Children's Home run by Horizon Care and Education Group Limited in Staffordshire

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:

 Children and young people develop positive relationships with staff which provide consistency and stability for them.   Children and young people make significant progress from their starting point across all areas of their development. This is particularly evident in children and young people’s attendance and engagement with education.   Staff ensure children and young people becoming increasingly safe. They support them to improve their self-regulation and to display less risk taking behaviours including going missing.   Staff ensure that children and young people achieve positive transitions to foster placements.   Staff support children and young people to develop and maintain their sense of identity by nurturing relationships with friends and family.   Staff recognise children and young people’s diverse backgrounds and experiences and encourage them to develop a positive self-view.   Staff are proactive in engaging with professionals and robustly challenge

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The children's home provision is good because:

them to secure positive outcomes for children and young people.   There are some shortfalls in record keeping; missing protocols, including ensuring that return interviews are completed and children and young people having independent access to a telephone.  

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, 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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to when children are missing the registered provider must ensure that:- 2(a)(v) staff understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. 24/12/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the children are provided at all reasonable times with access to a telephone on which to make and receive calls in private which they may use without reference to persons working in the home. (Regulation 22(3)(a)) 24/12/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it. The registered person must ensure within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person has spoken to the user about the measure and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. The registered person must also ensure within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure.(Regulation 35(2)-(3)(b)-(c)) 24/12/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to a child. The registered person must ensure that these records are kept up to date and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)) 24/12/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain in the home the records in 24/12/2015 Schedule 4 and ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (2)(a)-(b))

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care for three children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home prepares children for placement in foster homes. The home forms part of a large social care company.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

18/09/2014 CH - Interim Improved effectiveness

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good

Staff develop trusting relationships with children and young people. This means they are able to talk about what is difficult to them and to develop an appropriate sense of belonging. They know that staff listen to them and are interested in their daily lives; they trust staff. One child said to me: ‘Staff listen to me…they should all get five stars!’

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good

Staff ensure that children and young people are at the centre of their decision- making. Staff engage with them on a daily basis as well using young people’s meetings and key work sessions to ascertain their views. Staff support children and young people to read their plans and to be prepared for and involved in their reviews. They help them to choose décor for their rooms and to personalise the home.

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good

Staff and managers are proactive in ensuring that children and young people’s educational needs are met. They challenge services robustly to ensure that children and young people can attend local schools and can receive the support they need to make progress. A social worker said: ’Before my child moved to the home I wasn’t even sure if they would manage in mainstream education. The work staff have done over the summer has meant that they can. The home is the best thing that could have happened to them.’

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good

Children and young people make significant progress in their attendance and progress at school. Staff support them to attend and to complete their homework. They attend parent’s evenings and ensure there is a daily contact with teaching staff where that is appropriate. Staff encourage young people who have dis- engaged with education for lengthy periods to re-engage and gradually build up their attendance.

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good

Staff encourage children and young people to engage with recreational activities run by schools and also in the community. Children and young people enjoy swimming, dancing, gymnastics, drumming and going to the park. Staff make good use of their delegated authority to allow children and young people opportunities to attend school residential trips and visit their friends. This develops their social networks positively.

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good

Staff support children and young people to develop their independence appropriately to their age and development. Staff involve them in cooking which ensures that some children and young people have the confidence and skills to cope with food technology lessons and others develop the skills to prepare their own meals.

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good

Children and young people are helped to maintain good health. Staff support them to attend appointments with child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS). This engagement represents good progress. A social worker said: ‘My young person has made the most amazing progress. Before they moved to the home their behaviour was aggressive and confrontational and they would not even have entered the building to see CAMHS, let alone have engaged in an assessment.’ Staff support children and young people to develop safe relationships and to understand how to maintain good sexual health.

