Children's home run by New Horizons NW Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1270802 1 Registered provider: New Horizons (NW) Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The staff at this home provide care for up to three children whose support needs are primarily in relation to their emotions and behaviours. The manager was registered with Ofsted on 22 January 2018.

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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 good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 26 February 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Declined in effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: N/A

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/02/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 05/06/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1270802 2

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Recommendations

 Staff should encourage children to share any concerns about their care or other matters as soon as they arise. Children must be able to take up issues or make a complaint with support and without any fear that this will result in any adverse consequences. Regulation 39 sets out the requirements on the registered person to have a complaints procedure. Children must be aware of this procedure and be reminded of it as necessary. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff develop meaningful and warm relationships with children which support them to make good progress. Children, when asked by the inspector, gave the home eight or nine out of 10. Children said that they gave their scores because of how the staff are with them. Care is individual and takes account of a child’s needs and circumstances. Their interests are supported and encouraged. For example, regular meetings are held, and children’s views are sought and respected. On one occasion, the outcome of a child’s concern was not discussed with them, despite there being a lengthy investigation into the concern that the child had raised. The registered manager missed an opportunity to discuss the findings and, while the outcome was not upheld, it demonstrated that the concern was taken seriously. Children’s health and well-being improve because of living here. Children develop strategies around managing anxiety and they are supported by appropriate health

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

professionals, such as child and adolescent mental health services. One child has reduced her self-harming behaviours. One health worker said, ‘I wish there were more placements like… [they are] all amazing.’ Children’s educational achievement is promoted well. Their individual needs are considered and met. Staff have good knowledge about how well children are doing at school and how they can support them to achieve. Staff are working hard to identify a school that one particular child will accept to enable her to engage with education nearer to the home. Family contact is promoted well. Staff supervise this contact where appropriate and develop good relationships with families. They keep a child’s best interests at heart and will challenge issues which are not in a child’s best interests. Staff have a good understanding of what to do when managing family contact and provide detailed reports on this to the social worker.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to say what they want to happen about important, and less Inspection report children’s home: 1270802 3 important, decisions in their lives. They have weekly meetings to discuss issues which cover daily living and activities, as well as how they share the space in the home. Children’s individual ways of engaging with staff are used effectively to talk about things, such as during trips in the car. Care planning is good. The staff know what they want to achieve with children each week and plan how they will make this happen. For example, children are supported to develop independence skills in line with their age and overall plans for their care

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

Children say that they feel safe here. One young person said that the staff helped her to understand the risks that she is taking and that this had made a real difference to how she feels. Children rarely go missing. If they do, staff work hard to find them quickly and work in partnership with other agencies. The use of physical intervention in the home is low and only used when necessary to safeguard people or property. Behaviour management plans provide staff with clear guidance about how to prevent disruptive and dangerous behaviours occurring. Staff use these strategies effectively to minimise the impact of behaviours such as self-harm and violence. Staff’s understanding of safeguarding and child protection systems is good. The staff have a good understanding of what to do if they may be concerned about child sexual exploitation and work with others when concerns become more prevalent. Where necessary, appropriate assessments are put in place.

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

The premises are maintained to a good standard. Regular health and safety checks of the premises and fixtures and fittings are carried out and deficiencies are dealt with effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a very competent and passionate leader who works hard to ensure that children’s needs are continually identified and met. Well-considered development plans are in place which will increase staffing as the home goes through a period of change. The manager has strengthened her management oversight since the last inspection and knows what the home does well and what needs to improve. The independent visitor’s monthly monitoring reports are used well by the registered manager to quickly rectify any shortfalls. She uses team meetings to discuss what the visitor has identified so that staff are informed about what needs to change. There are good numbers of staff on duty who are deployed effectively. Staff are working towards appropriate qualifications or have obtained these already. Training needs are identified well. Staff receive regular and well-considered supervision which supports them to develop their skills effectively. Supervision occurs monthly and

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

covers a good range of topics. Supervision puts children at the centre of discussion; Inspection report children’s home: 1270802 4 praises and challenges a member of staff’s practice; extends and tests staff’s knowledge; and takes account of the staff’s career aspirations. Good relationships exist between the staff and professionals. One social worker was positive about staff’s strong focus on the child and the ways in which they work with the social worker. Staff prepare children well before they meet professionals, which helps a child to know what to expect and therefore helps the professionals to engage well with the child.

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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: 1270802 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Horizons (NW) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ground Floor, 18–20 Coronation Walk, Southport, Merseyside PR8 1RE

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Abbie Rosenblatt

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Inspector

Elaine Clare, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1270802 6 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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