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

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 enjoy being here and get on well with staff and with one another.  Young people are all in education, and staff encourage every young person to embrace their learning.  Young people feel safe and do not go missing.  Staff forge respectful, helpful and warm relationships with young people.  Staff work very well as a team and provide high standards of care that enable young people to thrive physically, emotionally and socially.  Staff are aspirational for what young people can achieve and enjoy spending time with them.  Staff help young people to maintain good relationships with their families.  Young people get help to overcome their emotional and behavioural difficulties.  The manager and staff focus well on helping young people to achieve what they plan for. This includes providing a good send-off and positive memories of their time here.  The manager is supportive of staff and young people alike. He uses a

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The children’s home provision is good because:

reflective and restorative approach to managing behaviour and has taught all members of staff to do the same. However, there are some shortfalls in record keeping and elements of practice, particularly around reviewing decisions to reflect the levels of progress that young people have made.

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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

Ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 10/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect provides for records to be kept of any allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response. (Regulation 34 (2)(d)) 10/04/2017

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises is kept under review and, if necessary, revised. (Regulation 21 (c) (iii)) 10/04/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that staff encourage children to take a proactive role in looking after their day-to-day health and well-being. Where children have specific health needs or conditions, they should be supported to manage these subject to their age and understanding. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.10)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that decisions about overnight stays with friends are delegated to children’s homes staff by the placing authority for children looked after. The level of delegated authority should be recorded in the placement plan. Where children wish to stay overnight with friends, staff should carry out the same kind of checks that responsible parents might make in similar circumstances to seek reassurance that the child will be well cared for and safe. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.9)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  Ensure that the registered person makes best use of information from internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that a record of supervision is kept for the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with Regulation 33(4) (b). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is registered for up to three children or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is part of a private company that provides children’s homes and schools.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 20/07/2016 Registration Not applicable

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Good

Four young people have lived at the home since it was opened seven months ago. All young people have enjoyed being here. They get on well with staff and with one another. Young people receive consistent and positive support from a small group of staff who work together very well. Staff spend as much time as possible with young people, talking, advising, encouraging and helping them. The home’s monthly visitor noted: ‘Excellent conversations flowing between the staff and young people.’ This helps young people to grow to trust the adults caring for them.

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Good

Each young person is in school or college. Staff and the manager are aspirational for each one of them. The staff work tirelessly to help young people to get into a suitable education placement and to stick to it. Staff maintain a school day routine and undertake educational tasks on site with young people who are going to return to their previous school once they can return to their home area. Staff support and negotiate with each young person to help them to overcome the emotional and behavioural difficulties that create barriers to their success in education. For example, staff and the manager supported a young person to meet the teachers and headteacher after a serious incident. The staff helped the young person to apologise and return positively following an exclusion from school. For most young people, their full-time attendance in education represents highly significant progress. This is because previously they were either permanently excluded or

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Good

refusing to attend. One young person said, ‘I have been kicked out of 12 schools, but I have seen the light now. I have to get a good education if I want to be a PE teacher.’

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Good

Staff help young people to maintain good relationships with their families. Staff are friendly, welcoming and respectful towards young people’s relatives. Staff have a thorough understanding of the background reasons why young people are not at home. They are sensitive and helpful when talking to young people about the conflicting and difficult feelings that they sometimes have about this. One young person said, ‘They help all the time: if I have any problems they help me. I have a key worker: he’s the best.’ Staff work hard to avoid any institutional feel when contact is supervised. They welcome relatives at the home, for example, to cook a Sunday lunch and to exchange Christmas presents. When contact with relatives does not need to be supervised, staff are supportive and encouraging. They communicate clearly with young people and help them see the importance of making clear arrangements that suit their relatives as well as young people

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Good

themselves. Young people enjoy the large, homely, clean and well-maintained environment that they live in. Young people have chosen some of the decor for communal rooms as well as their bedrooms. Staff and young people do many of the household chores together, including shopping and cooking. They talk about how much things cost and about getting employment. This means that young people are learning skills for independence. Staff encourage young people to maintain good personal hygiene and look after their bedrooms and their possessions. They praise them when they do this.

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Good

Staff talk about physical health as part of everyday conversation and lead young people by example to be active, eat good food and stop smoking. Staff go to the gym with young people and regularly take them to places that they have chosen, such as a trampolining activity centre. Staff are well organised about young people’s prescribed medication and ensure that they take it consistently. One parent said, ‘They explain things so that he can see what he needs to do and make sure that he uses his meds, which means that he can get to college.’ However, staff are not doing enough to help young people develop good insight into the effects of their medication on their bodies. They have not identified this as a necessary step towards helping young people develop personal responsibility for taking their medication.

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Good

Most young people are placed outside their home areas as part of a plan to help them overcome emotional and behavioural difficulties away from former influences. Staff are sensitive to this and work hard to help young people establish new and healthier peer friendships. Staff act like good parents and exercise care, caution and interest in young people’s friends. Staff talk to young people about where they are going and who with, and encourage them to talk about what they are doing. Staff keep in touch with young people when they are away from home and support them well if they get into difficulty. Staff also welcome young people’s friends to the home on occasion. However, they have not gained the authority to make decisions about suitable overnight stay arrangements. This frustrates young people and staff. It means that young people are not able to stay with friends, even when staff know from their own checks that young people would be well cared for and

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Good

Staff have a good understanding of young people’s emotional and behavioural difficulties and the risky behaviour that they struggle with. Staff do not judge young people or show any impatience. They look for ways to help them successfully move on from harmful and/or dangerous behaviour. Staff provide clear boundaries and explain to young people that these boundaries are ‘because we care’. Staff do not allow young people in the office because there are too many confidential, secure items in there, but they spend as much time as possible out of the office with young people. Young people know this. The manager said, ‘Staff are out there with them and making those relationships count.’ Staff do not keep young people waiting and will talk through matters whenever young people need and want this. One member of staff describes herself as ‘passionate and compassionate’ about each young person. It is the staff team’s respectful, helpful

