liberty are no longer in place due to the progress made. As a result, the child can enjoy more freedom of movement, independently and safely.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoys positive, trusting relationships with staff who know them well. Staff offer nurturing supportive care to the child, who is very comfortable with staff. The child enjoys a range of activities with the staff in and outside the home. Staff promote positivity in the home and are aspirational for the child’s future. The child says that they enjoy living in the home and are happy.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the child’s health needs are met. There are clear plans in place, with guidance for staff to follow. Staff support the child to attend regular routine appointments. The child is supported by staff to develop healthy habits that they will be able to sustain after they have left the home. When barriers to providing specialist support arise, the manager advocates effectively on behalf of the child and, when necessary, challenges key professionals. This ensures that multi-agency interim support is provided to the child while specialist support is sourced. One social worker said, ‘The staff’s approach and how this has been handled is excellent to support [name of child].’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child now attends an education provision full time. When barriers to the child attending education were identified, the manager implemented one-to-one tutoring in the home for a period of time. This helped to prepare the child to manage in a classroom environment and successfully move to a full-time provision.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise and understand the importance of the child spending time with people who are important to them. The child is now rebuilding relationships with family members. As a result, the child enjoys positive overnight stays, spending quality time with their family.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has difficulties in managing their emotions. Staff are supporting the child to understand difficult emotions and are providing positive strategies to manage these, such as guided meditation. The child is reliant on support provided by staff. Plans for independently managing difficult emotions and situations when the child moves on from the home are in their infancy.

p.3

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

The child’s needs and risks are known and well understood by staff. There are clear safety plans in place, with guidance for staff to follow. The child has not been missing Inspection report for children’s home: 2699790 4 from the home; this was a significant concern in their previous home. As a result, risks are reducing and the child is becoming increasingly safe.

p.3

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

Staff have good knowledge of safeguarding issues and thresholds for sharing information. Professionals involved with the child say that staff have excellent communication with them. Staff are actively involved in care planning and have information readily available to share.

p.4

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

Consequences and rewards are used consistently in the home to promote and celebrate positive behaviours and achievements. The child is regularly consulted about rewards and incentives and is involved in developing their own goals to work towards. Consequences are used infrequently but, when imposed. they are appropriate. As a result, the child has clear boundaries and routines in place and positive behaviour is promoted.

p.4

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

There have been occasions when the child has self-harmed Staff respond quickly and appropriately to remove any items that the child could use to harm themselves. Staff undertake regular routine searches of the child’s bedroom. However, records do not always show that consent for this has been given by the child.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is currently no registered manager. A new manager is in post and has submitted her application to be the registered manager. She is ambitious, and aspirational for the child’s future. She has high expectations of the staff team to provide quality care to the child. The manager knows the child well and has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they love coming to work and feel supported by the manager. Staff describe the manager as being approachable and say that they feel valued. One staff member said, ‘She’s the best manager I’ve ever had.’ When staff are new to the home, the manager provides them with an experienced mentor to support their learning.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager communicates well with partner agencies and family members. External professionals and family members say that they are kept well informed about the child’s care and progress. The manager advocates effectively on the child’s behalf. As a result, there is effective partnership working in place for the child.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The child knows how to make a complaint. Staff have discussed with the child how to make a complaint confidentially. Complaint forms and envelopes are readily accessible in the home. This means the child can make a complaint confidentially should they want to.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they benefit from supervision. However, the records of these sessions do not show in-depth discussions about the child or about staff’s learning and development. This is a missed opportunity for the staff to discuss the quality of care they provide to the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2699790 5 An independent person visits the home regularly. However, discussions with the child, their family members, staff and professionals are limited. This is a missed opportunity to independently gather the views of key people to support the development of the home and improve the quality of care provided to the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2699790 6

p.4

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the child’s bedroom is only searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission. Immediate searching may be necessary when there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the child’s or another person’s safety or well-being. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.2)  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, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that the independent person consults regularly with children, families and other professionals, and records the outcome in their

p.6

Recommendations

report. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.8)

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: 2699790 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Northridge Care Group Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Inspector

Leanne Carr, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2699790 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.

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: 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