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

Inspection report children’s home: 2531920 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

The home is privately owned and is registered to provide care for up to four children. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 2019 and holds a suitable qualification.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2531920 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not applicable Not applicable Not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2531920 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

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—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, any actions required to improve the health and safety of the home should be completed in a timely manner. Necessary redecoration to internal and external areas of the home should be undertaken so as to afford young people a pleasant space in which to live. 19/09/2019

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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—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such 19/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 2531920 4 barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)) The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)) 19/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

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—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(c)(f)(h)) 19/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance;

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Requirement Due date

so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age 19/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 2531920 5 and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(c)(d)) The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 19/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 19/09/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 2531920 6

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improvement to be good

All the young people have lived in the home for at least a year. In the last three months, a new registered provider has taken over the ownership of the home. This has resulted in many changes to the day-to-day running of the home. There is no sign that this has had a negative impact on young people.

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improvement to be good

Some young people struggle to cope with living away from their friends and family. This affects their investment in the home. Specifically, two young people spend a lot of unauthorised time away from the home. This means that some young people are transient, selectively choosing when to stay at the home. This limits the ability of staff to keep young people safe and promote their welfare.

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improvement to be good

There are signs that young people have made progress in some aspects of their development compared with their starting points. For example, young people’s self-care skills and confidence have improved. However, the inconsistent quality of case recording means that the extent of this progress is difficult to fully understand.

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improvement to be good

Staff’s efforts to overcome the barriers to young people engaging in education are not always successful. Because of this, not all young people are able to access suitable levels of training or education. This has an impact on young people’s ability to achieve academic success.

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improvement to be good

Some areas of the home are looking tired and in need of redecoration. Positively, improvements are planned, and internal and external aspects of the home are due to be renovated.

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improvement to be good

Recent changes have resulted in staff spending more targeted time with young people. This is beginning to increase the opportunities for staff to understand how young people are feeling and to offer them advice and guidance.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a good knowledge of young people’s vulnerabilities. However, risk assessments are of mixed quality. Because of this, staff are not always given clear guidance on how to keep young people safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff take appropriate action when young people go missing or stay away from the home without authorisation. There is a multi-agency approach to responding to such behaviours. However, current plans have so far proved ineffective in reducing these ongoing behaviours. Inspection report children’s home: 2531920 7 Young people’s behaviours in the home are settled. This is because staff are successful at de-escalating situations. This means that physical restraints are not required.

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improvement to be good

Staff use bedroom door alarms as a strategy to safeguard young people at night. However, staff have not gained consent from all relevant local authorities to use such monitoring systems. Furthermore, staff have not undertaken a formal assessment to consider the appropriateness of using such systems.

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improvement to be good

In one instance, the registered manager did not notify Ofsted of a significant safeguarding incident that had occurred in the home. The impact of this was limited, as the registered manager had taken all expected action to keep young people safe.

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

The registered manager and staff have experienced a busy period since the home has changed ownership. This is because there have been significant changes to paperwork and ways of working. There is a consensus among staff that these changes have been positive. Although the changes are not yet fully embedded, staff are pleased that they are adopting a more therapeutic approach, which places young people at the heart of what they do.

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

The registered manager is beginning to benefit from increased support from senior managers. This is helping her to feel empowered and to develop her skills as a manager. This is a recent change, the benefits of which are still appearing.

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

Similarly, staff are feeling increasingly well supported. Staff feel energised and motivated. Regular supervisions and team meetings are helping staff to develop their practice and to be more consistent in their approach.

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

Because of the change of registered provider, staff are completing new training. However, there is confusion over exactly what training staff are expected to complete. Consequently, the registered manager does not have a clear understanding of the outstanding training needs of staff. This does not show effective leadership.

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

The registered manager’s monitoring systems do not always result in timely responses to areas of improvement. For example, a recent health and safety audit has found shortfalls which have yet to be rectified.

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

Recent staff vacancies have resulted in agency staff being required to work in the home. This has contributed to young people sometimes experiencing an inconsistent quality of care.

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

Case recording is confused and unclear. This is because staff use paperwork related to both the current and previous registered provider. In some instances, statutory documentation such as young people’s local authority care plans are not on file. This does not help to promote effective multi-agency care planning. Inspection report children’s home: 2531920 8

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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: 2531920 9

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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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Inspectors

Paul Robinson, social care inspector Sarah Oldham, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2531920 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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

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