Children's home run by Horizon Care and Education Group Limited in Cannock Chase

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff develop and maintain positive relationships with young people, irrespective of the challenges they may present. They listen carefully to them so they are quickly able to discuss things which are important in their lives. Staff advocate strongly on behalf of young people. Young people develop emotional resilience as a result.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff work proactively with young people’s families and friends to promote relationships where that is appropriate and in young people’s best interests. They help young people to recognise and withdraw from damaging relationships. Young people benefit from developing positive relationships and extending their support network to assist them in their transition to independent living.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff develop effective relationships with stakeholders including the police. Young people go missing from home infrequently. The investment that staff have made in developing positive relationships with the police mean that there is a well-coordinated response which minimises the time that young people are at risk of harm.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff and managers have excellent understanding of young people’s complex needs. They are usually able to develop highly individualised risk assessments and behaviour management plans and use positive engagement as well as de-escalation techniques effectively. Young people’s ability to self-regulate behaviour and emotions is developed.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 There are some shortfalls. These relate to the quality of information the home obtains about young people before or at the point of admission. Staff records hold insufficient legally required information. Staff skills in responding to child protection concerns have not been good enough. The Registered Manager is actively working on improvements in this area and has ensured no harm to young people.

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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

In order to meet the protection of children standard, that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe,

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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

(iii) have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

(vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies. 31/07/15

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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

In order to meet the care planning standard that children -

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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

(1)(a) receive effectively planned care in or through the children's home.

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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

(a) that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home's statement of purpose;

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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

(c) that each child's relevant plans are followed. 31/07/15

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What does the children's home need to do to improve?

The registered person must ensure that the information set out in Schedule 4 is kept in the home and ensure this is kept up to date (Regulation 37 (2) (a) and (b)). 31/07/15

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Information about this children's home

This home is privately owned and is registered to provide care for up to 2 young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

14/04/2014 Registration visit Re-registration

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good

Staff develop positive relationships with young people. They are successful in gaining their trust and young people are able to share their concerns with staff. As a result, staff are able to support them in ending damaging relationships and to nurture positive ones. A therapist said, ‘good relationships are evident even when young people try to sabotage.’ Staff make good use of their delegated authority in supporting young people’s positive relationships. This allows them to take age appropriate risks. They are equipped with the skills to recognise acceptable behaviour, manage relationships effectively, and gain in self-confidence and emotional resilience.

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good

Staff develop highly personalised care plans for most young people and can identify the progress which they have made whilst living in the home. A social worker said: ‘staff have worked to meet my young person’s needs – it’s been a highly individualised approach, that has been the success of the placement.’ Young people attend and make good progress in education and achieve qualifications which allow them to attend their chosen college courses. Staff support them to achieve outside of formal education too. For example, supporting them learning to drive and supporting hobbies that involve taking part in competitions around the country. This promotes young people’s progress and the quality of relationships. Families value staff’s support for young people: ‘…a big thank you to staff for supporting our young person this weekend. They were great and it went really well……..we are happy, our young person is calm and settled.’

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good

Staff and managers ensure that young people’s well-being is at the centre of their practice. They regularly consult young people regarding their care through meetings; key working sessions; the manager’s feedback forms and by ensuring young people have an opportunity to contribute to their plans. Staff respond to their requests about changing their environment. For example, they changed pictures and bought sandwich toasters. They secure advocacy services to promote young people’s wishes and feelings.

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good

Staff promote young people’s independence so that they are well prepared, practically and emotionally, for the transition to adult life. They develop skills in cooking, doing their washing and managing their money and time. This ensures they are able to maintain their attendance at college when they move to their own accommodation. A social worker said: ‘I was well aware of the independence work staff were doing, it made a big difference to my young person who was so happy to be there and got a lot of support.’ Staff remain in touch with young people when they move on, ensuring that they continue to benefit from the secure relationships developed whilst they lived in the home.

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good

Staff ensure that where young people are living outside of their placing authority, they continue to promote their hobbies and interests. Their support for long distance contact, that is safe and in the young person’s interests, helps young people to settle in the home.

