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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2800616 1 Registered provider: Northridge Care Group Limited 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 offers care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in January 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living at 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 requires improvement to be 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: 2800616 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive and meaningful relationships with staff despite their short time living in the home. Children are comfortable in the care of staff who offer nurturing and supportive care to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they enjoy living in the home and participating in activities with staff. This supports building and maintaining positive and trusting relationships between children and adults who care for them. One child said, ‘I get on with everyone; they’re all really nice, and I can talk to [name of staff member] about everything.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen and respond to children’s views, wishes and feelings. Children are involved in creating their care plans and identifying strategies to help support their emotional well- being. Staff support children in attending their chosen places of worship and involve them in menu and activity planning. This ensures that their voices are heard and that their opinions are valued by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff welcome children sensitively and with care when they move into the home. Where possible, staff visit children beforehand, and children can visit the home and meet staff. This helps staff to learn about children’s likes, dislikes and interests before they move in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met. They support children in attending regular routine and specialist health appointments. Staff promote healthy lifestyles and use education to develop children’s knowledge about food, nutrition and exercise. Staff encourage physical activity through walking in the local community and attending a local gym. Children are developing healthy habits that they will be able to sustain after leaving the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Barriers to children attending education have been identified. The registered manager is working closely with external professionals, advocating on children’s behalf, to find a solution that is in the children’s best interests. As an interim arrangement, staff use worksheets and online exercises, as well as educational trips, until an appropriate solution is identified that meets the children’s educational needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise and understand the importance of children spending time with people who are important to them. When appropriate, staff support and supervise family time. As a result, children enjoy regular time with their family and friends, which supports their sense of self and identity. Inspection report for children’s home: 2800616 3

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

Staff have the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding to help keep children safe. Professionals say that staff’s communication is good. Staff are actively involved in care planning and have information readily available to share. Safety plans for children are clear with detailed guidance for staff to follow.

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

Staff carry out direct work with children to develop their knowledge and understanding of how to keep themselves safe. Staff work alongside external agencies and a therapist to develop and review strategies that staff use to help keep children safe. One child said, ‘They have done loads of work with me around safety.’ The child spoke about what they have learned since moving into the home and how this helps to keep them safe.

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

On the few occasions that children have gone missing from the home, staff are proactive and professionally curious in their attempts to locate them and return them home safely. Practice is supported by written information about the children from their placing authorities. There are clear safety plans in place with guidance for staff to follow when children go missing from the home. Staff seek to understand the reasons why children go missing and use this information to prevent future incidents.

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

On occasions, children have self-harmed. Staff respond quickly and appropriately to remove any items that children could use to harm themselves. Staff are helping children understand difficult emotions and are working alongside them to develop positive strategies to manage them. Staff carry out routine searches of children’s bedrooms.

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

Staff regularly use rewards, de-escalation techniques and distraction methods to manage children’s behaviour. Consequences are rarely used. On one occasion, staff physically restrained a child as a final measure to prevent them from harming themselves or others.

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

Children’s medication is stored safely. There are clear plans in place for administering medication with detailed guidance for staff to follow. Records of medications administered are clear, and daily medication checks are carried out.

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

Before children move into the home, the registered manager carries out a risk assessment. This identifies how known risks may affect the children already living in the home as well as the child moving in. Additionally, it considers the staff’s skills and experience to meet the children’s needs collectively. However, the registered manager’s evaluation does not clearly evidence the rationale for decision-making. While this shortfall has had no effect, it indicates that matching considerations have not been fully evaluated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has not had sufficient oversight of care practices in the home. His monitoring and auditing systems have not identified the shortfalls raised during the Inspection report for children’s home: 2800616 4 inspection. This means management oversight is not currently effective and embedded into practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

This inspection has identified shortfalls in record-keeping. The quality of children’s records is inconsistent. Records do not always reflect actions taken by staff, and there are inaccuracies in the information recorded. Some behavioural incidents have not been recorded correctly, meaning that staff do not have the most up-to-date information readily accessible when providing care for children. Additionally, this is a missed opportunity to monitor the progress and experiences of some children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

An independent person visits the home regularly. The quality of reports does not support consistent improvement in the home, and reports contain inaccurate information. Discussions with the children, their family members, staff and professionals are limited. Leaders and managers have acknowledged this shortfall and identified a new person to carry out these visits. However, since this change, there has been a delay in providing reports to the regulator.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff benefit from regular supervision and team meetings. However, the recordings of these sessions do not consistently evidence in-depth discussions about the children’s or staff’s learning and development. This is a missed opportunity for staff to discuss the quality of care they provide to the children and for the registered manager to monitor the quality of staff practice through reflection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are positive about their experience of working in the home. Staff say that they are supported by the registered manager and explain that he is approachable and provides advice and guidance. Staff describe a strong sense of teamwork and supportive relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Partner agencies and family members say that they are happy with the care provided to the children by staff. The registered manager shares relevant information to keep professionals and family members informed of children’s progress. .’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2800616 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(f)(g)(i)(h)) 10 August 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that an independent person is appointed to make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for children’s care and that subsequent reports are promptly shared with the regulator. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5) Inspection report for children’s home: 2800616 6

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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: 2800616 7

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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 PR1 3HP

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Inspector

Leanne Carr, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2800616 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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