NFA Group

Sector

Professional Services

Location:

Bolton

Established in

1995

Employees

2431

Website

https://www.outcomesfirstgroup.co.uk

About us

In 2016, NFA Group combined forces with Acorn Care and Education to create the UK’s leading and largest Children’s care provider. With over 2 decades of experience and a positive reputation as a specialist, multi-divisional organisation, the NFA Group provided high-quality Education, Care and Fostering services to vulnerable children and young people, offering them a safe and nurturing environment in which to learn, grow and succeed.

2019 saw this position further strengthened by the alliance of the NFA Group and Outcomes First Group creating the unified Group you see today – a Group which has become a vital part of local communities in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with a renowned reputation for quality and positive outcomes for the people we care for.

Our specialist care, education and therapeutic services support children with complex needs and learning disabilities including autism and social, emotional and mental health difficulties (SEMH). Our approach increases the likelihood of positive outcomes by creating an environment for each individual to develop both personally and academically, preparing them for their transition to adulthood.

This approach is further enhanced by our in-house clinical teams, recognising each person we support as an individual and tailoring our care plans to meet specific needs from the point of admission and throughout their journey with us.

Awards

UK's Best Workplaces 2020 - Super Large (1,000+ employees)

Rank 28

What employees say

"I absolutely love working here. I have worked in education a long time and it has certainly been many years since I have felt so valued and listened to, and cared for. I am lucky to be working with a great leadership team – intelligent, reflective, based on real values and total unconditional love for all students”

Sharron Humphrey

Assistant Headteacher

93 %

People here are treated fairly regardless of their race or ethnic origin.

85 %

When I look at what we accomplish, I feel a sense of pride.

82 %

My manager/supervisor and I have open and honest conversations about work.

83 %

When you join the organisation, you are made to feel welcome.

87 %

People here are given a lot of responsibility.

What defines us

Our culture is one that everyone is focussed on delivering positive outcomes for the people we care for and educate. It's the reason why we all get out of bed in the morning!

We are a group of like-minded individuals who work together and are passionate about delivering positive outcomes for the vulnerable children, young people and adults in our care. All of our programmes, practices and policies help to strengthen our unique culture which is clearly defined in our vision, mission and values.

Vision: We will build incredible futures by empowering vulnerable young people in the UK to be happy and make their way in the world

Mission: Every day we improve the lives of thousands of young people, their families and communities through a relentless focus on caring and learning.

Values

Deliver Promises: Be accountable; Take responsibility; Focus on outcomes

Open & Honest: Be fair and transparent; Do the right thing; Act respectfully

Inclusive Spaces: Create safe, nurturing environments; Care about what we do and each other; Value diversity

Dream Big: Believe you can; Make positive changes; Inspire and innovate

One Team: Together we inspire trust, happiness and an infectious passion to accomplish our vision.

We bring our culture to life through our internal communications. Our aim is to share updates about the amazing things our people do to deliver positive outcomes; reinforce the values; and help foster a culture of pride

What inspires us

We go the extra mile to inspire our team, create a fun environment and remain focussed on our mission and vision. Here are some of the ways we do that.

Fund Raising: Colleagues take part in a variety of activities to raise money for national charities.
Recognition: when we recognise the accomplishments of our teams, they are encouraged to spend their reward on team events.
Teaching Assistant Day: Our schools organise and host a small get together to reward the TA’s with a small gift to say thank you for the education and support they give to our children.
Fun days out: Employees, foster carers, children (foster and birth), and grandchildren have many days out to enjoy good quality time, fun and relaxation.
Awareness Days: colleagues organise activities to raise awareness of fostering and to bring carers together. Activities included, beach clean ups, BBQs, geo-caching a Family Race day and Grandparents day. It’s a great way to provide a warm and friendly opportunity for members of the public to find out about fostering
Carer Award Ceremonies: Fostering Excellence Awards celebrate outstanding achievement in fostering and recognise those who make exceptional contributions to foster care every day.
Football Tournament: We run an annual football tournament to raise funds so some of our children can go on a once in a lifetime trip with the British Exploring Society.
End of term BBQ’s: Each school has a BBQ as a thank you for everything they do .

At a glance

Age of employees

Years with company

Gender ratio

Fulltime / Parttime

Action highlights

We have implemented the following HR measures to create an exceptional workplace culture.

• An online induction which new colleagues can complete at home or work and at their own leisure.

• Investors in People Gold in our Fostering division

• We share information and have a culture of transparency through our internal communications; focus groups; quarterly conference calls; newsletters; town hall meetings

• Employees can ask questions, provide feedback and communicate with senior leaders through ‘surgeries’; engagement days; new starter survey

• We have a whistleblowing service and an employee assistance programme

• A range of recognition programmes to recognise and celebrate accomplishments: eCards; residential awards; service recognition; WoW programme

• We encourage career progression through development centres; lunch and learn sessions; succession planning; and our Knowledge Centre

• We support the wellbeing of our colleagues through a financial wellbeing programme through Salary Finance; formal and informal flexible working; partnered with Able Futures; health checks; mental health first aid workshops; wellbeing platform on our comms and engagement app, The Hub.

Word from the top

Our culture is represented in the positive outcomes everyone helps to deliver and is defined by like-minded people working together and supporting each other to look after and educate the vulnerable people in our care.

I’m passionate about creating an engaging, inclusive company culture, where everyone can do their best work and can directly impact our ability to do that.

Being recognised as a 'great place to work' based on colleagues opinions is truly humbling, and I feel honoured to be part of such a great company, working with such dedicated and talented people.

I want to personally thank everyone in our work family for making our culture great; their feedback and voices are invaluable in helping us get better every day.

David Leatherbarrow

CEO

Career and jobs

Application tips

Our vision is to build incredible futures by empowering vulnerable people to be happy and have access to educational and personal development opportunities that will set them up for their future.

Together, we inspire trust and an infectious passion to accomplish our vision. We look for people who share our values, dedication and commitment to create positive outcomes for the people in our care.

Our work is challenging at times, as well as hugely rewarding, so we equip our teams with the skills and knowledge to confidently deal with all situations. Ongoing support, training and development will prepare you for your job and give every opportunity to have a great career with us.

We offer great opportunities for people to develop a career and help vulnerable people build incredible futures. We pride ourselves on creating a workplace within our schools, homes, fostering agencies and offices, where every member of the team feels valued and challenged to develop and succeed in their role.