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good

Staff ensure children and young people are welcomed into the home and that their transitions to foster placements are positively promoted. They ensure that they understand their plans and support children and young people to achieve them. Staff remain in contact with children and young people when they have moved on to promote a continuing sense of stability for them. Staff support children and young people’s relationships with family and friends where that is safe and in their best interests. The manager has not ensured that children and young people have access to a phone without recourse to a member of staff or assessed the necessity of any restrictions which may need to be in place. This does not promote children and young people’s independence or ability to contact those who are important to them.

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good

Staff support children and young people to become increasingly safe. Staff quickly understand the triggers for their behaviour and make good use of de-escalation techniques and consistent boundaries to ensure children and young people have the security and stability to self-regulate their behaviours. The frequency of the use of physical intervention reduces and staff are clear about the reasons behind any regression. The managers have not ensured that children and young people have always been given the opportunity to read and review all restraint reports or that managers have signed them off, however, this has not impacted on their overview of patterns and trends.

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good

Children and young people feel safe living at the home. They can identify a trusted adult they can talk to and begin to discuss difficult life experiences. One young person told me: ‘I feel really safe here.’ Children and young people understand how to complain and staff learn from complaints to improve outcomes for them. Staff understand bullying and effectively support children and young people to understand bullying and to address any potential incidents. Staff are proactive in tackling bullying outside of the home and ensure other agencies treat incidents seriously to prevent it recurring. As a result, children and young people are protected.

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good

Staff ensure that children and young people are welcomed into the home and quickly learn how to respond to their needs. For example, staff identify particular times of the day and understand why they are difficult for children and young people and develop strategies to support them. Staff ensure that anti- discriminatory practice is integral to their care and any behaviours which are discriminatory are challenged so that children and young people are supported to treat others with respect.

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good

Staff support children and young people to become increasingly safe. Staff develop risk assessments and behaviour management strategies to support the care of children and young people. Some of these provide good detail and understanding about triggers and successful de-escalation techniques. Others have not been reviewed regularly to reflect changing risks including around sexual exploitation. Staff respond appropriately when children and young people go missing and search in known places for them. However, managers have not ensured that the information around managing risks when children and young people are missing is accessible to staff. As the incidence of children and young people going missing is low, and has not occurred at all over the last six months, the impact of this shortfall is low.

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good

Staff understand how to manage safeguarding concerns and allegations against staff. This ensures that all concerns are responded to quickly and effectively. The physical environment is safe and staff ensure that regular health and safety checks and fire drills take place. This protects children and young people.

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requires improvement

The home is managed by a suitably skilled and experienced manager who is currently being registered by Ofsted. She has been in post for a very short period and the home has experienced a period of instability of leadership since the last inspection. As a result, staff have not received consistent and robust leadership which has impacted on staff relationships and the maintenance of staff and children’s records as required.

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requires improvement

The current manager recognises the strengths and weaknesses of the home and has begun a process of addressing the shortfalls which had arisen through inconsistent management – including ensuring staff receive regular supervision, attend mandatory training and work effectively as a team. She has ensured the statement of purpose is updated and that the home maintains the ethos of providing warm and nurturing care for children and young people.

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requires improvement

The current manager is monitoring and reviewing the quality of care provided regularly and is beginning to identify the areas where practice needs to improve. Some shortfalls remain in staff and children and young people’s records which are held in the home. This includes failing to ensure full information is held about all staff that work in the home, up to date and signed placement plans and the completion of return interviews when young people have been missing. She has the capacity to address these to ensure improvements continue to be driven forward.

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requires improvement

Managers and staff work proactively with professional stakeholders. They work particularly effectively with placing authorities and schools to ensure that children and young people receive appropriate education and that their social and learning needs are promoted. Managers understand the plans for children and young people and are proactive in engaging with placing authorities when there are changes in children and young people’s behaviour and to ensure decision-making is coherent and consistent.

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requires improvement

The current manager has engaged positively with local community services and stakeholders. She has made contact with the local police to ensure that they understand the children and young people who live in the home and also to support her understanding of the risks associated with the locality. She ensures staff develop understanding of local organisations which can provide activities and support for children and young people, for example, local advocacy services. This promotes children and young people’s welfare.

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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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