Children's Home run by Heartly Care Limited in North Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2821627 1 Registered provider: Heartly 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

This home is owned and managed by a private company. It offers care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since April 2026.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered provider has recently appointed a new responsible individual, and we are currently checking this person has the relevant capacity, experience and skills to carry out the role.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home and contributed to 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2821627 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/08/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2821627 3

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Summary of findings

Staff build positive relationships with children, promote their education and wellbeing, and support children to access services and maintain family links. Staff understand and manage risks. However, inconsistencies in management oversight impact on the quality of incident recording and reflective learning. Leadership and management oversight is inconsistent. The new interim manager provides day-to-day oversight of children’s care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to build positive relationships. The child shared that they trust staff and enjoy spending time with them. Staff encourage children to have positive daily routines and provide opportunities for them to take part in activities inside and outside the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s attendance at school. When children are not in education, they work with relevant professionals to secure children’s school placements. For one child, this meant they were able to reintegrate into school after a long period of being out of education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to access specialist services to meet their health and wellbeing needs. Staff are proactive in seeking additional support from services when required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff engage children in discussions relevant to their needs and risks supporting them to better understand their own vulnerabilities and how to keep safe. For one child, there was a missed opportunity for staff to speak to them about their mental health and keeping themselves safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers complete assessments to consider children’s suitability for living here. On one occasion, a key aspect of a child’s needs was not considered on admission, which later impacted on the child’s placement stability. Staff ensure that children have planned moves into the home, including obtaining children’s wishes as part of this process.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children see their family in line with their individual care plans. Staff foster good working relationships with children’s families and promote family visiting the home where safe and appropriate to do so.

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

Risk assessments and support plans are up to date and child specific. Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities well and use their plans to inform how they keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2821627 4 Staff follow missing-from-care procedures when children go missing from home. On one occasion, recordings of a missing incident were not clear as to whether staff followed safeguarding procedures when a child was missing overnight. Subsequently, the management oversight has not identified and addressed this shortfall.

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

Staff show curiosity when speaking to children, which enables them to gain more information from children who are at risk of exploitation.

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

Staff use de-escalation techniques in response to children’s behaviours. However, for one child, staff practice overrelied on police assistance to manage situations.

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

On one occasion, staff did not complete a room search to ensure a child’s safety in their bedroom. Leaders and managers followed safeguarding procedures in response to escalate and address this area of poor practice.

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

Allegations and practice concerns have been responded to by leaders and managers in line with safeguarding procedures.

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

Leaders and managers provide staff with opportunities for reflective discussions following an incident. However, they are not consistently recorded.

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

Leadership and management of the service is inconsistent, with confusion in roles and responsibilities within the senior leadership team, leading to various gaps in oversight.

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

There has been no registered manager for several months, which has led to inconsistency and instability for the workforce. Leaders have made efforts to try and secure a new registered manager.

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

Management oversight of incidents and safeguarding concerns is not consistent and does not evaluate support given to children. The inconsistency in management oversight impacts on the drive for improving practice.

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

The new interim manager understands the children’s needs well and provides oversight of the day-to-day running of the home. She has developed positive working relationships with the children and staff.

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

Staff report positive support from leaders and managers, which has been in place in the absence of a registered manager. Staff receive regular opportunities to reflect on practice in supervision sessions and team meetings.

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

Leaders and managers have not considered the need for risk assessments when safer recruitment checks highlight previous concerns. Leaders and managers do not consistently complete due diligence checks for oversees workers in line with their own policies. Inspection report for children’s home: 2821627 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

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

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

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly relates to ensuring that management oversight across children’s care planning and safeguarding is consistent, 23 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2821627 6 evaluative and addresses any shortfalls in practice. This requirement is restated.

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to The Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61 paragraph 13.1).

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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: 2821627 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Bridge House, 9–13 Holbrook Lane, Coventry, Warwickshire CV6 4AD

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Inspector

Chloe Harvey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2821627 8 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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