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

Inspection report children‟s home: 2532036 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 operated by a private provider. The home is registered for three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities. The registered manager has been in post since April 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Two young people were spoken with, and contributed their views on living at the home as part of the inspection.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: 2532036 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

N/A Inspection report children‟s home: 2532036 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 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

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)(f)(h)) 20/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

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)) 20/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The specific responsibilities of the home towards supporting the health and well- being of each child should be agreed with the placing authority and recorded in the child‟s placement plan. („Guide to the children‟s home regulations including Inspection report children‟s home: 2532036 4 the quality standards‟, page 34, paragraph 7.7)  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  Staff need the knowledge and skills to recognise and be alert for any signs that might indicate a child is in any way at risk of harm. The registered person should

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Recommendations

ensure that skills in safeguarding are gained, refreshed and recorded in the home‟s workforce development plan. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 43, paragraph 9.12) In particular, this relates to ensuring that staff understand and promote internet and online safety.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are supported to make progress while living in this home. In the last three months, a new registered provider has taken over the ownership and running of this home. This has resulted in changes to the paperwork and day-to-day running of the home. However, this has not had a negative effect on the young people, all of whom lived here prior to the change in provider. The staff transferred to the new provider, providing continuity of care for the young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive individualised care and support to help them reach their full potential. One young person has moved out of the home recently to live in her own accommodation. Staff supported her to secure the tenancy of her accommodation and assisted her in moving to the property. They provided additional visits to help her to adjust to living independently. Other young people at the home spoke positively about their experiences of moving into and living at the home. One young person said, „I was worried about moving here at first because I hadn‟t lived in a children‟s home before. But staff welcomed me in and made me feel at ease right away and the plan is for me to stay here, which I am happy about.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a good understanding of the young people, and their individual interests, backgrounds and family circumstances. They work in partnership with social workers and other professionals to support young people to make progress in line with the aims and objectives of their local authority care plans. This includes aims and objectives regarding education, health, and emotional and social well-being. Staff understand the importance and potential barriers for young people who have not engaged in education before. They provide educational support while a young person is out of schooling and encourage them to return to school. As a result, both young people are in full-time education, their attendance is consistently high and they have received positive school reports for the Inspection report children‟s home: 2532036 5 end of the school year. Staff support young people to attend their healthcare appointments and help them to understand how to live a healthy lifestyle. However, the

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

manager and staff could further support the healthcare of young people by ensuring that healthcare plans include greater detail to reflect each individual‟s specific healthcare needs, and that these plans are clear and are known and followed by all staff‟ Young people are enabled to maintain positive relationships with family and friends, subject to any restrictions that are in place to safeguard them. Staff understand the importance of these relationships and work with placing authorities to make sure that the arrangements in place are beneficial to the young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage young people to contribute their views on the care they receive. This includes having monthly meetings as a group, as well as one-to-one key-worker sessions. They also engage in activities which they have an interest in and enjoy. For example; one young person attends a scout group, and another has started to enjoy boxing and is planning to join a club to continue with this activity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff make sure that placing authority social workers are kept updated in relation to the progress of and outcomes for young people. Social workers commented positively on the care and support and overall communication provided by the manager and staff, and said that when they undertake their statutory visits to the home, they feel that the young people are settled and happy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The new provider has started a refurbishment programme for the home. Young people have started to personalise their bedrooms and new furnishings have been purchased. Externally, the gardens provide an area for the young people to relax and play in.

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

Young people receive care and support which supports their development. The strategies that are in place help to manage known and possible risks. However, risk assessment formats differ, as some have been completed using paperwork from the previous provider, while others are on paperwork from the current provider. The quality of risk assessments varies. That said, staff demonstrate a good understanding of risks and act to address them. However, staff would benefit from having a greater understanding of internet safety. The parental controls in place on the internet do not cover all of the devices that young people use, including phones and gaming consoles. Some staff were not aware of this.

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

Staff take appropriate action when young people are missing or stay away from the home without agreed permission. This includes ensuring that they are safe through contact via telephone, meeting up with them to make sure they are alright and encouraging them to return home. There has been one incident of missing. The young person returned to the home safe and well. Return interviews are requested. When they do not take place, the manager arranges for a person who is independent of the home to speak with the young person, to establish why they were missing and if it is something the staff can address. Inspection report children‟s home: 2532036 6 The young people spoken with during the inspection said that they feel safe and happy at the home. They each have a children‟s guide which contains information about the home, as well as information about how to complain and the independent agencies they can contact. The manager ensures that complaints are responded to and provides an

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

outcome for the young person who has raised a complaint. Staff are aware of the whistle-blowing procedure and understand the difference between a complaint and an allegation. A recent allegation was appropriately responded to. External agencies with responsibility for safeguarding were informed and the manager made sure that systems were in place to safeguard all the young people at the home.

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

Young people are encouraged to develop appropriate behaviours. Behaviour management plans are effective, with good behaviours recognised and celebrated. Because of the strategies implemented, there have been no incidents in which consequences have been used. Young people said that the rules of the home are fair, and that staff listen to them and explain how negative behaviours can affect them and others. As a result, they feel valued and this helps them to take responsibility for their actions. All staff have completed training in relation to behaviour management, including the use of physical intervention. This is only used in the event of a young person or others being at risk of harm. The de-escalation techniques used by staff are effective and, as a result, there have been no incidents requiring physical intervention.

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

The manager has a good understanding of the individual needs of the young people living at the home. Following the change in ownership of the home, there has been a complete change in paperwork, and staff are working to different policies and procedures while adapting to organisational change. Staff are positive about the change and are pleased that the home will be focused on therapeutic care which places young people central to the care that they receive. However new paperwork and systems have yet to be fully embedded.

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

The manager has commenced implementing the changes required and is being supported by the senior managers within the company. Staff also feel supported and are keen to further develop their skills and practice. They have completed some online training and further training is planned. However, it is unclear from the training matrix which courses are mandatory training, and who should update the matrix to confirm that a course has been completed. This has been identified and raised with senior managers to ensure consistency across the organisation.

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

Staff receive regular supervision on a formal basis. They said that they are comfortable with asking for additional support and guidance from the manager. They also said that team meetings are useful for developing open discussions to aid their knowledge and skills. However, team meeting minutes are brief and do not consistently reflect the discussions held in any detail. Inspection report children‟s home: 2532036 7 The monitoring systems used by the manager are not consistent and, as a result, there is a lack of oversight of some of the development and improvement work to be completed. Examples of this include some differing risk assessments, and internal health and safety audit recommendations not being completed. Audits of case records for young people have commenced. However, paperwork for both the current provider and the previous provider is being used, which impacts on the overall clarity of records.

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

Staff levels have remained consistent at the home. The manager has rarely had to use external agency staff. However, if they are required, systems are in place to ensure that they are suitably experienced and that relevant checks are undertaken prior to them working 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 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: 2532036 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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Inspectors

Sarah Oldham: social care inspector Paul Robinson: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 2532036 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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