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

Inspection report for children's home: 2820573 1 Registered provider: Heart & Home Living

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living at the home and were spoken with.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2026.

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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 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2820573 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/08/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2820573 3

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Summary of findings

Children make good progress because of the committed, strengths-based leadership and care provided. Consistent routines and clear boundaries help children feel secure, resulting in positive progress in education, behaviour and a reduction in restrictive practices. Reflective practice, supported by external psychotherapists, helps staff understand children’s behaviours and ensures children’s voices remain central to care. Staff and professionals praise leaders’ strong advocacy and child-centred approach, which has helped children develop confidence and social skills. The registered manager is reflective and proactive in addressing shortfalls. However, feedback is not consistently incorporated into quality-of-care reviews, and employment gaps are not always clearly recorded in recruitment records.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they feel happy and safe in their home. They benefit from warm, nurturing and child-centred care that supports their progress and well-being. Leaders and staff know children well and use this understanding to provide individualised support that meets their unique needs. Consistent routines, boundaries and expectations help children to feel secure and understand their daily lives. Staff speak about children with warmth, pride and genuine affection and recognise the positive progress that they are making. As a result, children develop trusting relationships with those who care for them and experience a stable environment that promotes positive outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to access independent advocacy services to ensure that their views, wishes and feelings are heard and represented. Staff regularly offer children the opportunity to seek support from an advocate and help them to understand how advocacy can support them. One child’s advocate spoke highly of the care provided, describing the manager and staff as ‘amazing’ and saying that they go ‘above and beyond’ for children. The advocate reported that leaders respond promptly to concerns and work proactively to resolve worries. They also highlighted the staff team’s commitment to promoting children’s hobbies, interests and opportunities, helping children to enjoy positive experiences and achieve their goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in education. When barriers arise, leaders advocate effectively to ensure that children’s individual needs are understood and reflected in their education plans. Plans to support children back into education are carefully considered and delivered through strong multi-agency working. This coordinated approach provides children with consistent support from professionals and helps them to re-engage with learning and achieve positive educational outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively promote and celebrate children’s identity, culture and faith. They support children to explore and develop their sense of identity while ensuring that family members remain involved where appropriate. Leaders and staff take time to educate Inspection report for children's home: 2820573 4 themselves about children’s religious and cultural needs and make meaningful adjustments to care arrangements to reflect these. For example, a child’s personalised routine plan was amended to support religious observance during periods of fasting. As a result, the child now regularly attends their local place of worship, which strengthens their sense of belonging, identity and connection to their community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s achievements are recognised and celebrated by staff, helping children to develop confidence and self-esteem. Staff regularly praise children’s successes, both large and small, and use memory books, rewards, daily diary entries and personalised messages to help children reflect positively on their accomplishments. Leaders and staff are also creative in seeking children’s views. When traditional children’s meetings are less effective, alternative approaches are used to encourage participation, including weekly scrapbooks and child-friendly consultation activities. Children can see how their views influence decisions through regular ‘you said, we did’ feedback, helping them to feel listened to, valued and involved in shaping their home and experiences.

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

Leaders and staff have a strong understanding of children’s needs, vulnerabilities and presenting risks, and clear strategies are in place to help keep children safe. Risk management plans are detailed, regularly reviewed and updated following incidents, with changes clearly recorded. Plans identify known triggers, early warning signs and the actions staff should take when children are struggling. This ensures that children receive consistent support and that responses to risks are informed, proactive and tailored to their individual needs.

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

Staff recognise when children are struggling to understand or manage their emotions and respond with empathy and understanding. Following incidents, staff undertake reflective work with children in a non-blaming and non-shaming way, helping them to explore their feelings, behaviours and experiences.

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

Staff take time to understand the factors contributing to children’s distress and consider individual circumstances before determining whether consequences are necessary. When used, consequences are proportionate, restorative and relevant to the behaviour. Children understand expectations and any consequences applied, and leaders maintain effective oversight to ensure that responses are fair, consistent and focused on supporting positive behaviour and emotional development.

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

Children are supported to build confidence in the community and leaders advocate for any restrictions of their liberty to be ended. Clear assessments of risk and ‘step down plans’ are implemented to support children in learning how to be safe in the wider world and this is completed in a meaningful way in line with children’s developmental needs. Through this work, a child’s restrictions of liberties were removed following a significant time.

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

When medication errors occur, leaders respond promptly to identify the cause and minimise the potential impact on children. Thorough investigations are completed, and Inspection report for children's home: 2820573 5 learning is used to strengthen practice and reduce the likelihood of recurrence. Staff are supported to refresh their knowledge and understanding where necessary, and internal systems are updated to reflect identified learning. Medication records are clear, detailed and well maintained.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager provides strong, child-centred leadership and is committed to securing positive outcomes for children. She knows the children well and demonstrates warmth, care and a detailed understanding of their individual needs, which contributes to the positive and nurturing culture within the home. Staff speak highly of the support they receive and describe the manager as approachable and supportive. Professionals say that communication is effective and that leaders advocate relentlessly for children to ensure that they receive the services and opportunities they need to thrive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Reflection is embedded in the home’s culture. Regular team meetings provide staff with opportunities to reflect on children’s needs, vulnerabilities and progress. Discussions are detailed and focus on both areas of concern and children’s achievements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff also benefit from reflective consultation and oversight from an external psychotherapist, which strengthens their understanding of children’s experiences and informs practice. Clear actions are identified through these discussions, and leaders are proactive in ensuring that they are completed promptly. Progress is well documented, providing clear evidence of ongoing reflection, learning and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular, child-focused supervision that encourages reflection on children’s experiences, progress and individual needs. Supervision discussions are strengths-based, celebrate children’s achievements and identify actions to enhance support and practice. Staff wellbeing, training and professional development are also prioritised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders are reflective and proactive in addressing shortfalls. Improvements to induction processes have strengthened new staff members’ understanding of their roles, the children they care for and key recording requirements. Probation reviews effectively assess staff performance and understanding of therapeutic approaches. Staff speak highly of the support they receive from leaders, describing them as approachable, encouraging and invested in their development, which contributes to a positive and stable workforce.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is proactive in seeking feedback from professionals, children and visitors to the home and uses this information to understand their experiences. However, this feedback, including children’s views about their home and care, is not consistently incorporated into the regulation 45 review to support evaluation of the quality of care provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

On one occasion, gaps in employment history have not been recorded. This limits leaders oversight ensuring that staff have been recruited safely. Inspection report for children's home: 2820573 6

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Statutory requirement

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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 31 (1) (d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that employment gaps are fully explored and recorded. 30 October 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should complete a review which should include the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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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: 2820573 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Heart & Home Living

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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: 2820573 8 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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