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

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:

 Young people are happy and benefit from stable placements. Comments from young people included, ‘I would not want to live anywhere else’, and ‘It feels like family, without being my real family.’  Young people make positive progress against their starting points on admission. This includes a notable reduction in ‘missing’ events, for one young person.  Young people are supported to develop the skills and knowledge that they will need to live independently.  It is evident that staff want the very best for each young person, and work closely with parents and external agencies to achieve this.  Young people feel safe and are protected by effectively implemented risk- management strategies.  Young people have formed trusting relationships with staff which are based on mutual respect.  The leadership and management of this home are strong. The qualified and experienced registered manager is well supported by a deputy manager and

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The children’s home provision is good because:

a well-developed regional management structure.  Some areas of shortfall are identified within this inspection. These relate to placement planning and record keeping. However, no adverse impact on young people is identified as a result.

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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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

(1) In order to meet the care planning standard, the registered person must ensure that children: (a) receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the need to ensure that plans appropriately clarify the detail of work to be undertaken, and that the quality and effectiveness of work undertaken are evaluated. 07/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain case records for each child which include the information and documents listed in schedule 3. (Regulation 36(1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the need to clarify in records the circumstances of incidents when a child goes missing from the home, including any information relating to the child's whereabouts during the period of absence. 07/11/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a large private organisation that is registered to provide care and accommodation for three 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 May 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 of the service since registration in May 2016

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Good

This is the first inspection of the home following re-registration with Ofsted. This was required to reflect a change in the limited company arrangements of the organisation directly operating the home. This change in registration has had no impact on children and young people as the owner, the registered manager and staff team remain the same.

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Good

Each young person has made progress while living at this home. Being able to follow staff guidance in an improved way is a big step forward for one young person, and another is making excellent progress within education. A young person spoke positively about the independent living skills that he has developed. He now feels very able to budget, plan meals and cook for himself.

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Good

Young people have excellent relationships with staff. This contributes to their sense of well-being. One young person reflected that, by choice, he opts to spend his leisure time with staff. Comments from young people include: ‘Staff are the best thing here. They always take care of me and make sure that I am happy.’

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Good

Young people feel that their individuality is valued and say that they feel listened to. Staff know the young people really well and understand their differing support needs. For example, messages are repeated several times in differing ways, for one young person, in order to meet specific needs. The staff do this without question, knowing that this is important for this young person. One young person refers to the good support that he receives from staff which has helped him to express himself and to develop his own identity. When young people opt to make less positive choices in their day-to-day lives, staff strive to assist them to understand the impact of their decisions on themselves and others. As a result, young people develop an improved understanding of personal rights and responsibilities.

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Good

Attendance and achievement within education are seen as important. An education professional said: ‘The support has been really good. Any time that we have raised an issue, they have been very responsive’. Staff are very proud of young people’s recent achievements at school and with their exam results. One young person has passed 10 GCSE exams and is now studying AS levels, with clear aspirations for a career after taking a degree at university. When young people are not so clear about their plans, staff work with them to look at different choices and to find an appropriate further education option.

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Good

Admissions are planned and young people have the opportunity to visit, prior to moving in. Well-organised admissions mean that young people have the best opportunity to settle quickly and begin to take advantage of the services at the home.

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Good

Young people are generally in good health. They attend for routine appointments and see a doctor as the need arises. The young people in residence are older teenagers and, as such, are making personal choices. They each understand that healthy eating and physical activity are important to good health and are encouraged to make healthy choices. A restructured and strengthened internal service, which includes a child psychologist, supports the care of young people’s emotional well-being and mental health. Recently, this service has been used for consultation about individual placement plans and staff development. This service also works closely with local authority mental health professionals. As a result, staff understand young people’s needs and behaviours, and are able to link these to their personal histories and emotional well-being.

