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

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC463852 1 SC463852

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home forms part of a large social care company.

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This monitoring visit

The home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 2 and 3 May 2017. This monitoring visit is to see what early progress managers and staff are making to address weaknesses in management and staff practice. Only one young person remains in placement, and she is currently settled. There have been no serious behaviour incidents since other young people moved out of the home. The young person is thoroughly enjoying the individual attention that she is presently receiving.

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This monitoring visit

Staff and the manager have refreshed their understanding of child protection and whistle-blowing procedures. They have improved on the timeliness of their recordings and are reflecting on their work better. Staff have updated and amended the young person’s behaviour management plans, risk assessments and missing from home plans. Despite these improvements, the young person’s risk assessment and behaviour management plans are still not helpful, and the staff’s care practice is still not creative or open enough. Staff evaluate all the young person’s risks as low, despite evidence that some risks are greater than others. Many of the strategies that staff have decided to use are risk averse and unhelpful. For example, staff minimise the young person’s access to internet, social media and free time. They stress the dangers to her, but do not provide her with help to develop competence and maturity so that she can use these things safely to enhance her life and friendships.

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This monitoring visit

Similarly, staff stop sexualised behaviour and decide that sleepovers with friends cannot take place. Staff do this without being sufficiently open and empathic to create opportunities for conversations about young people’s underlying feelings and emotions. These therapeutic care practice styles are set out in the home’s statement of purpose, but staff are not confidently practising in this way. Consequently, the young person feels restricted, frustrated and at a disadvantage with her friends. She Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC463852 2 is not making much progress towards self-awareness, confidence and acceptable, safe behaviour.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have entered into meaningful discussions with the young person about risks, such as child sexual exploitation, and about how to be safe when using the internet, social networking and free time. Staff are planning to increase the young person’s understanding further with the help of the police. However, the young person’s own motivation about staying safe remains low.

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This monitoring visit

The leadership of the home has improved. This includes more frequent staff meetings and individual staff supervision sessions. Staff members said that they feel better about their work and that morale has picked up. The manager has introduced more detailed shift handover forms, which means that young people’s appointments and necessary jobs are not overlooked.

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This monitoring visit

Staff are being more consistent with daily routines and the expectations that they have of the young person’s behaviour. However, staff are still responding inconsistently to the young person when she does not comply with these routines and expectations. Some staff impose consequences without careful reflection and communication about whether these are helpful, proportionate and consistent with the home’s stated therapeutic ethos. For example, the young person did not comply with the house rule that meals are eaten in the kitchen or dining room. Staff talked with the young person about this on the day, and the young person apologised. The next day, other staff used a further consequence, telling the young person that they ‘wouldn’t open the lounge due to rule-breaking the day before’.

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This monitoring visit

Staff and the manager have improved the help and support that they give to the young person in relation to education. The young person has good school attendance. She has willingly resumed a good daily routine of getting to bed on time and up and ready for school in the morning. Staff have listened to her difficulties about feeling bullied at school. Staff have met with the teacher and headteacher to decide on responsibilities and strategies. Staff continue to foster friendships that are positive and helpful for the young person. They are ensuring that she can meet friends for quality time outside school, even though many of them live some distance away.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has introduced systems to ensure that robust action is taken and recorded about any complaints or allegations about staff.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has amended the home’s location review and statement of purpose, making clear that the proximity of the home to the railway station and town centre make it a particularly risky location for young people who are at risk of sexual exploitation and/or going missing. The manager has devised a checklist for staff of actions to take each time that a new young person is admitted. This aims to ensure that all necessary information about young people is obtained in a timely way and is used to organise well-planned care right from the beginning of each placement. The manager also plans to provide a ‘crib sheet’ about every young person admitted. The Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC463852 3 idea of this is to quickly familiarise any cover or agency staff about the young people who they are working with.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 02/05/2017 Full Inadequate 22/12/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 11/05/2016 Full Good 02/02/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC463852 4

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) and (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that risk assessments and behaviour management plans are accurate and suggest strategies for staff to use which will help young people to overcome their risks and live safely. 25/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 13 (1) and (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, enable all staff to understand and consistently use the therapeutic practice approach that is described in the home’s statement of purpose. 25/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— (a) understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; (b) use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person ensure that staff help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect; and help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a 25/07/2017 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC463852 5 new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6 (1) and (2)(b)(v) and (vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff work insightfully, creatively and positively with young people so that young people feel able to confidently explore their feelings and get good help to overcome their emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC463852 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Horizon Care And Education Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Venture House, Unit 12, Prospect Business Park, Longford Road, Cannock WS11 0LG

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Inspector:

Rachel Britten, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC463852 7 to 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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

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