Children's Home run by Harborough Mews Care Limited in West Northamptonshire

Inspection report children's home: 2827746 1 Registered provider: Harborough Mews Care 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 by a private provider and cares for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

This was the first inspection of the home since it was registered on 30 January 2026.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been vacant since April 2026. Currently, this role is covered by the deputy manager on an interim basis. Both the interim manager and the responsible individual were present on both days of the inspection.

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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: 2827746 2

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Summary of findings

The home is caring for a child with highly complex needs who benefits from strong, nurturing relationships with a committed staff team, supporting some stability and progress. Safeguarding practice is effective, with appropriate responses to risk and good multi-agency working. However, the overall effectiveness of the placement is weakened by shortfalls in leadership and management, particularly in planning moves into the home, staff training and the consistency of oversight. While recent improvements under interim managers demonstrate positive direction and a focus on strengthening practice, these changes are not yet fully embedded.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff demonstrate a clear commitment to safeguarding and supporting the child. They have worked hard to build warm, nurturing relationships and they consistently show a genuine interest in the child’s life, progress and experiences. Staff understand the child well, which helps them to build trust and encourages the child’s engagement, particularly during one-to-one time and key-working sessions. Staff continue to provide consistent day-to-day care and maintain positive relationships with the child, which support periods of stability and engagement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and the child have fun together. Activities are individualised and reflect the child’s interests, such as boxing and practical learning opportunities. Staff are creative in promoting education through adapting to different methods of learning with the child. This is evidenced through their attempts to maintain the child’s engagement through alternative educational activities when a formal provision is not successful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family relationships are promoted effectively. Staff support regular and meaningful time between the child and their mother, which is an important protective factor. Parents are kept informed when the child goes missing, and the home has established a positive and collaborative relationship with them. This has been instrumental in sharing information and, on occasions, supporting the child to be located. Feedback from the police reflects positively on this joint-working approach.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

However, the child’s progress is affected by instability and uncertainty about their future. The child’s move into the home was not sufficiently robust and did not fully consider their complex needs and how staff would meet these.

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

Staff have a clear understanding of the child’s vulnerabilities and respond appropriately to incidents. They support the child through purposeful key-working sessions. These help the child to understand risks associated with exploitation, peer influence and decision- making. Risk assessments are updated regularly and dynamically in response to incidents Inspection report for children's home: 2827746 3 and emerging information. These are supported by management analysis reports, which demonstrate a clear understanding of behavioural patterns, triggers and emerging risks. As a result, there are structured plans in place aimed at reducing both actual harm and the risk of harm.

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

When the child goes missing, staff follow procedures appropriately. This includes notifying the police and relevant professionals and maintaining efforts to locate and safeguard the child. Staff implement a range of practical measures to reduce risk, including location tracking. They have meaningfully developed a collaborative approach with a nearby semi-independent provider to help manage risks associated with peer relationships. These strategies, alongside the positive relationships with the child, have supported staff in locating the child when missing.

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

Staff respond appropriately to incidents. Their use of physical intervention is proportionate, and debriefs are consistently completed with both staff and the child. This supports opportunities for reflection, learning and the continuous development of safer and more effective care practices.

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

Multi-agency working is effective, with strong communication between the home, youth justice services and the police. The child benefits from consistent involvement from specialist services, including a youth justice worker, an early intervention and a specialist support worker from the police. This strengthens the protective network around the child.

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

The manager is proactive in completing investigations where staff practice has fallen below what is required. Investigations have clear reflection. Processes, such as referrals to the local authority designated officer, are robust.

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

Staff have not maintained accurate and complete records, including supervision and induction documentation, which limits their ability to demonstrate accountability and consistency in care. This lack of recording reduces oversight of practice and means that the child may not benefit from consistently informed and reflective care planning. While staff are now subject to increased oversight, including more regular scrutiny and challenge from the responsible individual, earlier practice did not ensure that shortfalls were identified and addressed promptly.

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

Leaders did not fully assure themselves that the staff team had the necessary skills, experience and capacity to meet the child’s needs prior to the child’ moving into the home. Insufficient consideration was given to the child’s complex needs, the readiness of the home and the capability of the staff team to provide appropriate care. When the child moved in, staff had only completed basic online physical intervention training, which did not adequately prepare them to manage the complexity of the child’s behaviours, resulting in reduced stability. Leaders have developed plans to mitigate this shortfall. However, these are not embedded and their efficacy is yet to be evidenced in practice. Inspection report for children's home: 2827746 4 The responsible individual has provided effective guidance and support to the interim manager in developing systems to strengthen oversight in the home. Staff are beginning

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

to demonstrate improvements in practice, engaging more readily in reflective discussions and working collaboratively to develop their skills during this period of service reset. There is an emerging awareness among staff of the areas requiring development. However, these improvements remain at an early stage and are not yet fully embedded.

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

Managers have updated the statement of purpose. However, it has not been submitted to Ofsted within the required timescales. This reduces assurance that Ofsted has up-to- date information regarding the home’s operation, leadership and safeguarding arrangements and contributes to identified gaps in overall management oversight and regulatory compliance. Inspection report for children's home: 2827746 5

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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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a) (c) (f)(g)(i)(ii)(h) 30 June 2026

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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

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Requirement Due date

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 ensure— 30 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2827746 6 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, asset 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

that each child’s relevant plans are followed;

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the child is, or has been, persistently absent from the home without permission; or

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Requirement Due date

the child requests a review of the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(c)(d)(e)(i)(ii)(iii)(f))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI and make a copy of it available upon request to—

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Requirement Due date

a child, or a child for whom accommodation in the home is being considered;

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Requirement Due date

a parent of a child, or a parent of a child for whom accommodation in the home is being considered;

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Requirement Due date

in the case of a qualifying school, the Secretary of State. 29 May 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2827746 7 The registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

If a home has a website, the registered person must ensure that a copy of the statement of purpose is published on that website unless the registered person considers that such publication would prejudice the welfare of children.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

Nothing in paragraph (5) or regulation 46 (review of premises) requires or authorises the registered person to contravene or not comply with—

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Requirement Due date

any other provision of these Regulations; or

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Requirement Due date

any conditions in relation to the registration of the registered person under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000. (Regulation 16 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e) (3)(a)(b) (4) (5) (6)(a)(b))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide the child with an opportunity to participate in an independent return home interview. This is to ensure that children are provided with opportunities to share information following missing episodes, safeguarding risks are identified and reviewed, and care planning is informed by all relevant information to promote children’s safety and welfare. (‘Guide to The Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30) Inspection report for children's home: 2827746 8

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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: 2827746 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Harborough Mews Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Flat 10, Park House, Park Drive, Market Harborough LE16 7BS

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Inspectors

Louise Copping, Social Care Inspector Theresa Kambani, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2827746 10 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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