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Good

and warm relationship with young people that helps every young person to thrive. As a result, young people do not go missing and rarely require even the most minimal of physical interventions. Staff treat young people like good parents do, and help them to understand the importance of right and wrong. Young people respond well to this and feel safe. For example, young people now agree that staying away from trouble and getting a good education will get them somewhere in life. They accept that they should answer their phone to staff to talk to them about where they are and when they will be back for a meal and their medication. They hand in their lighters, phones and cigarettes on weekday evenings so that they can sleep and be fresh for school. They accept this rule because they know it helps them to keep in a good routine. Young people’s anger, play fighting, bullying, sexist and racist behaviours have

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Good

diminished, thanks to the help and support of staff. Young people feel less frustrated because they are always listened to and given time to talk about things. Staff know what strategies to use when young people are annoyed and they praise them when they make sensible, safe choices. When there are incidents, staff more often choose to discuss what has happened, rather than issuing sanctions. The staff help young people find ways to make amends and avoid similar issues in future. If the police or outside agencies are involved, staff and the manager work with them to educate and help young people rather than criminalise or stigmatise them. A reviewing officer said that one young person is ‘calmer and much more respectful of others, including people from other nationalities’. All this means that young people get real help with their issues. They feel valued, so do not give up trying. Young people get on well as a group and are well supervised by staff who are

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Good

sensitive to each young person’s feelings and difficulties. Staff have received awareness training on child sexual exploitation, self-harm, de-escalation and safeguarding. The staff address all risky behaviour in each young person’s behaviour management plan and have therapeutic action plans for each young person. The therapeutic action plans are produced by the organisation’s clinician and contain helpful practice styles for staff to use, devised in the light of each young person’s individual history and experience. Young people read their behaviour management plans and placement plans alongside their key workers and are able to comment on how staff will help them. However, not all behaviour and safety strategies are kept up to date with young people’s progress. This is because staff and the manager do not routinely review and revise their plans in the light of young people’s behaviour. For example, one young person’s behaviour plan says

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Good

that he must not have free time, but he is now allowed this because his behaviour has improved. Similarly, staff continue to set bedroom door alarms and do nightly cutlery checks despite young people’s safe and mature behaviour at night time and no current concerns about self-harm or threats of violence. These practices are unnecessarily institutional. The manager has not kept them under regular review to decide whether they are really needed for safeguarding reasons. Young people know that their opinions and wishes matter. Staff and the manager advocate for them and keep them up to date about any matters that they are concerned about. As a result, young people feel safe, respected and rarely resort to unsafe behaviour. Young people use the home’s complaints system and weekly house meeting to air any concerns. Any complaints and allegations that they make are investigated in accordance with good safeguarding procedures. In particular,

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Good

young people get good opportunities to reflect on things that go wrong and try to understand them and learn from them. This has worked well to reduce bullying, play fighting, sexism and racism. However, the manager does not keep running logs of the actions being taken in respect of complaints and allegations. This means that he cannot easily monitor what is happening about them. This leads to some delay and missed opportunities to learn lessons for improved practice.

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Good

The registered manager has risen to the challenge of opening a new home in an organisation that he has been with for a number of years. He has acted diligently on all the requirements that Ofsted made prior to the registration of the home during 2016. As a result, the home and staff were well prepared to accept young people and provide them with good-quality care as promised in the home’s statement of purpose. The registered manager is supportive of staff and young people alike. He is an experienced, well-qualified manager who is enthusiastic about the good outcomes that young people are achieving. The registered manager uses a reflective, gentle and restorative approach to managing behaviour. He has ensured that this has also been taught to all staff. He has provided staff with regular opportunities to reflect on their practice and has established good systems for handover and supervision. As a result, staff are committed, consistent and proactive, and this is enabling

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Good

young people to feel settled, secure and valued. Young people all make good progress. The manager ensures that staff have time to identify this progress and relate it to the quality of their practice with each young person. Staff meet regularly as a team, including with the organisation’s clinicians. As a result, they are a cohesive team and staff morale is high. No one has left or been off sick in the seven months since the home opened. The manager has learned the importance of ensuring that new young people match well with existing young people. He has made sensible choices and has maximised young people’s early engagement in the home. For example, the newest young person came to meet staff and young people before choosing to move in. He has relatives nearby and the manager ensured that staff were briefed from the outset about the young person’s plans and wishes for contact with relatives. The manager demonstrates good advocacy skills. He is proactive and positive when

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Good

speaking to other professionals and relatives. He calls for meetings in a timely way to ensure that young people’s issues are discussed and resolved quickly. For example, he has been very effective in getting young people into education and also in maintaining educational placements when behaviour incidents or complaints threaten these placements. A headteacher described him as, ‘very supportive and receptive to us’. The manager also makes effective contributions to young people’s care plans, including when these are subject to legal proceedings. A young person’s legal guardian said, ‘They are all so skilled, they go above and beyond. It’s amazing what they have done.’ The manager and staff are conscientious about keeping records in accordance with the organisation’s policies and procedures. They also write reports for social workers to keep them up to date with young people’s progress. The manager makes good use of advice from the home’s monthly visitor. However, some plans

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Good

are long and some of the things that they say no longer apply. The manager does not remember to keep all records under review. He therefore misses some learning from events and does not always keep staff’s practice up to date with young people’s needs and current behaviour. The manager receives regular, good-quality support, but he does not have records of his supervision to help him continuously improve.

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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 children looked after 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 that 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 that 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 children looked after 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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