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good

Staff are proactive in developing relationships with professional stakeholders and families. Staff develop useful written guides to support their knowledge in working with the virtual headteacher. This good collaborative working effectively promotes young people’s education. Placing authority social workers and independent reviewing officers value the staff’s regular updates on young people’s progress. Parents are made welcome within the home and staff are always available to talk to them. This promotes consistent care for young people.

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good

A consistent staff team implements boundaries coherently. As a result young people develop a sense of security and are able to discuss things which are difficult for them. A parent said: ‘Thanks - you never gave up and all the rules were adhered to so that our young person knew where they stood.’ Staff are skilled in understanding young people and develop detailed behaviour management plans. As a result, staff have not needed to use restraint with young people.

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good

Young people know how to complain, but this has not been necessary, as staff are proactive in ascertaining young people’s views and in listening carefully to them. Young people rarely go missing from home and staff respond effectively when they do. They are proactive in persuading young people to stay and always look for them. Staff’s positive relationship with the police ensures a prompt and coordinated response. Staff ensure that police undertake ‘safe and well’ checks and that young people are offered a return interview with an independent person. This good practice ensures young people are safeguarded.

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good

Staff understand the risks to young people and support them to become increasingly safe. For example, in supporting young people to understand what constitutes inappropriate behaviour and to report that to the police where it presents a risk to others.

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good

Staff do not have sufficient understanding of child protection procedures and policies to implement them effectively. They do not respond immediately to allegations of abuse in line with their policies and procedures. The Registered Manager responds immediately to staff shortfalls in reporting safeguarding concerns, ensuring young people have not been placed at risk of harm as a result. He recognises that staff training needs to be improved and has developed an immediate action plan to rectify gaps in staff knowledge about recognising and managing child protection referrals.

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good

The suitably qualified and experienced Registered Manager holds a diploma in leadership and management for care services and health and social care. The Registered Manager ensures that the home provides care in line with its statement of purpose of a holistic model of care through: ‘normalisation, social inclusion, rights and responsibilities, choice and unconditional positive regard for the individual.’ In practice, staff are supported in this role by a psychologist, who attends team meetings and supports them in reviewing and planning how young people’s needs can be met. Young people benefit from the direct involvement of the psychologist with them, or indirectly, via staff skill. The Registered Manager is proactive in ensuring that this support is most effective, for example, by providing staff training on attachment. Young people’s welfare is promoted and they make good progress from their starting points.

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good

Pre admission information and placing authority care planning documentation is not consistently in place, for example, three weeks after a young person moves in. This compromises the Registered Manager's effectiveness to monitor young people's progress. The referral documentation is out of date at the point of referral. There is no record of the information on which the Registered Manager based his risk assessment. This does not ensure effective care planning or evidence appropriate placement matching of young people’s needs and the home’s ability to meet those needs. The Registered Manager has endeavoured to obtain the missing documents and escalated this to the placing authority, without success. The Registered Manager and staff develop other professional relationships to positive effect, maximising young people’s progress. For example, progressing arrangements for young people’s family contact and expediting young people’s

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good

appointments for mental health services.

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good

The Registered Manager staffs the home with a stable team who are able to meet young people’s identified needs. However, staff rotas and records do not show this. Rotas do not clearly show which staff have been working. Records of bank staff hold insufficient information about them. This compromises the Registered Manager’s ability to monitor staff deployment, competence, qualifications, and experience. There is no evidence that this has adversely impacted on young people, however, this does not constitute safe practice.

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good

Staff report feeling well supported by the Registered Manager and generally receive appropriate induction, training and supervision to provide good quality care that meets young peoples’ needs. Managers and staff ensure that positive awareness of equality and diversity is delivered in care practice. There are excellent examples of young people considering wide ranging issues, including class and disability. The Registered Manager is proactive in developing the quality of service and the team have developed outstanding resources to inform their practice particularly around e-learning and understanding the virtual head teacher. Young people benefit from constantly improving care.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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