Children's Home run by Northern Community Pathways Children’s Residential Services Ltd in Kirklees

Inspection report for children’s home: 2822725 1 Registered provider: Northern Community Pathways Children’s Residential Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider operates this home, which offers care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living at the home at the time of this inspection. All three children were spoken with.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2025.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 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: 2822725 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since moving to the home, all three children have made progress. Staff are child centred and provide support and affection to the children. Staff are dedicated to ensuring the children are happy, and the positive relationships the children are developing with staff have enabled them to achieve this. One parent said that since their child moved to the home, the staff have helped their child ‘get their sparkle back’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff value the importance of children attending the right educational placement. A child’s history, ability and needs are central to finding the right setting to meet their needs. All information is appropriately shared with educational professionals so there is a collective understanding of what is the best fit for the child to achieve academically.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are consistently encouraged to express their views. There are regular meetings and key-work sessions that capture children’s wishes and feelings. Staff ensure children’s wishes are acted upon whenever reasonable and possible. This demonstrates to the children that their views are valued and heard, and actioned when appropriate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of fostering and maintaining good relationships with the children’s families and friends. Staff regularly update families on the children’s progress and collaborate with children’s families and friends to best meet the children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who move on from the home are not always given a positive ending to their time living there. One child was not given appropriate notice by staff to understand or process their leaving. Although adequate notice had been provided to the child’s local authority, the same courtesy was not afforded to the child. This resulted in the child being confused and upset by the immediacy of their move.

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improvement to be good

When children spend time away from the home, staff do not routinely contact them and rely on information provided by friends and family to ensure that children are safe and well. The lack of staff oversight and contact leaves children vulnerable as staff do not know where they are for extended periods of time through the day.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments do not contain all identified risks and vulnerabilities. Significant risks are omitted, which could impact on how staff support children, leaving staff and children vulnerable.

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improvement to be good

A current fire risk assessment is in place outlining the procedures to be followed in the event of a fire. However, fire doors in the home were not being used in accordance with their intended function, with one door being propped open using a doorstop. This Inspection report for children’s home: 2822725 3 significantly compromises fire safety, as it would allow smoke and flames to spread rapidly, thereby endangering the safety of both children and staff.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of children going missing from the home are rare, but when they occur staff take appropriate action. Staff collaborate with the police, children’s families and friends, and follow agreed protocols for missing-from-home incidents. Staff make appropriate efforts to locate children and return them from being missing. Independent return home interviews take place following each episode of going missing.

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improvement to be good

When incidents have occurred, they are managed well by staff. Staff know the children and they respond appropriately to their individual needs when necessary. As a result, the use of physical interventions has not been required in this inspection period.

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improvement to be good

Reward is a key feature in this home and there are incentives for children to show positive behaviour and achieve their goals. Effective use of incentives helps children to understand that they can have better experiences by collaborating with staff to improve their behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Staff use external agencies to educate the children on how to keep themselves safer. Staff organise and facilitate these sessions, promoting children’s safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff and children benefit from good leadership in the home. The manager leads by example and has strong aspirations for children and staff. The manager’s commitment and can-do approach means that the staff follow these expectations for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report feeling well managed and supported. Morale at the home is high, and staff have a positive, energetic approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place frequently and are well attended. There is a focus on celebrating children’s positive achievements, as well as discussing relevant care planning issues. Staff receive updates and discuss strategies at the meetings to ensure that their practice is consistent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions and appraisals are effective. They focus on staff development, include practice reflection, and prioritise the children during discussions. They provide staff with the opportunity to improve practice so they can achieve the best care, support and outcomes for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager advocates on behalf of children and escalate concerns when they arise. When plans are not in line with the needs or voice of the child, the manager challenges professionals appropriately. This demonstrates the manager’s commitment to the children’s well-being. Inspection report for children’s home: 2822725 4

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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 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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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)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that there is a day-to-day plan in place for staff to ascertain the whereabouts of each child to ensure they are safe.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, staff must continually and actively assess all risks to each child and ensure that all risks are included in the relevant plans. 28 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(b)) 8 September 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2822725 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home complies with relevant health and safety legislation. In particular, ensure that fire doors are not propped open. (‘Guide to the 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: 2822725 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Northern Community Pathways Children’s Residential Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 321 Red Bank Road, Bispham, Blackpool FY2 0HJ

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Inspector

Deirdre Silkstone, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2822725 7 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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