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

Inspection report children’s home: 1235654 1 Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home can provide care and accommodation for up to four children who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is owned and operated by a private company.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 31 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Enforcement action since last inspection

None Inspection report children’s home: 1235654 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make strong progress in all areas of their lives during the time that they live at this home. Staff work hard to ensure that young people have positive experiences and achieve their potential.  Young people attend education or have work placements.  Young people receive good-quality, nurturing care from a team of committed staff. Young people have very positive relationships with staff. Staff know them well and have a good understanding of their needs.  Young people’s participation is promoted, and their views are welcomed and listened to. They have a strong voice in what happens to them and what happens in the home.  Managers and staff recognise the significant emotional impact of a young person moving out of the home when they become an adult. They work with stakeholders to ensure that this transition is as well planned and as smooth as possible.  Strong and effective management arrangements ensure that there is a good

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Key findings from this inspection

understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. Managers have sustained the significant improvements identified at the last inspection.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development

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Key findings from this inspection

 There is not always enough challenge to stakeholders, such as social workers or schools, to ensure that the home is provided with important information or when referrals for additional services are needed. This means that staff may not have all the information that they need to care for young people correctly and young people may be missing out on important services.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/01/2017 Full Good 14/12/2016 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: 1235654 3

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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

In meeting the quality standards, if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5(c)) 06/07/2017

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are making good progress, because their individual needs are identified, and they receive the care and support that they need to meet these needs. Staff know the young people well. They have a good understanding of the impact of young people’s previous experiences on their current behaviour and emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people attend their education placements and are making academic progress. One young person has identified a college course to start in September. The manager has taken steps to improve communication with one young person’s school. This helps to ensure that everyone is fully aware of what is happening in the young person’s life and can respond in a consistent way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are also making progress in relation to their health needs, both physical and emotional. For example, after a period of avoiding dental appointments, one young person has agreed to attend. Another young person stays active through a dancing club. One shortfall was identified at the last inspection, relating to a lack of detail in a young person’s healthcare plan about support to stop smoking. The plan now has more detail. The young person told the inspector that staff regularly support her to consider the health implications of smoking and encourage her to stop. Young people benefit from the therapeutic input provided by the provider’s therapy team. A psychologist provides regular consultation to staff so that they can enhance their knowledge and understanding of the young people’s emotional needs. Inspection report children’s home: 1235654 4 Young people are able to participate in the running of the home and their voices are

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

listened to. They know how to complain if they are concerned about anything. These complaints are taken seriously and acted upon. Young people gain life skills while living at the home. One young person is nearing the time when she will move on to independent living. Staff recognise the significant emotional impact that this move will have and, through their nurturing and caring approach, are supporting the young person. A transitions worker said, ‘Staff talk with passion and experience. They want her to succeed.’

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people are protected and kept safe. Their risks are identified prior to their admission to the home, and these risks form the basis of comprehensive risk management documents. These documents provide staff with strategies to prevent and respond to any incidents. If new risks emerge or situations alter, risk assessments are amended. This ensures that staff have up-to-date information and act consistently to make young people safer. A social worker said, ‘I have not worked with a children’s home that has been so proactive.’

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Recently, there has been a rise in safeguarding events, such as young people running away or going missing. These significant events have been well managed. There has been swift action and reflection after the events to consider any lessons learned and to take practical measures to stop them happening again. If young people are missing, staff follow clear protocols. These include searching the area and contacting known associates. A social worker said, ‘Staff have done everything in their power to keep my young person safe. They’ve gone above and beyond.’

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Behaviour is well managed. Young people rarely show poor behaviour, because staff are aware of young people’s triggers and respond well to the signs that they are becoming restless. The use of physical interventions is very low. This reflects the skills and competencies of the staff team in being able to de-escalate situations with young people.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are recruited in line with safer recruitment practices to ensure that, as far as possible, they do not pose a risk to young people. The environment is physically safe and secure, to prevent young people from having accidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s manager is currently unable to work at the home, although she provides advice and guidance to the home’s interim manager when required. As a temporary measure, the provider has appointed an interim manager to oversee the day-to-day running of the home. The interim manager has applied to Ofsted to become registered. These management arrangements ensure that there is stability in the management of the home. There are good monitoring and management oversight systems in place. Managers and senior staff work closely together to ensure that all aspects of care are scrutinised and analysed. Inspection report children’s home: 1235654 5 The interim manager is child focused and wants the best for the young people in her care. She provides supportive leadership, both as a role model and by giving staff opportunities for reflection. Staff feel well supported by accessible leaders and managers, regular supervision, daily handovers and good team working. The home has

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

sufficient staff to meet the needs of the young people living there. Managers have ensured that, on the rare occasions that agency staff are needed, they use the same people whenever possible. This strategy provides consistency of care for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working is effective in promoting consistent care and support to meet young people’s needs. Social workers confirm that there is regular communication, including written reports. However, where there are problems in communication, managers and staff have not always made a challenge quickly enough. For example, although the home has requested several times that the local authority make a referral to a health service, this has not happened, and the home has been slow in escalating this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Copies of important documents, such as minutes of reviews of care arrangements or personal education plans, are not always held on young people’s files. These important documents help to inform young people’s care plans. Consequently, there is a risk that these plans are not as up to date as they could be. This means that staff may not have all the information that they need to care for children well. Although staff have contacted stakeholders to request copies of these documents, there has not been enough challenge to ensure that the copies are received.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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’. Inspection report children’s home: 1235654 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Ann-Cheri Callow

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Inspector(s)

Catherine Honey, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1235654 7 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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