Lincolnshire - Nacro Education Support and Transition (NEST)

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Lincolnshire - Nacro Education Support and Transition (NEST) 1 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Lincolnshire - Nacro Education Support and Transition (NEST) Registered provider: NACRO

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This supported accommodation service is operated by a national provider in the East Midlands region.

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provider

The service can accommodate up to 81 children and young people in total. This includes eight shared or group-living premises that are not limited to accommodating looked-after children or care leavers. These premises can accommodate up to 32 children. There are also 49 self-contained premises for the sole purpose of individual children.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, 10 looked-after children aged 16 or 17 were being accommodated.

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provider

The service manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 2024.

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Inspection dates:

The inspection was announced on 11 August 2025 and started that day. The inspectors were on site on 13 and 14 August 2025.

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Outcome

Inconsistent quality of service delivery adversely affects some children’s experiences and this may limit their progress. Leaders and managers must make improvements. The next inspection will be within approximately 18 months.

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Summary of findings

Leaders and managers accept some referrals for children who are not ready for supported accommodation. These children require high levels of care and supervision over a sustained period. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Lincolnshire - Nacro Education Support and Transition (NEST) 2 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Summary of findings

Some children also have increasing support needs during the placement. There is insufficient consideration of the suitability of supported accommodation for these children. Some children are not yet ready to begin developing the skills for independent adulthood.

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Summary of findings

Children’s safety plans do not always identify children’s changing vulnerabilities or set out what action should be taken to address them.

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Summary of findings

Children are positive about their experiences, support and progress. Staff help children to develop the skills needed to prepare for adult life. However, this is not consistent for all children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Some children have increasing support needs and vulnerabilities. Leaders and managers do not challenge effectively the placing authority when referrals are not suitable for supported accommodation. As a result, risks and instability increase for some children who need a greater level of care. For example, one child requires a high level of supervision to ensure their safety. The child is not yet ready to begin developing the skills for independent adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Leaders and managers ensure that children move into their homes in a planned way. Children visit the home and meet staff and other children before moving in. This helps children settle into their new homes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to maintain links with their family. One social worker said, ‘There is effective communication between staff and family, and they are led by the child as to how much information they wish for them to share.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Managers and staff seek children’s views about the quality of support they receive. They involve children in decision-making in creative ways. For example, they use graphics, pictures and accessible formats. Staff also consult children about how they want their home decorated. They involve children with the design of the young person’s guide. This ensures that children can contribute to things that matter in their life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff ensure that most children access education, employment, or training. They help children access opportunities in the community, including college courses and construction skills cards. Staff are ambitious for children. For example, one child is undertaking an apprenticeship, and another is planning to go to college. This helps children build a sense of achievement and purpose.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to learn independent living skills. This includes cooking, cleaning, budgeting and doing the laundry. Most children are making progress. One child said, ‘The staff are helping me budget for my food plan and what I spend my money on wisely.’ Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Lincolnshire - Nacro Education Support and Transition (NEST) 3 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff support children to register with health services such as doctors and dentists. They assist children to access specialist services, such as the mental health nurse and substance misuse workers. They provide support while children are waiting for services in the community. This promotes prompt access to support for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children have good relationships with staff and are positive about the accommodation. This helps children to feel valued and respected.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff and managers are aware of children’s vulnerabilities. However, children’s safety plans do not provide staff with strategies to minimise the risk of harm for children when their needs become more complex. For example, staff do not adjust the level of support for children when concerns regarding their mental health increase.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers ensure that when children are missing from home, staff follow the agreed protocols with the police and local authority. Staff do not always identify the risk of harm in the community or act on it. There are occasions when some staff lack professional curiosity about children’s locations. This can increase the vulnerability for children when they are missing from home.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children understand their rights and know how to make a complaint. Leaders and managers investigate complaints in line with their procedures. Staff support children when they make a complaint. They explain the complaints process and the outcome to the child. This process helps children to feel heard and respected.

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How well children are helped and protected

Leaders and managers safeguard children when there are allegations of staff misconduct. They share information with the local authority. They carry out investigations, as appropriate. This helps maintain a safe workforce and protect children.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children say they feel safe and secure where they live. They are positive about the support they receive from staff and know how to access 24/7 help. Staff know the children well, are caring and support them to move forward. One child said, ‘Staff are amazing with the support.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers do not challenge effectively the local authority when children have increasing care needs. As a result, some children require a higher level of staffing and are not appropriately matched to living in supported accommodation. This can limit chances for children to develop independence skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers inform all agencies of serious incidents involving children. However, there have been delays in reporting incidents to Ofsted. This reduces the oversight of the regulator. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Lincolnshire - Nacro Education Support and Transition (NEST) 4 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The service uses closed-circuit television. Leaders and managers do not review the use of this surveillance. For example, this is used in some children’s lounges and kitchen spaces. Although children are aware of this, there is a blanket approach. It does not create a welcoming environment or respect children’s rights to privacy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers work hard to build working relationships with safeguarding agencies. They communicate well with external services to ensure that children have support. Furthermore, social workers are positive about the support and communication from staff. They say they advocate for the children and support with independence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The registered service manager does not liaise with local services to help develop an effective local area assessment. This means that they do not include all risks to children in the area to help raise their awareness.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers ensure that there are safer recruitment processes in place. This helps to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children. However, there have been ongoing shortages of staff and changes in management. This affects children’s continuity of support and their development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff are positive about leaders and managers and the support they receive from them. However, not all staff receive regular supervision in line with the organisation’s policy. As a result, this does not always provide staff with an opportunity to talk about their well-being and reflect on their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The nominated individual and registered service manager are both suitably experienced in working with children and young people. They are committed to improving outcomes for children and have plans for further improvement to the service. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Lincolnshire - Nacro Education Support and Transition (NEST) 5 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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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 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.

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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 supported accommodation undertaking that puts children first and prioritises their wellbeing and development.

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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 supported accommodation undertaking in a way that is consistent with the ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the undertaking’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that arrangements are in place to manage referrals of children to the supported accommodation undertaking and admissions of children to premises used as supported accommodation, including, where relevant, emergency referrals and admissions. (Regulation 4 (1) (2)(a)(f)) 29 September

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Requirement Due date

The protection standard is that children are enabled to feel safe and that their needs are met.

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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

have their individual needs met. (Regulation 5 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)) 29 September Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Lincolnshire - Nacro Education Support and Transition (NEST) 6 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that risk assessments are updated to reflect the current risk for children.

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Requirement Due date

The support standard is that children receive individual and tailored support that meets their needs.

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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

In the event that the registered person or a member of staff considers that an accommodating authority or a relevant person is failing to provide the support set out in a child’s relevant plans, make representations, or, as the case may be, enable staff to make representations, to the accommodating authority or relevant person with a view to ensuring that the child’s needs are met. (Regulation 7 (1) (2)(h)) 29 September

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all serious events are notified to Ofsted, without delay. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 61)  The registered person should ensure that any use of CCTV must be no more intrusive than is needed and should respect the privacy of children. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 30)  The registered person should ensure that an assessment of the location of the service involves consultation with local services. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 28)

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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: Lincolnshire - Nacro Education Support and Transition (NEST) 7 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: Walkden House, 16-17 Devonshire Square, London EC2M 4SQ

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Sarah Caskie-Hefferman

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Supported accommodation provider details

Email address: Sarah.Caskie-Hefferman@nacro.org.uk

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Inspectors

Amanda Cooper, Social Care Inspector Sue Garner, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Lincolnshire - Nacro Education Support and Transition (NEST) 8 FOR PUBLIC RELEASE

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Inspectors

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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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