Children's home run by Northridge Care Group Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2808841 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 one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in January 2025. This is the home’s first inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post is vacant. An interim manager is in place and intends to register with Ofsted.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2808841 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When the child moved into the home, staff welcomed them sensitively and with care, which helped them to settle. Staff offer nurturing and supportive care, and the child has formed positive relationships with most staff. When barriers to building a relationship with one staff member arose, the manager responded effectively, using creative and thoughtful strategies to understand the underlying reasons for the difficulties and adapt the member of staff’s approach. As a result, the child’s relationship with this staff member is improving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child attends an appropriate education provision and is supported by staff to maintain regular attendance. Staff are committed to the child’s learning, using creative approaches in the home to complement school-based education. Staff provide worksheets and resources that are tailored to the child’s age and level of understanding. Consequently, the child’s academic attainment is improving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the child’s health needs are met. There are clear plans in place with guidance for staff to follow. Staff support the child to attend regular routine appointments. The child is supported by staff to develop healthy habits that they will be able to sustain after they have left the home. When specialist support is required, the manager advocates strongly on the child’s behalf to ensure that medication provision is regularly reviewed and is meeting the child’s 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. Staff encourage and support the child to maintain family links and spend quality time having fun with family members and friends. This includes the family dog attending the home for overnight stays and providing financial support to the family for enjoyable activities. This supports the child’s sense of self and their identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The communal areas of the home environment are welcoming and feel like a family home. There are photos of the child enjoying activities throughout the home as well as their artwork being proudly displayed in the home. However, the child’s bedroom was observed to be untidy, with belongings scattered and limited evidence of regular upkeep.

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

Risks for the child are known and understood by staff. The child is thoroughly involved in creating detailed plans regarding their care, including guidance for staff to follow when supporting the child during times of crisis. Staff are supporting the child to understand difficult emotions and are providing positive strategies to manage these, such as mindful breathing techniques.

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

Staff complete extensive direct work with the child in order to develop their knowledge and understanding of risk. The manager and staff use research-informed practice that Inspection report for children’s home: 2808841 3 helps them understand the child’s behaviours and adjust their approach. Staff have a good understanding of childhood trauma and use this knowledge to inform their care of the child.

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

There have been no occasions where the child has gone missing from the home. This is considerable progress for the child who has frequently gone missing from previous homes. The child’s independent reviewing officer said, ‘Previously there were lots of incidents of [name of child] being missing from home; [Name of child] is the most settled that they have been in a long time.’

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

The child’s behaviour is managed well. Staff regularly use positive reinforcement and incentives to encourage positive behaviour. Consequences are used rarely, but when implemented, they are appropriate to the behaviour displayed. There has been one occasion of the child being physically held by staff as a last resort in order to safeguard the child or others.

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

During the inspection, staff were observed to attempt to prop fire doors open and described this to be a ‘habit’. This compromises the effectiveness of the home’s fire safety measures and places the child and staff at potential risk in the event of a fire. The manager took immediate action when this was raised. However, clear oversight is needed to ensure that fire safety protocols are consistently followed and embedded into daily practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The interim manager is child focused and knows the child well. She has high expectations of staff and role models practice supporting staff’s development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a clear understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. Her reviewing and monitoring systems are effective in identifying and addressing any shortfalls in staff practice. For one behavioural incident, the manager quickly identified poor decision-making by staff and took effective immediate action to address the shortfalls. This included lessons learned with the staff involved and additional support and mentoring from experienced staff. However, the manager needs to ensure that any lessons learned are disseminated to all staff to prevent future similar incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they enjoy coming to work and ‘love’ their jobs. Staff describe the manager as approachable and say that they feel supported and listened to by their manager. Staff benefit from regular reflective supervision and have plenty of opportunities to discuss their development and reflect on their care of the child. Staff have individual development plans that identify key strengths and areas for further development and are provided with a wide range of training specific to the individual needs of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable staff team in place whose members communicate effectively with each other to provide consistent care for the child. Staff work hard to consider creative strategies to help support the child, reflecting on what is working well and identifying Inspection report for children’s home: 2808841 4 how they can adapt their approach to best meet the child’s individual needs. The members of the staff team are driven and enthusiastic about offering quality care to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager communicates well with partner agencies and family members, who say that they are happy with the care of the child. Professionals and family members say that they are kept well informed of the child’s care and progress. The child’s parent said, ‘They’re brilliant. I absolutely can’t fault them; [Name of child] is doing amazing, and I am kept up to date of what is going on. There is nothing more they could do for [Name of child].’ Inspection report for children’s home: 2808841 5

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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

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

make arrangements for persons working at the home to receive suitable training in fire prevention. (Regulation 25 (1)(a)(c)) 21 August 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming and meets children’s basic day to day needs. Staff should seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should, following review of behavioural incidents in the home, distribute any lessons learned to the wider team to sustain good practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: 2808841 6

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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: 2808841 7 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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