Children's Home run by Semi-independent House Limited in North Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1259547 1 Registered provider: Semi-independent House 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 part of a private organisation and provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2022 and is not yet suitably registered.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1259547 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/04/2024 Full Good 29/06/2023 Full Good 21/02/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1259547 3

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improvement to be good

Children living in the home do not consistently make positive progress. A lack of professional curiosity and planning from leaders and managers means that some children have moved into the home without a clear understanding of their support needs, compromising the support that has been immediately available to them. For two children, this has led to unplanned endings following the emergence of support needs that were already known by other professionals, and which the team of staff have been unable to safely manage. These circumstances have impacted on the physical and emotional well-being of other children in the home .

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improvement to be good

One child has made positive progress since living in the home and has benefited from external therapeutic support. This has promoted notable progress in relation to this child’s ability to manage their feelings and emotions. Despite this, there is uncertainty about this child’s underlying neurodevelopmental needs, despite previous assessments. This child has lived in the home for nearly two years, and this has not yet been resolved.

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improvement to be good

Another child has recently moved into the home and does not have any external education support in place. Staff are providing interim educational support, but this is inconsistent and may undermine this child’s engagement when they return to school. For example, one staff member was observed supporting a child to engage in learning late afternoon, while they lay in bed with the television on. The previous day, another staff member was doing this work at the kitchen table and the child’s engagement was better.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are well supported, and children receive help and emotional support, as necessary. For example, staff undertook sensitive child-focused conversations with one child, who was anxious about visiting the dentist.

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improvement to be good

All children have benefited from individualised conversations with staff, reflecting their presenting needs and aspirations. Staff also ensure that there are opportunities for children to reflect on their areas for learning and development following difficult events.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to make a complaint and are supported to express their wishes and feelings. One child was unhappy that the toiletries allowance was different based on gender and raised a concern with the home manager. This was subsequently explored and rebalanced, with a positive handwritten note by the manager to the child, thanking them for their comments and outlining the mutually agreed outcome.

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improvement to be good

Children do not always receive the help and support they need to thrive. For one child, where their presenting emotional and mental health needs were known to the home, Inspection report for children’s home: 1259547 4 referrals to support agencies were not prompt and were not made until a point of crisis. This child was subsequently moved on from the home very quickly, likely reinforcing the rejection that they had experienced during their time in care. By this time, the impact of these unmet needs had already expanded across the home and compromised the emotional well-being and stability of another child in the home.

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improvement to be good

The physical environment does not always meet children’s emotional and physical needs; there is an excessive number of weeds in the garden which may present a health and safety issue in wet weather. The home environment does not promote a strong sense of belonging for children, as photos in the home have not been regularly updated. For example, in the gaming areas there are photos of children who lived in the home some years ago, rather than current children.

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improvement to be good

One child’s bedroom is unkempt and has food stains on the wall. Their bedroom has not been decorated despite them living in the room for over five weeks. During the inspection, there was an incident whereby the child vomited the evening before, and despite frequent checks on this child during the day, this was not cleaned until late afternoon. The inspector later observed that this had not been cleaned appropriately, with it still present in the early evening. This does not demonstrate appropriate standards of care, or that the task to clean this had been sufficiently prioritised.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments and support plans are well structured and demonstrate positive strategies to help and support them. Children are supported to have appropriate levels of free time and increased independence as they grow older. There is a strong emphasis of supporting children to acquire the necessary life skills to progress into adulthood, and this links to the wider organisation’s ethos.

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improvement to be good

Staff are safely recruited, and comprehensive background checks ensure that the risks of unsafe adults working in the home are minimised.

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

The home manager is a positive role model and is child centred, although they frequently struggle to balance their management responsibilities with their relationship- based approach and not wanting to compromise their positive relationships with children. This has impacted on the manager’s ability to be able to complete all the tasks required of them.

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

During periods where the home’s manager is absent from the home, interim management arrangements put in place are inconsistent. This has had an impact on how effective the home has been in following safeguarding procedures and in providing children with the timely help and protection they need.

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

All staff receive regular supervision and a range of training. The manager takes sole responsibility for completing the supervision of staff. The deputy manager is not directly involved in this, and this mirrors other management responsibilities across the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 1259547 5 This means that the foundations of good management are not in place, as they rely far too much on the home manager, who struggles to balance all the expectations on them.

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

The physical location of the home is some distance from the other homes in the organisation. At times, staff and the management team feel isolated from the wider organisation. Although there are organisational managers’ meetings, these are infrequent, and consequently, there are very limited opportunities to share learning and connect all the strands of the organisation in a unified and meaningful way.

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

The home manager has a leading role in much of the day-to-day arrangements in the home, and this supports staff confidence. However, this has a long-term impact on the acquisition of shared knowledge and coping strategies across the team and creates too much reliance on the home manager. The home manager at times struggles to delegate relevant tasks across the team, and this further increases their workload.

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

There are some strained relationships between staff due to disagreements regarding shared responsibilities while on call and the consistency in the implementation of routines and boundaries across the home. Although these dynamics have not had any significant impact on children, it does create additional pressure regarding the staffing rota, as the manager tries to mediate differing personalities.

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

The home’s independent person has not changed for many years, and at times there have been quality assurance concerns regarding their reports. In addition to this, in the past, reports have gone back and forth between the organisation and the independent person before being submitted. While senior management gave assurances that this has improved, this practice detracts from the independence and impartiality of the report.

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

The home manager has not yet completed their mandatory management qualification and has gone far beyond the date provided as part of their application to register. Protected time to complete this has not been sufficiently prioritised. Another staff member also experienced significant difficulties in having the time available to complete their relevant NVQ within the prescribed timescales. Inspection report for children’s home: 1259547 6

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the interior décor of the home and the garden spaces meet children’s needs and that any soiling of walls, stains or accidents by children must be cleaned in a prompt and effective manner. The registered person should also ensure that the garden area is maintained appropriately to avoid excessive weed growth and reduce the potential for trips and falls.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 28 November 2025

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and 28 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1259547 7 have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that sufficient background information is gathered and fully considered when determining which children may be suitable to live in the home.

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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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; 28 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1259547 8 ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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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

Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(d)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should support all staff to develop consistent routines and boundaries for the benefit of children. The working pattern for staff, including managers, should provide enough flexibility to enable them to meet children’s day-to-day needs and record their actions.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person’s report may recommend actions that the registered person may take in relation to the home and timescales within which the registered person must consider whether or not to take those actions. (Regulation 44 (1) (4)(a)(b)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the report by the independent person meets the organisational requirements and that any internal quality assurance processes do not compromise the independence and impartiality of the report.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 28 November 2025

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Requirement Due date

A person may only manage a children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b)(i), a person has the appropriate experience and qualification if the person has— 31 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 1259547 9 by the relevant date, attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 5 Diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 5 Diploma").

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Requirement Due date

in the case of a person who starts managing a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 3 years after the date on which that person started managing a home.

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Recommendation

 The registered provider should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. This may include ensuring that appropriate additional time is available to support continuous professional development such as the completion of NVQ qualifications. (Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 1259547 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Semi-independent House Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 51 Ploverly, Peterborough PE4 6HZ

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Inspector

Ashley Edwards, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1259547 11 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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