Netpex Ltd.

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Netpex Ltd. 1 Netpex Ltd. Registered provider: NET PEX LTD

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

provider

This supported accommodation service is owned and operated by a private provider. It can accommodate up to 48 individuals in six shared-living homes that are limited to accommodating looked-after children and care leavers. There is also one property with eight single occupancy premises.

p.1

provider

At the time of the inspection, this service was providing supported accommodation for 10 children aged 16 or 17.

p.1

provider

The organisation and the nominated individual registered with Ofsted in December 2023. The service manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

p.1

provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 16 June 2025 and started that day. The inspectors were on site from 18 to 19 June 2025.

p.1

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.

p.1

Summary of findings

Children shared consistently positive experiences about living in their homes and the support they receive from staff.

p.1

Summary of findings

Staff know children well and support them to live independently and to move on successfully when they reach adulthood. Children’s achievements are acknowledged and rewarded by staff, giving children recognition for their accomplishments.

p.1

Summary of findings

Some children are involved in education, training or employment. When children are not, staff are proactive in encouraging them to engage with education or productive activities. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Netpex Ltd. 2 Children’s homes are not always maintained to an adequate standard, leaving some homes looking worn and not homely. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Netpex Ltd. 3

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of children

Children praise staff for being consistent, friendly and welcoming. Children build positive relationships with staff, who are described by other professionals as caring and encouraging of children’s independence. To support children, staff use an independence workbook, which covers a broad range of topics from household maintenance through to developing emotional resilience. Children’s individual support needs are continually assessed through individual sessions, house meetings and multi-professional meetings, which staff regularly attend.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff help children to attend immigration and solicitor appointments. They acknowledge and celebrate individual cultural and religious practices. The staff respect and support children’s gender identity, and this promotes acceptance and belonging.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children

Children say staff are committed to helping them to overcome adversity and to helping them to turn their life around. One child praised staff for encouraging her to re-engage with education and progress on to college. Social workers say staff are child focused and do what they can to help children reach their potential in health, education or employment as they transition into adulthood. One young person, who recently left the service, was offered a university place. Staff keep in touch and continue to encourage them to achieve, even after moving on from their service.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children

Homes are in areas where children know they live close to shops and amenities. Children say staff deal with any grievances arising in their home fairly and promptly. Children feel confident to raise their views with staff they trust to take their opinions seriously.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children

Social workers say staff are in regular communication with them and consistently provide monthly progress reports. Children say staff prioritise their needs, and the staff are patient when they are making plans together to move on from where they are living.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children

Children say staff respect their privacy and are flexible with times to be home so long as the children are in regular communication and provide acceptable explanations about where they are. Children know and understand the expectations of living in their home. They are reassured that there are house rules to keep them safe, such as no smoking and no overnight visitors.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are encouraged to get involved in house activities. Each house has a budget allocated for outings and experiences tailored to the needs of the children of each house. Staff make sure that children’s achievements are celebrated and provide gifts and outings to acknowledge when the children make progress. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Netpex Ltd. 4

p.3

How well children are helped and protected

Children say they feel safe where they live. Some children have lived with this provider for a long time when previously they have experienced a lot of house moves. Staff build positive relationships with children and know and respond well to children when they experience personal difficulties.

p.4

How well children are helped and protected

When difficulties arise, managers are quick to review plans and work with local authorities and other agencies to support children well. This includes bringing in support from substance misuse organisations to help children understand the implications of drug use. This has helped children to stop using illegal substances.

p.4

How well children are helped and protected

Staff respond well to concerning incidents. Each home has a manager to give advice and support to children and staff when events occur. Staff complete appropriate written notes detailing what has happened. The managers review information promptly to address any concerns identified. Staff regularly update individual risk assessments. This means that all staff have oversight of any changes for children and know the most appropriate action to take to support children.

p.4

How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers act quickly and appropriately to deal with allegations against staff. They ensure that concerns are reported to the local authority designated officer and complete investigations where appropriate. Managers ensure that investigations with staff are completed thoroughly to address concerns about children’s welfare.

p.4

How well children are helped and protected

Staff do not follow a consistent process when children are absent or missing from home. When children cannot be contacted, the action taken by staff to locate them is not always clear. When children return home, it is not clear what staff do to explore where individual children have been and what can be done to reduce the likelihood of being missing from care again.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The service manager is involved in the day-to-day running and oversight of the whole organisation. They meet with house managers on a regular basis, and this is an opportunity for them to discuss any specific issues that have occurred and to share good practice or learning across the whole staff group. As well as this, they are a physical presence in each of the homes, building relationships with children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers are aspirational for the children they support. Managers and staff are actively involved in encouraging and supporting children to develop their independence and live successful lives as young adults.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

There is a stable staff group within the organisation, whose members feel that their concerns are listened to and actioned appropriately by the organisation. Staff speak positively about the support they receive from leaders and managers. Several staff have remained with the organisation for many years. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Netpex Ltd. 5 Children receive support from staff who have good, relevant knowledge and experience. Leaders and managers recognise and promote the skills of their workers, resulting in many managers being promoted internally within the organisation.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers actively encourage and promote staff training. They prioritise staff attending face-to-face training and take feedback about staff’s experiences of training to help to ensure that their learning is relevant for their role.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The homes are not consistently maintained appropriately. Managers have not prioritised repairs from leaks and damage. This leaves some of the premises looking run down, and not a warm and welcoming environment for children to live in.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The manager is involved in meetings about children, particularly when there are concerns about whether the organisation can meet the needs of the child. The manager is quick to raise any concerns and is motivated to work with the local authority to find appropriate child-focused solutions. While leaders and managers are clear they want children to remain in their service for stability, when concerns arise which mean this cannot be achieved safely, appropriate action is taken to ensure that children move to a suitable provision.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers are clear in their desire not to give up on children and will only ask children to move from supported accommodation when their needs can be better met elsewhere. This helps children to feel self-assured in their home and understand that staff want to help them when issues do occur. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Netpex Ltd. 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The accommodation standard is that children experience a comfortable and secure living environment.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

are adequately maintained so as to provide a welcoming and homely environment within both individual and shared living spaces. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(b)(viii)) 19 September 2025

p.6

Requirement Due date

Monitoring and evaluating missing-from-care incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. In particular, staff should keep accurate records of children’s missing-from-care incidents, as well as discussions held on the child’s return to ensure that each child’s missing behaviour is understood and addressed appropriately. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 55)

p.6

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: Netpex Ltd. 7

p.6

Supported accommodation provider details

Nominated individual: Ebenezer Addie-Amaney

p.7

Inspectors

Leah Stannard, Social Care Inspector Chris Jay, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Netpex Ltd. 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.

p.7

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8