Children's home run by Northridge Care Group Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2746055 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

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to three children with special educational needs and/or disabilities and/or who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, there were no children living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and/or the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2746055 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/04/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2746055 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Since the last inspection, two children have moved into the home and three children have moved on from the home. Children have had variable experiences of living in the home. Two children have had largely positive experiences. However, poor matching considerations for one child, ineffective leadership and management and staff failing to follow safeguarding procedures has resulted in some serious incidents and one child being harmed. The serious shortfalls in safeguarding this child have determined the overall judgement of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

When children move into the home, they are welcomed sensitively and with care. Where possible, staff visit the children beforehand and children can visit the home and meet staff. When children arrive, staff spend time getting to know them to understand their likes and dislikes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff recognise and understand the importance of children spending time with people who are important to them. Staff support and, when appropriate, supervise family time. As a result, children enjoy regular time with family and friends. This supports their sense of self and identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s education is a priority. 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 child. For one child, this included advocating on behalf of the child to source an appropriate provision to meet their educational needs.

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

When significant incidents have taken place, staff do not always recognise the risks to children and do not always take appropriate action to reduce the risks. During one significant incident when a child made threats to kill themselves, staff did not follow the child’s individual safety plans to increase the level of staff supervision to ensure that the child was always observed. Failure to follow the child’s safety plan allowed the child to make a further attempt to take their own life by ligature. On discovering that the child had locked themselves in their bedroom and tied a ligature around their neck, staff failed to take effective immediate action to remove the ligature.

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

Staff undertake searches of children’s bedrooms to remove items that may harm them. However, following one bedroom search, a child produced a knife and used this to self- injure. This means that staff oversight of children and their belongings is not always effective enough to keep children safe.

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

Children’s risk assessments and safety plans are not always updated in a timely manner following incidents. As a result, staff do not have the necessary up-to-date information to provide appropriate care for children and keep them safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2746055 4 When children move into the home, the registered manager completes a risk assessment. However, the registered manager has not considered the staff team’s skills and experiences effectively against the known risks for the child. This does not ensure that staff are appropriately skilled and experienced to meet the individual needs of the child or that all matching considerations are appropriately evaluated. For one child, this has had a significant impact and has resulted in an unplanned move for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are significant concerns about the leadership and management of the home, which is impacting on the ability of the staff team to safeguard and protect children effectively. Serious incidents have not been managed appropriately, leaving children at risk of harm. Oversight from leaders and managers has failed to identify the significant shortfalls or take timely, effective action to improve practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are significant concerns regarding potential breaches of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the protection of children’s personal data. Additionally, there are concerns regarding the accuracy and validity of documents in the home. The records of some incidents and actions taken by staff have been written up retrospectively, a significant period after the incident. In addition, a page from the daily log on the day of a significant safeguarding incident had been torn from the logbook. This raises serious questions, not only about the accuracy of all records in the home but also the integrity and honesty of staff and leaders and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Following the inspection, the provider made the decision to cancel the registration of this home voluntarily. Consequently, no further action was taken by Ofsted.

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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: 2746055 5

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Joanne Kitchener

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Inspectors

Leanne Carr, Social Care Inspector Nicola Jeffery, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2746055 6 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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

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