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

Outstanding

The children's home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 From their starting points, young people make exceptional progress in all aspects of their lives. A young person admitted with a history of very low school attendance has recently achieved remarkably well in GCSE exams. Another young person is reported as being, ‘settled for the first time in many years’. Comments from young people included: ‘I have never been this happy’.  Young people feel safe and become safer while living at this home. High- level concerns for a young person at the point of admission are now completely reduced. A professional referred to the progress as ‘phenomenal’.  Highly effective placement planning drives forward personal progress for young people and ensures that individual needs are met to a high standard.  A particular strength is the feeling of self-worth that young people have developed and the way they speak with confidence about their future plans.  An extremely positive home environment helps young people to see the best

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

in themselves and to aspire for the future.  Staff and young people have formed attachments and have excellent relationships, based on mutual respect. They have fun together and enjoy daily living activities, such as shopping and cooking, alongside each other.  Young people are able to talk with staff openly about serious issues. This has helped them to understand their backgrounds, and to develop improved coping strategies and emotional resilience.  The management team is highly respected by external professionals, who report very positively about joint working relationships and the management of services.  Leadership is aspirational for young people and drives forward service development opportunities, advocating on behalf of young people at every opportunity.  A well-trained, competent and committed staff team cares for young people and wants only the very best for each young person.

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Information about this children's home

The home is owned by a large private organisation, and is registered to provide care and accommodation for two children and young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The home was re-registered with Ofsted in February 2016 to reflect a change in the limited company status within the organisation providing this home.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement This is the first inspection since registration

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Outstanding

Young people are very happy and settled. They speak with confidence about personal successes, for example a reduction in risk-taking behaviours and becoming more aware of their emotional responses. A notable achievement is the way that young people recognise the progress that they have made and that each is making aspirational future plans. Comments from young people include: ‘I have never been this happy, staff make me feel I am worth life and deserve something more’, and: ‘Staff motivate me to achieve more’.

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Outstanding

Well-planned care is delivered effectively, resulting in notable and sustained improvements across all areas of young people’s lives. Feedback from professionals and parents regarding young people’s experience and progress is extremely positive. Comments reflected a very positive view of the services provided and the impact on young people: ‘The home offers nurturing care provided by containing adults, who care, and who are responsive, providing opportunities for young people to make positive choices’, and: ‘Xx (young person) has made phenomenal progress. I am so, so pleased. Professionals were very, very concerned about xx, which is now completely reduced’. Parents and young people also say that family relationships have improved because of the quality of support provided.

p.5

Outstanding

Young people are fully involved in day-to-day care arrangements. They understand and contribute to their placement plans, and their wishes and views are seen as important. This means that they feel involved and retain a sense of control. As a result, confidence and self-esteem improve.

p.5

Outstanding

Young people are in good health. Physical activity is encouraged and young people understand that this is important to their well-being. Young people attend for routine health checks and access a GP as and when needed. The arrangements to promote improved emotional well-being are excellent. Young people with complex mental health concerns and patterns of self-harm are now very settled and less reliant on medication, and no longer present self-harming behaviours. This is because of the close support and nurturing care provided. The staff team works closely with health professionals, who speak highly of the support and care provided, stating that this is, without doubt, a key contributing factor in the excellent progress made by young people.

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Outstanding

Staff promote opportunities for young people to engage in personal or shared activities. Young people speak with enthusiasm about a recent holiday to the seaside. Despite the poor weather that they had had, they described very happy memories of this trip. One young person has recently joined a football club and is very enthusiastic about now playing in a team. It was evident that staff are proud of recent footballing achievements and some are planning to go to watch the next match in their own time. This shows that staff are committed to their roles and responsibilities.

p.5

Outstanding

Young people develop extremely positive and trusting relationships with staff. Emotional warmth and consistent care for young people, by staff, provides a nurturing environment for them to live in. This has helped each young person to mature and to form attachments in a manner which has impressed parents and professionals. As a result, young people begin to understand their complex backgrounds and the need for a care placement. The very positive approach taken by staff is mentioned separately by staff, parents and young people as underpinning the remarkable progress made by young people. One young person referred to the helpful impact that the very relaxed and calm atmosphere has made to his ability to manage his anger. A parent referred to being impressed by the way that staff quickly turn ‘blips around to something more positive’. The environment of positivity has supported young people to develop improved self-confidence and

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Outstanding

Educational attendance and achievements are consistently improved and, for some young people, are excellent. Since their starting points, attendance by both young people has improved. An education professional commented that in the six months since moving to this home: ‘Xx (young person) has changed from being an unruly teenager to a polite, happy young person’. The home environment is acknowledged as contributing to this young person’s recent positive achievements in GCSE exams. Both young people have ambitions for further education and are being supported to achieve this.

