Children's Home run by Heart and Home Living Limited in North Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2862585 1 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: Heart and Home Living 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 privately owned and provides care for up to 2 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home. They were spoken to.

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Information about this children's home

This was the first inspection of the home since it registered with Ofsted on 15 December 2025. The registered manager is currently on paternity leave. The inspection was supported by the deputy manager and responsible individual.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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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: 2862585 2 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Summary of findings

Leaders and staff have high aspirations for the child. The child is making considerable progress in education, which is recognised and celebrated by staff and professionals. The child's wishes and feelings are listened to, and a weekly 'You said, we did' approach is used to demonstrate how their views are acted upon. However, leadership requires improvement. Supervisions are not consistently completed in line with the home's statement of purpose. In addition, decision-making has been inconsistent in respect of the child's health, and greater consistency and clearer boundaries are required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child experiences warm, nurturing and child-centred care that supports their positive progress. Staff know the child well and are committed to ensuring that the child feels safe and loved. Achievements for the child are consistently celebrated and recognised. Staff have created personalised incentives, which encourage the child to feel proud of themselves. The child wrote a letter thanking staff for being there for them in tough times and said that 'this is my home'. The child said, 'Staff never judge me; they never hold grudges, every day is a fresh start.'

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child's move into the home was well planned and carefully thought through. Support is gained from a psychotherapist who provides developmental insight of the child's needs and vulnerabilities. This input has helped to shape internal plans and identify child- specific training for the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive and provide effective support to promote the child's education, which has resulted in significant progress. They demonstrate a good understanding of the barriers to the child attending school and work collaboratively with other agencies to advocate on their behalf. The targeted support implemented by the deputy manager has enabled the child to feel safe enough to engage in home tutoring. Professionals say that the child is making notable progress, particularly following a prolonged period out of education. This consistent and well-coordinated approach has strengthened the child's routine and contributed to greater stability in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child's self-esteem has grown through key-work sessions. Creative approaches to support the child with identifying feelings and how relationships may impact their emotional wellbeing are having a positive impact on the child. The child wrote themselves a letter for when they are having a difficult time, which said 'I want you to know there are people who care for you and love you, you should love yourself too'. Inspection report for children's home: 2862585 3 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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

Staff responses to incidents are prompt and focused on protecting the child from immediate harm. The deputy manager reflects on incidents, identifies learning and puts plans in place to protect the child. For example, the child has been able to choose their own safe crockery to minimise injury. Additional insight from the deputy manager then led to the replacement of staff mugs to further ensure safety in the home.

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

When items have had to be removed to ensure the child's safety, this has been done in consultation with the child. The rationale is clear and proportionate. The child is informed and supported to understand these decisions. The deputy manager advocates for the child with professionals to agree plans to safely return items in the home. Leaders recognise the importance of personal belongings in providing comfort and stability for the child and ensure that practice reflects this.

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

Room searches are only conducted when there are concerns for the safety of the child. Searches are conducted transparently, with the child's consent and involvement if they wish. Each search includes a clear and recorded rationale, detailing why it was necessary and noting any items found. Management oversight is consistently applied to ensure that all searches are appropriate.

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

Assessments of risk are clear and detailed with specific actions for staff to follow. Plans outline the known risks and include the dates of incidents, which helps leaders to identify patters in behaviours and interventions with the child. However, the information in these plans is not always updated with new, significant information in a timely manner. For example, when a court order was put in place for the child, risk assessments were not updated until the following week. A clear overview of the order was given to staff in the home. However, the agency staff who were on shift were not informed. Leaders have implemented a new plan for this; however, this is not yet fully embedded into practice.

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

When physical intervention is used, it is proportionate and focused on keeping the child safe. Staff support the child with care and sensitivity. However, staff do not consistently apply their therapeutic ethos when completing debriefs. For example, if the child declines a debrief, staff are not tenacious in following this up meaningfully. On one occasion, this was completed when the child was not ready.

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

The deputy manager knows the child well and shows genuine care and insight into their needs. Staff speak highly of the child and have high aspirations for them to achieve.

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

The manager has made unsafe decisions that could have the potential to compromise the child's health. On multiple occasions, staff gave the child vape products. The risks associated with inhaling nicotine were not considered and professionals were not supportive of this approach. Clear boundaries and staff's consistency in challenging Inspection report for children's home: 2862585 4 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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

vaping are poor. The child's internal plans state that other risks 'outweigh' the risks of nicotine use.

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

Staff have not received supervisions in line with the statement of purpose. One adult has received one supervision in 5 months, and another adult has had one in 10 weeks. Agency staff have not received any supervisions, which is contrary to the home's statement of purpose. While staff say that they feel supported, the lack of supervision impacts individual reflection and management oversight of staff needs.

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

Leaders do not have a clear understanding of the regulations for physical restraint. As a result, staff do not record restraints on time and documents lack accurate details. In turn, this has led to documents being signed off by management before actions, such as child debriefs, are completed. Inspection report for children's home: 2862585 5 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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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 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 the home's workforce provides continuity of care to 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff receive supervision as per the statement of purpose. Physical intervention should be recorded promptly and the child should receive clear, meaningful debriefs. The registered manager must ensure that sufficient action is taken to address the child vaping in the home, in order to promote the child's health and welfare. 22 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2862585 6 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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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: 2862585 7 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Heart and Home Living Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Highbank, Greenbank Crescent, London NW4 2LA

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Laurence Davison

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Inspector

Louisa West, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2862585 8 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted Inspection report for children's home: 2862585 9 SENSITIVE-OFSTED USE ONLY

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