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Good

Young people readily say that they feel safe, living at this home. They are comfortable talking to staff and seek support from them if they have a concern. They know that the staff care about them and are aware that staff prioritise their safety and well-being. For example, staff aim to keep in contact with young people when they are away from the home.

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Good

Parents and professionals report positively about the way that the team deals with safeguarding issues. Because of effective risk management and staff support, young people have become safer since moving to this home. A social worker reported that when one young person moved to this home there was a notable drop in his ‘missing’ incidents. A parent said that their son had ‘learned to let them know where he is’. This means that staff are more able to monitor this young person’s safety.

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Good

Staff have a good understanding of the risks and potential hazards for each young person. They work with young people to improve their overall safety, including supporting them to make positive choices in relation to their personal safety. If young people go missing or absent without consent, staff respond appropriately to secure their prompt and safe return. A social worker spoke positively about the manner in which staff members proactively looked for a young person who recently went missing, including visiting addresses in the community. However, a weakness is identified in relation to the records kept on ‘missing’ events. The circumstances of young people leaving the home are not always clarified, as required by children’s homes regulations. Additionally, some records report a young person as formally missing when, in fact, they were absent, for example when they had been out with friends and not returned as planned. No direct poor outcomes for young people are

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Good

identified a result of this, but it is important that records clearly reflect the story of the event in order to show how effectively young people are safeguarded.

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Good

Good behaviour is promoted through positive reinforcement and is underpinned by the excellent relationships between staff and young people. The two long-term residents respond extremely well to staff guidance and they understand the expectations for their behaviour. There have been only two sanctions and one event requiring staff to use physical holds since the home was registered in May 2016. Diverse challenges from behaviours presented by young people, using the third vacancy for shorter-term placements, have been well managed. It is apparent that staff work hard to set boundaries and to promote engagement opportunities with each young person. Staff speak with pride about how ‘the team does not give up’

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Good

An experienced and appropriately qualified registered manager leads the service. The quite recent addition of a deputy manager and the well-established support of a regional management team strengthen the leadership of this home. Staff members are confident in the management team and say that they feel supported in their role. Comments from a staff member, reflecting on the strengths of the team, included: ‘The whole team is really supportive and welcoming, we cover for each other if someone is unwell and we care about each other.’ The caring and supportive working environment impacts positively on staff, who are happy in their wor and, in turn, this creates a positive environment for young people.

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Good

Staff are competent and knowledgeable. This is because of the priority given to staff development opportunities. They benefit from planned team meetings and one-to-one supervision, and informal guidance is readily available. Training is prioritised from the point of induction for staff. Development opportunities are also available for new members of staff, as well as ongoing refresher training and specific training that is identified to meet emerging needs. Recently, the manager and senior staff have attended training provided by a mental health professional. This was structured to develop knowledge about attachment disorders, linking theory into practice at the home. As a result, staff are now implementing strategies aimed to promote improved outcomes for individual young people.

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Good

The manager and deputy manager work well together, and are very proud of the way that the team works to promote good outcomes for young people. They understand the team’s strengths, but are also effective in identifying areas of weakness and driving forward improvements in the required areas. For example, following a review of an incident, the team reflected on a young person’s view that there are, at times, inconsistent rules implemented in relation to pocket monies. This was accepted by the manager, and practice has been strengthened to stop this happening. An independent person visits the home on a monthly basis and provides a report on the quality of care to the manager and owner organisation. This process aids managers in identifying areas for further development.

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Good

While no negative impact on young people is identified, areas of placement planning are identified as requiring improvement. Plans show the headline individual needs, but the detail of how the service will meet these needs is not always clarified. Without this level of detail, there is the potential for an area of need to be missed. A positive is that the manager had already identified this weakness and had initiated plans to strengthen practice. A further weakness with the potential to impact on young people is that the quality and effectiveness of targeted work are not reviewed or evaluated in a structured manner. The manager readily acknowledges this as a development point, and shows enthusiasm for incorporating new strategies into practice.

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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 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 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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