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Outstanding

While independent living skills are promoted, this is balanced with individual needs relating to education and emotional well-being. For some young people, the focus on exams has been seen as vital over recent months. Young people see this as their home, and learn cooking and housekeeping skills as part of the daily routine. Plans are in place to introduce structured independence programmes ‘at the right time’ for each young person.

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Outstanding

The team is very knowledgeable about potential safeguarding issues and are clear about individual roles and responsibilities in keeping young people safe. This means that staff have the knowledge and skills to respond appropriately, should a new safeguarding concern arise. Good working relationships with external agencies promote the safety and well-being of young people. Young people feel safe and become much safer after moving to this home. Highly effective risk management strategies and a multi-agency approach robustly reduce the potential for harm. Young people initially admitted with high-level concerns and vulnerabilities to a range of risks, including sexual exploitation and self-harm, are now very settled and present no risk-taking behaviours. There has been only one missing event and one occasion involving self-harm since the home was registered in February 2016.

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Outstanding

Staff teach young people about their vulnerabilities, and the young people learn protective behaviours. As a result, they know how to keep themselves safe when using the internet and when making personal decisions. They are each developing emotional resilience and using coping strategies that they have identified alongside staff. Young people readily speak to staff about personal worries and are confident that they will be listened to if they raise a concern about the service.

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Outstanding

Behaviour management is highly effective. There are no incidents that have required the use of physical intervention and there is a very low-level use of sanctions. Staff promote good behaviour through their good relationships with young people and by positive reinforcement. These strategies are extremely successful and are embraced by young people, who speak confidently about their personal improvements in relation to behaviours. One young person talks about the positive impact of staff taking on board his view about how best to manage outbursts of anger. Incidents, while still occurring, are reduced in number.

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Outstanding

The physical environment keeps young people safe and promotes a sense of security. Young people know how to respond, should a fire occur. They are learning about food hygiene and personal safety within the home.

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Outstanding

A very experienced, qualified and highly effective registered manager leads the committed and enthusiastic staff team. Management support is enhanced by the oversight of a regional manager and a deputy manager working at the home. The registered manager is inspirational and demands that only the very best service is provided for young people.

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Outstanding

Staff work extremely well together. Communication across the team is very good and staff readily stand in to cover unexpected absences. Staff report feeling very supported and show a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. Staff report only positively about the manager’s influence on the service and hold her in the highest regard. Comments included: ‘I would not want to work for any other manager; she is great, always offering support, she knows so much and always passes on her knowledge’, and: ‘Children always come first with everything she does’. This shows that young people’s care is underpinned by highly effective and aspirational leadership and management. The manager advocates for young people by challenging external professionals in order to achieve the right service, or response, to support young people.

p.7

Outstanding

The manager has a clear vision that the service will continue to develop and provide improving, but always high-quality, care to young people. She continually monitors the outcomes for young people and adjusts individual plans when necessary, thus ensuring that they have the opportunity to reach their potential. The manager ensures that the service operates in line with the statement of purpose, children’s homes regulations and the quality standards. She recognises the strengths of the service and promptly addresses even the smallest of areas identified for improvement. For example, during the inspection a recording format was discussed as potentially benefiting from additional clarification. This was responded to immediately. Suggestions made by the independent visitor to the home during the monthly visits inform service development. No breaches of regulation have been identified within this inspection.

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Outstanding

A range of external services provided by the organisation support the team to provide the high quality of care delivered. A quality assurance team, training manager, health and safety manager and human resources team underpin the direct services provided in the home. A newly structured team of clinician’s works in line with placement plans to promote improving emotional health and well-being. Staff speak confidently about their learning from training provided by clinicians. Learning has recently included research about attachment disorders and child development. This has enabled staff to understand presenting behaviours in the context of young people’s individual backgrounds.

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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’. 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 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 ‘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 0300 123 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, work- based 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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