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

The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

This home was judged Requires improvement at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judge that it has Sustained effectiveness .

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

Since the last inspection the registered manager has acted to improve service arrangements in response to requirements set at that time. However, further work is necessary to fully embed these changes into practice and for improved outcomes for young people to be more broadly apparent. The service continues to require improvement.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

Management monitoring has improved in some areas, with additional monitoring checks being introduced, but it does not always show how identified shortfalls are addressed. For example, a management report referred to a health professional not feeling able to address orthodontic needs until a young person’s oral hygiene had improved. This issue was reported as a statement with no inclusion of the steps needed to be taken by managers and staff. This suggests a lack of understanding about the role of effective management monitoring and reporting.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

The registered manager has worked well with involved professionals to support improvements to educational attendance, which in time has the potential to support educational attainment. However, the registered manager was unaware of the GCSE results for the one relevant young person in the home. This suggests that education is not seen as important and that individual needs are not always fully understood.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

Recent staff recruitment has resulted in a full and permanent staff team now being in post with the final team members commencing in role during January 2016. Over recent months though several core staff have left. Agency and temporary staff have been used and this has at times impacted negatively on young people. For example, young people had started to build trusting relationships with specific staff to find that they had then moved on. On other occasions staff failed to inform a young person of a dentist appointment until the day of the visit. This led to a refusal to attend. Also, health appointments have been arranged during a school day. Comments from staff show that a permanent team is most welcome and that there is enthusiasm for strengthening practice and improving consistency in the home. Young people will also benefit enormously from this. Young people are in settled placements with no change in residents since the full

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

inspection. There have been no incidents leading to the use of physical restraint and no missing from care events. Staff are trying to teach young people to be tolerant of others and to develop empathy skills. The impact of this work is mixed and there have been times when young people have verbalised feeling unsafe due to the behaviours and attitudes of others. This appears to have improved more recently and young people express an improved sense of safety.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

The management of medication and healthy living was an area of concern at the time of the last inspection. The registered manager has since made changes to practice which has improved arrangements in several ways. For example, a new recording and administration of medication system has been implemented. Because of the changes and additional training, the staff are now working consistently to offer young people their medication as prescribed. The staff are also engaging with health professionals and striving to educate young people about the importance of always taking their medication and accepting an appropriate level of responsibility for their own health. This is not yet fully successful as some young people continue to refuse to take their medication on a regular basis. There has been a delay in response to the recommendation set in September to ensure that staff receive training in relation to specific long-term

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

health needs of the young people in placement. However, because the registered manager is currently finalising arrangements for a health professional to deliver the training the recommendation will not at this time be repeated or escalated.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

Since the last inspection the registered manager has reviewed the arrangements for food shopping and the planning of menus. Menus are now appropriately balanced and there is a reduction in the use of convenience and unhealthy choices within menu planning. Young people who were refusing to engage in any area of physical activity at the time of the last inspection are now engaging in selected activities. Staff have worked hard to establish interests and engage young people in local facilities. It is very early days with these changes and improved outcomes for the young people are not fully evident.

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

A requirement was previously set in relation to the need to ensure the provision of one-to-one supervision for all staff. There are some improvements in that full-time agency staff, or those on temporary arrangements, have now each received at least one formal supervision. There are still weaknesses highlighting that supervision is not always well-managed. For example, a senior staff member transferring to work at this home in early November had not received a planned supervision in the period up to this inspection. The registered manager has referenced facilitating informal discussions with these staff. However, the lack of planned supervision restricts the opportunity for staff themselves to bring forward personal development topics in a planned manner and raises the potential that staff will not fully understand their roles and responsibilities. Further recommendations to improve practice have has been set in relation to staff

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Information about this children's home

 The home is operated by a large private organisation and is registered to provide care and accommodation for two children or 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

02/09/2015 CH - Full Requires improvement

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced profession, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  A record of supervision must be kept for staff, including the manager. Both the person giving the supervision and the staff member should have a copy of the record. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 61, paragraph 13.3 and 13.4)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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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