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

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

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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: 29 January 2024

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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

29/01/2024 Full Good 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

Children enjoy positive relationships with staff who know them well. Staff offer nurturing, supportive care to children and take them on activities and holidays. Staff speak about children with care and affection. Children say they are very happy living in the home. One child said, ‘The staff go above and beyond for us.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met. There are clear plans in place with guidance for staff to follow. Staff support children to attend regular routine and specialist health appointments. Staff cook healthy, balanced meals and encourage children to try varied foods. This supports children to lead a healthy lifestyle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When barriers to children attending education are identified, the registered manager works effectively with external agencies to find a solution that works best for the individual needs of the child. As a result, both children now attend individual education provisions which best suit their needs and are making progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to build life skills that they will require when they move on from the home. There are clear plans in place with awards for children to encourage their development. Children engage well with this and are learning important skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support and encourage children to spend time with people who are important to them. Staff support and, when appropriate, supervise family time. As a result, children enjoy spending quality time with family and friends. This supports children’s sense of self and identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a warm and welcoming environment. Staff help children to personalise their bedrooms according to their individual tastes and interests. There are photos of the children and people who are important to them throughout the home. Any maintenance issues are quickly addressed. The home has the use of external closed circuit television systems and external door alarms in place. However, written consent from children’s placing authorities is not in place.

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

Staff have the skills, knowledge and understanding to keep children safe. Practice is supported by detailed written information about children from their placing local authorities. Risk assessments are clear, and safety plans are detailed with guidance for staff to follow. Staff keep risk assessments up to date and include learning from any incidents. As a result, staff are consistently following children’s care plans.

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

Children have individual positive behaviour support plans in place, with clear guidance for staff to follow. Staff implement appropriate, consistent boundaries and routines, and reinforce positive behaviour using incentives and rewards. When behavioural incidents arise in the home, staff use de-escalation techniques and distraction methods to manage children’s behaviour. Consequences implemented by staff are fair and proportionate to Inspection report for children’s home: 2679574 4 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

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

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

The registered manager ensures that staff are recruited safely, and that they receive a quality induction. Effective monitoring of visitors attending the home further ensures the protection of children from potential harm.

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

Children know how to make a complaint. Staff discuss with children how to make a complaint confidentially should they wish to. Complaints forms and a QR code are readily accessible in the home.

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

There have been occasions where children have self-injured. Staff respond quickly and appropriately to remove any items that the child could use to harm themselves. Staff undertake regular searches of children’s bedrooms. However, records of bedroom searches do not always demonstrate that consent for this has been provided by children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is very child-centred. She knows the children well and understands their individual needs. She has high expectations of staff and is committed to providing high-quality care to the children. She advocates strongly on children’s behalf and escalates her concerns when the children’s needs are not being met. The registered manager is proactive in sourcing additional external support to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals and family members say that staff are providing excellent care to the children. Professionals and family members say that the registered manager communicates very well with them. She shares relevant information to keep them well informed of children’s care and progress. One health professional said, ‘It is not just a job; they are really passionate about caring for the children.’ One parent said, ‘It has been brilliant; there has been loads of progress. Staff are the best.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they ‘love’ coming to work and that they feel supported by the registered manager. Staff describe their manager as being approachable, and say that they feel valued. Staff communicate well with each other and are committed to providing good- quality and consistent care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision is of good quality. Staff have plenty of opportunities to discuss and reflect on their care of children. Staff’s strengths and future aspirations are discussed. Any shortfalls in practice are raised during supervision sessions, and staff are given clear guidance on their tasks to complete. Inspection report for children’s home: 2679574 5 An independent person visits the home regularly. However, discussions with children are limited. This is a missed opportunity to independently gather the views of children to support the development of the home and improve the quality of care provided to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a clear vision for the home, including staff development. However, this is not formally documented in order to evidence how she will action these plans. A previous recommendation is restated. Inspection report for children’s home: 2679574 6

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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 registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires; and

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

A visit by the independent person to the home may be unannounced.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)) 6 March 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that for any use of CCTV or other monitoring equipment, consent to any monitoring or surveillance is obtained in writing from the child’s placing authority at the time of placement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  The registered person should ensure that the child’s bedroom should only be searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission prior to the search being completed. Immediate searching may be necessary where there are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a risk to the child’s or another person’s safety or wellbeing. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)  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

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Recommendations

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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2679574 7 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)

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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: 2679574 8

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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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Inspector

Leanne Carr, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2679574 9 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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