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

Inspection report children’s home: SC440014 1 SC440014 Registered provider: Horizon Care Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is one of a group of homes operated by the same organisation. The statement of purpose states: ‘[The home] provides up to four young people with a period of stability to reflect on their difficulties and make future plans. Staff assist each young person to develop the coping strategies and skills required to manage difficulties as they arise. Staff will correctly balance such support between care and control, liberty and containment, protection and risk.’ The suitably qualified manager has been registered for over two years.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 19 September 2017

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Inspection report children’s home: SC440014 2 19/09/2017 Full Good 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

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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 care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that arrangements are in place to— ensure the effective induction of each child into the home; and plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(i)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This means ensuring that new placements settle in and existing young people leave only when they are ready and well prepared. 30/07/2018

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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— understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers; and 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. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(iii)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

This means preventing drift in young people’s attendance and academic achievement. 30/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that the health and well- being needs of children are met; children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. 30/07/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC440014 4 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that each child is registered as a patient with a general medical practitioner and a registered dental practitioner. (Regulation 10(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This means ensuring that the staff team identify all essential tasks related to young people’s health and make sure that these tasks are done in a timely way. The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who develop positive relationships with them; engage with them; and take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff— help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child; regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(iii)(iv)) 30/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; and use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff— understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose; provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background; and help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(i)(iv)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This means ensuring that staff are trained and competent in the organisation’s model of therapeutic care. 30/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on mutual respect and trust; an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults. 30/07/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC440014 5 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff— help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful; understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

and have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(iv)(vi)(ix)(xiii)) 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— 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; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 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; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(c)(f)(h)) 30/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home. The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4; ensure that the records are kept up to date; and retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37(1)(2)(a)(b)(c) and Schedule 4.1) 30/07/2018

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Recommendations

 Effective care planning and strong working relationships between the staff of the home and the placing authority are essential to the success of placements. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.2) Inspection report children’s home: SC440014 6 This refers to the staff and the manager working proactively with social workers to plan the response to young people’s needs, behaviour and views, so that placements are successful.

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improvement to be good

Seven different young people have lived in the home during the nine months since the last inspection. At present, there is only one young person living at the home.

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improvement to be good

Most staff express enthusiasm for their work and commitment to young people, but they do not plan and organise well. They do not prioritise essential tasks like registering young people with a doctor. They do not ensure that young people attend education and achieve well. They do not make sure that young people always know what is happening and how decisions about their care are being made.

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improvement to be good

The current young person’s daily routine is poor. For example, he does not go to school. On the day of the inspection he did not come out of his bedroom until the afternoon.

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improvement to be good

Young people do not have a good experience of group living. The support that they receive day-to-day does not enable them to mature and overcome their difficulties. Many staff lack the skills and insight to work creatively with young people and make proactive contributions to their care plans. Many staff do not stay long enough to make lasting, helpful relationships with young people. One young person who lived here for over two years spent no time in education or work, or with staff, for many months prior to moving to independent living. The manager said that she threw her memories folder in the bin and did not want any leaving celebration with staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff and the manager were recently unable to prevent an increase in bullying, intimidation, aggression and damage within the group of four young people. However, staff did act quickly when the police and the ambulance service said that they did not feel staff could keep the young people safe. Consequently, staff arranged for a young person who was the victim of bullying and intimidation to go away on holiday. While the young person was away, managers brought forward two young people’s planned moves. This action ensured that the crisis was not prolonged.

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improvement to be good

Staff and the manager respond swiftly when young people go missing from the home. They follow young people and try hard to keep or re-establish telephone contact with them. They keep young people’s social workers informed and hold meetings to discuss Inspection report children’s home: SC440014 7 how to address the reasons behind young people’s decisions to go missing from the home. However, the staff’s responses and their direct work with young people are not always well planned, coordinated or insightful. Young people therefore do not feel that they are helped, advised or understood and they do not sustain safer behaviour. One young person’s social worker said, ‘They really did try to contain him, but at times the initiative fluctuated – some staff were more on board and creative than others.’

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improvement to be good

Staff and the manager benefit from regular advice from the organisation’s therapist. She helps staff to understand the link between young people’s experiences and the often- unsafe behaviour that they present. However, the therapist’s verbal and written advice is not shared or used by staff to make a significant difference to young people’s behaviour and feelings of well-being and security.

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

The manager does not always give clear, insightful leadership and advice to staff at the times when they need it. For example, he does not review behaviour incidents or debrief staff and young people in a timely way. He waits for supervision or staff meetings and does not help seniors to ensure that daily shifts and care planning are good. As a result, some staff cannot manage young people’s behaviour or engage them with confidence and understanding. Young people in turn do not respond to some staff and incidents are more likely when those staff are working. Staff turnover is high.

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

The manager says that the home has too many places for the agreed size of the staff team and the capacity of the house. Staff say that placements of young people are imposed by the organisation. This means that they are not able to ensure that good matches are made between new young people and young people already in placement.

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

The manager’s skills in monitoring the quality of care require improvement. He does not consult young people or stakeholders enough. This means that he is not able to identify when planning, practice and recording are not good. He relies on the findings of the home’s monthly visitor rather than working out where shortfalls lie through his own reflections, insights and reviews of records.

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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. Inspection report children’s home: SC440014 8 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

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Information about this inspection

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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