Children's Home run by Next Chapter Children's Care Limited in Lincolnshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2814546 1 Registered provider: Next Chapter Childrens Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private company. It provides care for up to 4 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 October 2025. The current manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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, 2 children were living in the home, and they 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

Date of last inspection: 30 September 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good Inspection report for children’s home: 2814546 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/09/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2814546 3

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Summary of findings

Children make good progress through supportive relationships with staff, effective educational advocacy, positive routines and the promotion of time spent with family members and this important to them. However, inconsistencies in management oversight have affected the quality of safeguarding practice, incident recording and reflective learning. High staff turnover and changes in management have also impacted the consistency of care practice and the day-to-day running of the home. The new leadership and management team has recognised these shortfalls and has begun to implement improvements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to make good and positive progress when measured against the children’s starting points when they moved to the home. Staff help children to build positive, trusting relationships with adults and peers, and this helps children to feel settled and make the required progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s relationships with their family. Staff are creative in their approach to supporting family time. For one child this has meant they have been able to maintain relationships with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers thoroughly consider children’s suitability to live in the home. Staff involve children in their move into the home with plans being well considered, taking into consideration children’s wishes and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s educational development. When children are not in education, leaders and managers advocate for children and work with partner agencies to secure suitable learning opportunities. This resulted in one child being supported back into education after a lengthy period of non-attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to engage in positive activities inside and outside the home. Staff encourage and model healthy daily routines, which has helped to improve children’s wellbeing and motivation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that care and support plans are up to date and reflect children’s needs and vulnerabilities. Some recordings do not align with language that cares or with the organisation’s own expectations for child-centred documentation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage and promote children’s health needs. For one child, this has resulted in them attending routine health appointments after a significant period of refusing to attend. Staff ensure children have access to specialist services including the provider’s Inspection report for children’s home: 2814546 4 therapist, who builds relationships with children at their pace in readiness for offering therapy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff engage children in meaningful discussions regarding issues important to them and in response to incidents and identified support needs.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s needs, risks and vulnerabilities. They use effective de-escalation strategies in response to behaviours that challenge. Staff have a clear understanding of approaches that work for individual children. Staff recognise the importance of relational practice and use positive relationships to support children in managing their behaviours and achieving positive outcomes.

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

Staff respond to incidents involving self-harm with sensitivity and nurture. Staff complete room searches to ensure children’s safety in their bedrooms. For one child, on 2 occasions, staff did not check on their welfare when they were in crisis, which led to further incidents. 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 follow missing from care procedures when children go missing from home. On one occasion, a management oversight on staffing meant that a child could not be collected when missing.

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

Leaders and managers have not informed Ofsted following some serious incidents. This prevents Ofsted from being able to evaluate the actions taken by the organisation to keep children safe.

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

Within the inspection period, there has been a high turnover of staff and several management changes, which have impacted the overall day-to-day running of the home. The new leadership and management team has begun to address the identified shortfalls and bring about positive changes.

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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. Leaders and managers have started to improve managerial oversight, identifying learning and reflection. Current leaders and managers take steps to ensure staff are provided with opportunities to learn when shortfalls are identified.

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

Staff report mixed experiences of the frequency and quality of supervisions. Team meetings take place regularly and have recently been used to address and improve practice shortfalls. Inspection report for children’s home: 2814546 5 The manager has completed a quality-of-care review. However, this has not been shared with the regulator within required timescales.

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

Staff report improved support from the current management and senior leadership team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2814546 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure staff monitor children’s wellbeing and assure themselves of children’s safety during times of crisis. 26 August 2026

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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 promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 23 September 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2814546 7 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

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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that management oversight is consistent across the day-to-day running of the home and that management oversight of incidents is consistent, reflective and evaluative in nature. Where shortfalls in staff practice have occurred, management should identify these and take actions to address as appropriate.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child — is instigated; or

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 19 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— 26 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2814546 8 supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (4)(a))

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Recommendation

 The registered person must ensure staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to The Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62 paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2814546 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Next Chapter Childrens Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Little Houghton House, 53 Bedford Road, Little Houghton, Northampton NN7 1AB

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Inspector

Chloe Harvey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2814546 10 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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