Children's Home run by Horizon Care Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC062406 1 SC062406 Registered provider: Horizon Care Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for three young people. The home forms part of a large social care company. The home‟s statement of purpose says, „We believe in motivating young people to make safe choices and learn to take risks safely to aid their personal development within a caring environment, where they have access to experienced and caring staff whose work approach is based on a therapeutic model.‟

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered at this home since June 2018. She is a qualified and experienced children‟s home manager.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 21 to 22 November 2018

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

p.1

outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

p.1

outstanding

The children‟s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children‟s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

p.1

outstanding

Date of last inspection: 12 February 2018

p.1

outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

p.1

outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC062406 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/10/2017 Full Good 14/12/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/05/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children‟s home: SC062406 3

p.2

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

An individual who works in the home in a care role has the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. The relevant date is the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b)(5)(a)) 28/02/2019

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Five young people have benefited enormously from living at the home. They have received support from a small, dedicated group of staff who provide excellent care. Young people thrive and make progress in their learning, health, social skills and psychological well-being.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff truly value each young person as an individual. Staff provide each young person with help and support that makes a real difference to their lives. For example, they do things with young people in the same way that a good parent would. This includes making sure that every young person experiences fun outings, can participate in local sports and can join clubs of their choice, and go on holidays. Young people‟s varied experiences are then proudly displayed on the walls throughout the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The young people have complex and challenging needs, but thanks to the staff, they are fully prepared for their future. One young person has successfully moved into foster care because of the help they have received from the staff. When he came to the home, he was a confused asylum-seeking young person who could not understand English. The staff have skilfully enabled him to become a confident young person who has now managed to make friends and achieved academic success. Another young person is now returning home to her family. Staff have helped her to get back into school. She has made excellent progress in improving her behaviour and self-awareness. The young person told the inspector that the staff had taught her how to cope with her moods and had given her strategies to help her sleep well. Inspection report children‟s home: SC062406 4 Staff and the manager prepare for the admission of new young people with care and

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

sensitivity. They involve existing young people in making sure a new young person feels welcomed.

p.4

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

Staff are insightful, well briefed and empathic about the reasons why young people continue to behave in a way that places them at risk of harm. They work well together, using creativity and sensitivity to minimise young people‟s loneliness, worries and anger.

p.4

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

Young people who are very vulnerable to sexual and criminal exploitation have received outstanding help and protection. All staff members take every opportunity to have meaningful conversations with young people about their safety. Staff give young people advice with a great deal of sensitivity to their needs and experiences. They plan their approaches comprehensively and work closely with other professionals. As a result, young people learn how to keep themselves safe and confide in staff when they are in trouble. One young person now safely uses a mobile phone and the internet. The young person behaves safely when travelling and spending time on her own with friends and family. Another young person confided in detail to a member of staff that he was in trouble. The member of staff showed impressive skill. She created a sense of safety, acceptance and curiosity that enabled the young person to make a full disclosure of

p.4

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

what was happening to him. The manager and staff then acted swiftly with police and the placing authority to safeguard him from harm.

p.4

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

Staff undertake excellent work with young people about healthy relationships. They confidently help young people to understand what unsafe behaviour is. This is followed up by checking what the young people have understood and how they might act in the future. Staff can then advocate effectively, on behalf of the young people, with professionals such as teachers and social workers, so that the young people get the right help.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A new manager was registered in June 2018. There was a handover which helped the new manager to continue the good work already done by the previous manager. The new manager has provided excellent leadership from the outset and is continuing to inspire staff to develop and excel.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager‟s support of staff is warm, reflective, challenging and skilful. She is proactive about every member of staff‟s training and performance. For example, she identified and resolved the reasons why one member of staff exceeded the required timescale for not completing their professional training. She has made sure that time is available to help the member of staff to rapidly catch up and stay on track. This means that one member of staff has fallen outside of the regulatory timescale for achieving their level 3 diploma in residential childcare. The manager has ensured that staff have opportunities to develop their skills so that excellent outcomes for young people are sustained over time. As a result, all staff have high morale, perform well as a team and Inspection report children‟s home: SC062406 5 do not want to leave. This gives every young person the best opportunity to make progress.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is innovative in her approach and advocates strongly about what each young person can achieve. She spends quality time with young people and writes to young people after their meetings. Following meetings with other professionals, the manager acts quickly in response to all the decisions that are made. Her passion and commitment to the home‟s underpinning therapeutic model was re-energised after meeting the model‟s founder. As a result, she continues to inspire the whole staff team. One young person, who has previously really struggled with life in numerous residential care placements, told the manager, „This home is “pukka”.‟

p.5

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.

p.5

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: SC062406 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Horizon Care Limited

p.6

Children’s home details

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

p.6

Inspector

Rachel Britten, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC062406 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.

p.6

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7