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

Inspection report children‟s home: 1257073 1 Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group 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 has been in operation since July 2018. It is a privately run home that provides accommodation for up to three children or young people. The children and young people require care, to support their learning disability and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since the home opened in July 2018 and was registered at that time. She has the relevant experience working with children and young people and is completing the required qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home‟s first inspection. At the time of this inspection, no young people were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 14 to 15 November 2018

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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 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children‟s home: 1257073 2

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, the Children‟s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the „Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards.‟ The registered persons must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children‟s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the staff team is sufficiently experienced to be able to meet the needs of the young people admitted to the home, and that the statement of purpose staffing structure section accurately reflects six full time staff posts, as set out at the time of registration. 28/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children‟s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that each child‟s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all documentation relating to children who are looked after is supplied at the point of admission of a child or young person to the home or supplied at the earliest opportunity for emergency admissions. This is to make sure that the home has all the relevant information about the young person‟s care needs. 28/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— 28/12/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: 1257073 3 the name of the child;

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Requirement Due date

details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used, or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within five days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(b) and (c)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all sanctions given to the young people are recorded.

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Recommendations

 For children‟s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children‟s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislation (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than „institutional‟ impression. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page Inspection report children‟s home: 1257073 4 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, replace a kitchen wall cupboard and/or decorate the damaged area.  The registered person must challenge (under regulation 5(c)) any placing authority who asks them to accept a child in the absence of a complete and current relevant plan, as the expectation that a placement of a child without the necessary information would go ahead (in circumstances other than an

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Recommendations

emergency) is inadequate in relation to their role. It is essential that homes understand what will be required of them before they accept responsibility for a child‟s placement, to avoid disruption and instability for the child in future and for other children in the home. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 56, paragraph 11.5)

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improvement to be good

This home opened in July 2018 and has had two emergency out-of-area placement admissions. At the time of the inspection, no young people were living at the home.

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improvement to be good

For those young people who lived at the home for a short period of time, limited progress was made. The young people had started to form positive relationships with certain staff, their school attendance had started to increase, and certain risk-taking behaviour had reduced, for example the number of occasions a young person had gone missing from the home. However, this progress was not sustained, and the young people have moved on to alternative placements.

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improvement to be good

The young people had registered with local health services and health appointments had been arranged to support good health outcomes, for example for dental check-ups. Some of the young people refused to attend particular appointments. The staff continued to encourage the young people to engage in attending all health check-ups so that their health needs were met and would improve over time.

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improvement to be good

The young people enjoyed regular visits and telephone contact with their families. The staff recognise the importance of this and made certain that visits to family members took place, where appropriate. This enabled the young people to maintain relationships with those who are important to them, which strengthens family links.

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improvement to be good

The young people benefited from regular consultation with staff. They were encouraged to give their views and preferences about their daily life. These took place through daily discussions, direct work with the staff and young people‟s meetings. This demonstrates that young people‟s views and opinions were gathered, listened to and their requests acted on. As a result, the young people were provided with the meals they liked and the activities they wished to take part in.

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improvement to be good

The young people who lived at this home benefited from having a positive and safe Inspection report children‟s home: 1257073 5 environment. The home‟s environment has been maintained for future admissions and is decorated and furnished to a high standard throughout, with homely touches, children‟s games and reading books. However, the removal of a kitchen cupboard has left one area with damaged decoration that has not been rectified promptly.

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

The manager and staff show a good understanding of the young people‟s vulnerabilities and risk-taking behaviour. Regularly reviewed, detailed risk assessments set out clearly the strategies for the staff to use. This enabled the staff to respond consistently to reduce and/or eliminate risks and trigger points in regard to a young person‟s declining behaviour. This, along with the strong knowledge that the staff have of safeguarding procedures that they follow, helped to keep the young people safer. There have been missing from home incidents. Appropriate action was taken in line with agreed protocols and included the staff searching to find the young people. A social worker said: „The staff have gone above and beyond to try and locate [name of young person], travelling to the city out of the area of the home to try and find him.‟

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

The young people benefited from receiving daily support and guidance to try to manage their anxieties and risk-taking behaviour. The staff implemented individualised behaviour strategies, structured routines and boundaries to further assist the young people and help them to feel safe. A young person continued to struggle to manage emotions. This resulted in the presentation of challenging behaviour. De-escalating and diversion techniques were used to calm the young person. Consequently, the young person was not physically held and the use of sanctions was minimal. Nevertheless, two sanctions have not been recorded, as required by the regulations. A requirement has been raised at this inspection.

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

The registered manager has been in post since the home opened in July 2018. She has the relevant experience for working with children and young people. She is enrolled to start the level 5 diploma in leadership and management.

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

The manager demonstrates an understanding of the progress and experiences of the young people since the home opened in July. Appropriate action has been taken to safeguard and improve the outcomes for the young people. For example, the manager ensured that the procedures were fully followed when a young person went missing from the home, and she also ensured that staff provided additional support to enable the young person to attend education.

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

Professionals reported that communication was consistently good. The staff informed professionals of the progress of the young people, as well as when safeguarding or other serious matters arose. This kept key stakeholders up to date about the young people‟s care and circumstances.

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

The staff gave a strong and consistent account of the good support that they receive Inspection report children‟s home: 1257073 6 from the manager. Having good communication systems supports the staff well. These systems include daily shift handovers, regular staff meetings and monthly supervisions. There is regular reflection with staff in relation to their practice, through debrief sessions and the staff‟s formal supervision. This positively supports the day-to-day care delivered to the young people.

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

The staff have received induction training that includes the essential mandatory training, for example behaviour management, child protection, first aid, health and safety, policies and procedures. This equips staff with clear information to assist them in meeting the needs of young people in their care. Some of the staff do not yet hold the level 3 diploma qualification. This training will be undertaken after they have completed their probationary period.

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

The home has accepted emergency placements in line with the statement of purpose; this has not assisted the new service and the staff team to consistently provide good- quality care. Not all documentation relating to children who are looked after has been promptly provided by placing local authorities to fully inform the staff of all the young people‟s needs. A requirement has been raised at this inspection.

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

In the short time that the home has been operating, the staff complement has been depleted, with some staff leaving. There has been an attempt to balance each shift with an experienced staff member working alongside staff new to working in a children‟s home. Some staff are inexperienced, and the new team is still in a forming period. This has resulted in the staff team on occasions struggling to support a young person when they have been in crisis and presenting challenging behaviour.

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

The statement of purpose has been updated when staff changes have occurred. These have been sent to Ofsted as the regulations require. The staffing structure section of the statement of purpose does not accurately reflect the number of staff posts as agreed at the point of registration. A requirement has been raised at this inspection.

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

Monitoring systems evaluate the quality of the service appropriately. These systems include the monthly independent regulation 44 visits and audits undertaken by the manager. The reports from the independent visitor and the manager‟s audits have identified the shortfalls and omissions in the service. Appropriate action is being taken to make improvements to the quality of care being provided. This includes ensuring that a full staff complement with suitable experience is in place to care for the young people who will live at the home.

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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 Inspection report children‟s home: 1257073 7 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: 1257073 8

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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

Debbie Foster: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1257073 9 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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