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

Inspection report children’s home: 1251076 1 Registered provider: Horizon Care And Education Group Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home is registered to provide care and accommodation to up to four children who have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has improved effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the last inspection, three requirements and four recommendations were made. These related to care planning arrangements, activities, access to communal areas, safeguarding training and health appointments. All requirements and recommendations have been addressed fully.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

 Care planning arrangements are improved and stakeholders, including parents, are better informed about decisions the manager and staff make.  Young people now have access to all areas of the home, including the garden.  Young people have better access to constructive activities both inside and outside the home. They enjoy individual activities with staff and group activities with each other.  Permission is now in place for the use of monitoring devices.  Staff have received safeguarding training that is specific to the needs of disabled Inspection report children’s home: 1251076 2 children.  Health appointments or assessments are carried out in a timely way. This helps ensure that young people’s health is monitored appropriately.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Addressing the shortfalls identified at the previous inspection has improved the quality of care provided for young people.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the home’s last inspection, two young people have moved to adult services. Both had appropriate transition plans in place, although only one was able to move as planned. The other young person had an emergency move for reasons that were out of the control of the staff team. In both situations, staff supported young people extremely well, ensuring that the young people felt as comfortable as they could during the moves. Staff shared documentation appropriately and maintained contact with new services to share important information. Thoughtful and sensitive support for young people who move from the home enables successful transitions.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Before new young people moved into the home, the provider took the opportunity to make some changes to the layout of the home and refurbish it. Young people live in a light, bright and spacious home. The home has ample resources to meet young people’s needs, including a sensory room. The garden is being prepared so that young people can make best use of it in the warmer weather. Young people’s bedrooms reflect their personalities and are individualised.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Three new young people have moved into the home. The manager has taken care to ensure that these young people are well-matched. Young people all have education placements and there is close liaison with schools to ensure consistency of care. Young people enjoy close relationships with staff, who provide consistent care and support. On occasion, staff do not always use the appropriate terminology when describing young people, especially if a young person has displayed challenging behaviour. This detracts from the positive and nurturing care provided because it does not indicate an unconditional positive regard for the young person. Young people have opportunities to take part in various activities such as trips to the local park or spending time within the home reading, dancing and generally enjoying themselves.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Currently, incidents of negative behaviour and the use of physical intervention are frequent for one child. Staff have developed approaches and strategies for interventions based on their growing knowledge and understanding of young people’s individual needs. However, despite in-depth reviews of incidents and close monitoring by the registered manager, little progress has been made in reducing the number of significant incidents for one young person. If the manager has been involved in an incident involving use of physical intervention, he will usually review and sign off the incident record. This is not best practice as it does not provide the opportunity for independent review of the incident. The management team is working closely with child mental health services, education providers and the young person’s family to consider what more can be done to help this young person make progress or if a more specialised placement

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

would better suit the young person’s needs. The majority of parents and professionals consulted during the inspection gave positive Inspection report children’s home: 1251076 3 feedback about the care young people receive. A parent commented positively on their relationship with the staff team, stating, ‘They ask my opinion. I am involved in my child’s care.’ The manager works hard to ensure that parents feel included. Occasionally, relationships with parents can become strained, but the manager and staff team make every effort to rebuild these for the benefit of the young people in their care.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/05/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good

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Recommendations

 Positive relationships are those which are characterised by consistency and unconditional positive regard for the child on the part of the carer. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 21, paragraph 4.3) This relates to use of appropriate language when describing young people’s behaviour.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should 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 9.35) This relates to ensuring that a person who has not been involved in the physical intervention has oversight of the record.

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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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out Inspection report children’s home: 1251076 4 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’.

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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

Catherine Honey, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1251076 5 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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