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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2616670 1 Registered provider: Northamptonshire Childrens Trust Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a children’s trust on behalf of a local authority. It is a residential home for children with autism and moderate to severe learning disabilities. There are currently three children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post is vacant. A manager is covering the post and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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: 25 October 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: 2616670 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/10/2023 Full Good 17/05/2022 Full Good 24/02/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness 23/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2616670 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress. They are helped to develop their independent living skills in line with their age and developmental goals. This is regardless of ability or disability. Children are learning how to separate their washing. Others are helped to choose the most appropriate clothing to wear and to clean their own teeth. For all children, this has meant they are maintaining existing skills and learning new levels of independence, therefore becoming less reliant on staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that when children need specialist equipment to help them communicate, this is available for them. Some children have visual aids to help supplement communication. Because verbal language is reinforced with a visual aid and uncertainty is reduced, children are more likely to have lower anxiety levels, and the likelihood of incidents is reduced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All success is celebrated, however small. Children have been to an awards ceremony. There are certificates of achievements around the home. Staff provide a constant theme of verbal praise and encouragement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use key-work sessions to provide children with opportunities to do new and exciting activities. Staff use the method of communication that children use, to teach children new and important skills. For instance, children have learned about road safety.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with a high standard of care. Children live in a purpose-built environment. They have access to several bright and colourful communal areas, including rooms that provide low-stimulus sensory experiences. However, one of the children’s bedrooms needs updating.

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

Staff know the children well and can identify potential risks, triggers and any additional impacts due to increased vulnerability. Care plans and risk assessments are reviewed on a regular basis and are detailed and effective. These provide staff with guidance on how to keep children safe.

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

There have been no complaints from children. There are several pictures around the home that children can point to and show staff how they feel. Because of the high level of knowledge about the children, staff know when they are worried or concerned, or when they may need additional care and support. This means that staff can intervene quickly, at a low level, and stop any escalation to a higher level of anxiety.

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

When concerns are raised about the safety of children, these are shared appropriately with safeguarding agencies. Multi-agency decision-making has meant that the overview of children’s care is strengthened, and children become safer. Inspection report for children’s home: 2616670 4 Managers have not ensured that all areas of fire safety align with the latest fire risk assessment. Fire evacuation drills are not consistent. Children do not have separate risk assessments to show what support they may need at nighttime in the event of an evacuation.

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

Children will soon have an advocate. Managers are developing this new initiative. This means that children who are vulnerable as a result of their high level of caring needs have an opportunity to share any concerns with a person who is independent of the children’s home.

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

Managers have ensured that only staff who go through a safer recruitment process are employed to work with children who have a high level of vulnerability due to their disabilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are fully committed to making sustained improvements at this home. The manager has applied to register with the regulator. They are supported by senior care staff. Together, they are passionate about improving the lives of the children they are looking after. As a senior team, they lead a knowledgeable and motivated team of staff who know the children very well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that staff have supervision discussions. This enables managers to check staff’s competence and knowledge of children and to guide and support staff with their professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they love working at this home. Some staff have worked here for several years and have seen the progress made by children. They are encouraged to develop within their role. Staff have identified improvement across several areas of the home since a change in leadership. They say a great strength of this home is that all staff work together.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals are complimentary. They have observed that the environment meets the children’s specific needs, cultural events take place and children are involved in sporting activities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When complaints are made, leaders and managers ensure that there are robust processes in place. Complaints are taken seriously and are responded to by the most appropriate manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some staff have not received all the essential training, which includes fire safety and how to use alternative methods of communication. Not all staff have achieved the required qualification within the required timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Following this inspection, two requirements and one recommendation have been made. Inspection report for children’s home: 2616670 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

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to not all staff having the identified training and qualifications to meet the needs of all the children. 22 November 2024

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the home’s current processes for evacuation drills that do not meet the requirements of the fire risk assessment.

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Requirement Due date

Children do not yet have personal evacuation plans in place. 25 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2616670 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children; they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislation (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9).

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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: 2616670 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Northamptonshire Childrens 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

Simon Hunter, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2616670 8 regulates and inspects 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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