Orchard House - Northampton Ltd

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Orchard House - Northampton Ltd 1 Orchard House - Northampton Limited Registered provider: Orchard House - Northampton Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This supported accommodation service is operated by a private provider in the East Midlands. They can accommodate up to 12 individuals in two shared or group living premises that are not limited to accommodating looked-after children or care leavers.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, 12 individuals were being accommodated. Seven of them were looked-after children aged 16 or 17.

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provider

The registered service manager has been in post since September 2023.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 13 January 2025 and started that day. The inspector was on site from 15 to 17 January 2025.

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Outcome

Consistently strong service delivery leads to typically positive experiences and progress for children. Where improvements are needed, leaders and managers take timely and effective action. The next inspection will be within approximately three years.

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Summary of findings

Children feel happy and safe in their home. They receive tailored support to prepare them for adulthood.

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Summary of findings

Most children are in education and make good progress in other areas of their lives.

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Summary of findings

The quality of accommodation provided for children is good. Children feel settled and secure in their home and take care of their environment. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Orchard House - Northampton Ltd 2 Leaders and managers have an exceptional understanding of the children’s needs. They have high expectations and standards, which are reflected in the support that children receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children said that they feel happy and safe in their home. They described feeling part of a family. One child said, ‘It is my safety net.’ They also said that staff build good relationships and support them when they have worries or concerns, which means that they have a trusted adult they can speak to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children contribute their views in monthly meetings. They also attend social events frequently throughout the year, such as group fitness challenges, cooking on a budget and visiting theme parks. This gives children opportunities to enjoy new experiences and create new memories. It also helps staff to develop good relationships with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff are proactive in using different forms of communication with children when English is not their first language. They are sensitive to their cultural needs and encourage children in the home to celebrate diverse cultures together. One social worker said, ‘Despite this placement not being unaccompanied asylum-seeking children specialised, staff understand cultural and religious needs as part of our unaccompanied asylum-seeking children’s identity. They also have a warm, friendly but firm approach, which I consider so important.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff update children’s safety plans, support plans and risk assessments and work as part of a multi-agency team. However, some children do not have support plans or risk assessments in line with their care plan. The provider has taken steps to address this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff have an in-depth understanding of children’s needs and vulnerabilities and provide them with targeted support. This helps staff to provide sensitive support to children when it is most needed. This has led to children making considerable progress with their mental health and preparation for adulthood. One child said, ‘Staff know my behaviours and will reflect on these with me.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

A range of agencies gave unanimously positive feedback about children’s progress and experiences. Staff work closely with different agencies to ensure that the quality of support provided to children is well coordinated. One child’s social worker said, ‘It was positive to hear from the independent reviewing officer who has known [name of child] much longer than myself that she has really progressed since living at [name of accommodation]. Her confidence has grown considerably, and they have helped to encourage her with developing her independence skills.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to register with universal health services and attend appointments. They are strong advocates for children when specialist assessments are required. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Orchard House - Northampton Ltd 3 Staff help children to connect with people who are important to them. Children have access to mobile technology and Wi-Fi in their homes for this purpose.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff complete a wide range of safeguarding training to help them support children effectively. The training is in line with children’s individual needs.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff complete initial assessments to identify the potential risks of children living together. This helps to ensure that children can live alongside each other safely. This means that children feel safe in the accommodation that they share with each other.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff respond well to safeguarding incidents and take appropriate action. They review each incident to understand what has taken place and put in place mitigating steps to prevent reoccurrence. This approach helps staff to reflect on and develop their practice in improving the management of incidents.

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How well children are helped and protected

When children are missing from home, staff follow steps to locate them, such as contacting their families and friends. There is a well-coordinated response to reduce the risk of harm. When staff locate children, they check on their well-being. Most children are offered return home interviews with an independent service.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers use robust safer recruitment processes to ensure that adults are safe to work with children. The provider does not use agency staff, which means that children have a consistent support team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have an exceptional understanding of children’s vulnerabilities and are child-focused. They are advocates for children and appropriately challenge services. Children speak very highly of the managers and the nurturing support they offer them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff are positive about the support and training they receive. They said that they feel valued working for the service. One member of staff said, ‘It is a really nice company to work for. It is home from home. I was welcomed into the home by young people and staff. Staff are really supportive.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Managers provide staff with regular supervision and appraisals. This means that staff can discuss their well-being, development and progress within the service. As a result, staff feel valued and listened to by managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The service operates in line with its statement of purpose which, along with the young person’s guide, is kept under review. This clearly sets out the ethos and objectives of the service. The young person’s guide is accessible and easily understood by children, including those who speak English as an additional language. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Orchard House - Northampton Ltd 4 The provider has a workforce development plan, however, it does not include the managerial arrangements for their oversight of the accommodation. Therefore, this is currently not clear, even though some steps have been taken to address this. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Orchard House - Northampton Ltd 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The support standard is that children receive individual and tailored support that meets their needs.

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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 plans for support are based on initial referral information, are meaningful and are created in full consultation with the child, taking account of relevant plans for the child;

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Requirement Due date

keep the child’s support under review, taking into consideration the plans for support, and relevant plans, to ensure that the child’s needs continue to be met and that the child is kept safe. (Regulation 7 (1) (2)(b)(c)) 28 February 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the workforce development plan includes the current staffing structure and the managerial arrangements for oversight of the premises. The plan should also include how staff support children when there is on-site or floating support and how staff promote continuity of support. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 47)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Orchard House - Northampton Ltd 6

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Orchard House - Northampton Limited

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: ohoffice@orchardhouse-northampton.com

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Inspector

Helen Fee, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Orchard House - Northampton Ltd 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 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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