Children's home run by Horizon Care Limited in Cannock Chase

Inspection report children’s home: SC440014 1 SC440014 Registered provider: Horizon Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for up to four children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is privately owned and forms part of a large social care company.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 19 to 20 September 2017

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC440014 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff create a warm and caring atmosphere that helps young people to settle.  Young people like the staff and feel safe.  Young people’s placements last because staff do not give up on them when there are periods of crisis.  Staff actively look for young people if they go missing, and welcome them back home.  Staff are sensitive to young people’s difficulties, and focus well on finding ways to help them.  Staff encourage young people to spend time with suitable local friends whenever this is safe.  Staff help young people’s relationships with their families to improve.

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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

 The manager does no show enough skill in identifying what lies behind young people’s presenting behaviour and at planning an effective response.  The manager does not review how staff could improve their practice and minimise the number of behaviour incidents that take place.  The manager is not reviewing complaints and allegations to help identify lessons learned.  The manager and staff are not tackling young people’s lack of engagement in education or their reluctance to attend health appointments.  The manager is not ensuring that young people receive return interviews from someone independent when they have been missing from home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/01/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 03/05/2016 Full Good 24/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC440014 3 13/10/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC440014 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 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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home, and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1) and (2)(f) and (h))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to the manager developing skills in observing, analysing and reviewing staff practice, in order to lead and advise staff about how best to help each individual child. 25/10/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39(3)) 25/10/2017

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible; and to help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment; and help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. 25/10/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC440014 5 (Regulation 8(1) and (2)(a)(viii), (ix) and (x))

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Recommendations

 Ensure that skilful evaluation of missing incidents is undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45 and 46, paragraph 9.31)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and the principles as set out in 9.35 are respected (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36). This is with particular reference to improving the manager’s guidance to staff about behaviour management. He should focus on ensuring that his guidance is based on principles of protecting and preserving positive relationships between each child and the adults caring for them and understanding what is behind each child’s behaviour.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that if a child’s educational progress is not in line with their agreed targets or next steps, staff and the manager seek expert advice from education professionals, such as the Virtual School Head, SENCO, learning mentor or teacher. Staff must challenge the child’s education or training provider if the child does not receive sufficient support to progress as outlined in their relevant plans. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.11)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff organise and ensure each child’s attendance at the necessary primary and secondary health services (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.11). This is with respect to finding effective ways to help young people attend necessary medical and dental appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Inspection report children’s home: SC440014 6 Young people experience good-quality care day to day. Young people are settled and like the staff who care for them. This is because staff demonstrate warmth and insight and show interest in them. For example, staff plan carefully how they will tell young people any difficult or disappointing news that they have to pass on to them. Staff know what each young person’s needs are for each day. Together, staff decide who will support each young person and when, based on the staff’s knowledge and relationships with each young person. One young person told the inspector, ‘It is alright, seriously, and the staff are sound.’ The home’s monthly independent visitor said that staff ‘demonstrate genuine rapport [with young people]’. However, some young people are refusing to attend dental and health appointments. Staff have not found ways to help young people overcome the difficulties that lie behind their refusals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, five young people have lived at the home. One young person has lived here for three years. Staff do not give up on young people and, consequently, placements last, even if young people’s behaviour is sometimes disruptive and unsafe. Staff successfully help young people to stabilise their behaviour and feel at home. Staff help young people to secure part-time jobs and to attend college. Staff take young people on enjoyable holidays. Staff help young people to make and sustain local friends, including making their friends welcome in the home. Staff make plenty of fuss of each young person, celebrating their birthdays and sharing their own significant life events with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff give young people good help and encouragement so that they can improve their relationships with their relatives. Staff play a key role in communicating with young people’s families and social workers. This ensures that contact plans are clear. As a result, one young person is having regular time with her birth family for the first time. There is now a prospect that she might return to live with her family. Another young person was able to return successfully to his family early in 2017.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One young person did well in his exams. He is going to catering college, and is preparing to live independently near to his college. Staff are helping him to prepare psychologically as well as practically for this pending move. However, no other young person is presently attending education or training. Staff are encouraging young people to visit new educational or work options, but this is proving difficult. Staff are sensitive to young people’s frustrations about present arrangements and their reasons for refusing to attend. Staff discuss therapeutic ways of approaching the difficulties with the organisation’s clinician. However, the manager is not taking sufficient initiative and lead. For example, he is not liaising regularly with the right professionals to avoid delay and ensure that young people get suitable placements and arrangements that meet their needs.

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

Staff work well with the home’s clinician to understand and manage young people’s behaviour. Staff therefore give young people good support and care, which help them to Inspection report children’s home: SC440014 7 become increasingly safe. For example, staff show understanding of the fact that young people feel rejected and are desperately seeking to belong. Staff keep this in mind when young people are frequently going missing. Staff ensure that they follow young people and make all efforts to keep in touch with them and re-establish contact. When young people are back, staff reassure them and welcome them back.

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

Most staff manage unsafe situations and behaviour well. They do not use punitive sanctions or seek to punish or criminalise young people for damage or harm. Instead, staff talk about the difficulties that lie behind the behaviour, and advise young people respectfully on what behaviour is acceptable. As a result, young people feel confident about discussing things openly with staff. This diffuses their anger and frustration and prevents incidents of damage and violence. For example, during the inspection, young people raised questions about why they are not allowed free time or cash in hand at the current time. Staff listened to young people and provided clearer explanations to them.

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

Young people feel confident in their ability to complain about staff and have done so on a few occasions since the last inspection. A number of staff have left due to serious incidents. Nevertheless, the current staff have adopted a nurturing, positive and empathic care style. They make clear and positive contributions to the feelings of security that young people experience.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Young people get on well with the registered manager, but he does not make a good enough contribution to young people’s help and protection. For example, he does not skilfully evaluate each missing incident. He does not identify whether there are any gaps in the training, skills or knowledge of particular staff. He does not take a lead in recording and retaining evidence of what practice works well. He has not proactively worked with young people’s placing authorities to ensure that young people always get an opportunity to have an independent return home interview after being missing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager does not demonstrate a good understanding of the quality of care given by members of staff to young people. For example, when he meets with placing social workers and other professionals to plan following serious incidents, he focuses too much on how difficult it is for his staff. He demonstrates little insight into the reasons behind young people’s behaviour. He does not review what staff have said and done to see if there was any weak practice. For example, he identified no trigger for one young person’s behaviour, but her social worker identified a number of known current factors that were likely to be influencing this behaviour. The registered manager does not ensure that there is a full record of all the actions taken when young people complain or when there are allegations about staff. This means that he has too little information captured to enable proper analysis of the quality

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The organisation’s senior leaders are giving the registered manager regular support that focuses clearly on improving the quality of his reviewing and supervision skills. The Inspection report children’s home: SC440014 8 regional operations manager, monthly visitor and clinician are all giving additional support and training to staff.

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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 differences 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: SC440014 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Horizon Care Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Rachel Britten: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC440014 10 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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