Children's Home run by Horizon Care and Education Group Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: 2531921 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 children’s home is run by a private organisation. It offers care and accommodation for up to four young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 17 to 18 September 2019

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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: inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: This children’s home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 2 to 3 July 2019. Following this inspection, Ofsted issued the provider with two compliance notices under section 22A of the Care Standards Act 2000. The compliance notices were issued in relation to regulation 12, the protection of children standard, and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard of the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015. A monitoring visit was undertaken on 7 August 2019 to monitor compliance with the notices. These were both met as sufficient action had been taken. Inspection report children’s home: 2531921 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/07/2019 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: 2531921 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

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(vi)(c)(i)) 18/10/2019

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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 express views, wishes and feelings. 18/10/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 2531921 4 (Regulation 7 (1)(c)(2)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies.

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Requirement Due date

Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(vi)(vii)) 18/10/2019

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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

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(c)(d)(h)) 18/10/2019 Inspection report children’s home: 2531921 5 If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (‘the behaviour management policy’) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4.

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Recommendations

 Whenever possible, staff in day to day contact with children should include staff from the different gender groups. Where the home’s Statement of Purpose makes it explicit that the home uses staff of one sex only, clear guidance will need to be in place and followed as to how children are enabled to maintain relationships with people of a different gender. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.22)  Children should be encouraged by staff to see the home’s records as ‘living documents’ supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that Inspection report children’s home: 2531921 6 reflects their voice on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, two children have remained living in the home. Staff have worked hard to build positive relationships with the children and this was evident throughout the visit, when staff spent quality time with children talking about their day and their plans for the forthcoming weekend.

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improvement to be good

Children have been supported to lead healthier lifestyles. Food choices have improved with a varied, healthy diet and one child has gained some weight and appeared healthy. Staff have worked with children to attend health appointments. Consequently, children are now sleeping better, have received appropriate eye care and are generally healthier. However, staff have not consistently updated individual health plans to demonstrate the outcomes of appointments and any follow-up healthcare required.

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improvement to be good

Children have been supported to return to school and their training provisions. Although some children are still not consistently attending daily, staff are clear about the routines that are now in place. Staff will ensure that children do not spend all day in their bedrooms but are called at an appropriate time and encouraged to take part in daily routines around the home. This ensures that children understand the importance of training and education and receive the support that they require to make progress in their lives.

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improvement to be good

Children are now engaged in a wide range of fun and varied activities. They have also enjoyed a holiday in a caravan. However, records still do not consistently include how staff have taken the children’s views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. This was a requirement at the last inspection and is repeated.

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improvement to be good

Children have been supported by staff to spend quality time with their family and friends. This has improved their relationships with important people in their lives. One parent said, ‘The staff are good at letting me know what it is happening with [name of child]. I still feel involved in my child’s life.’ However, despite all of the work that staff have completed to support children in this area, records still do not demonstrate these positive changes. Some contact records are out of date and do not provide an accurate account of the current contact arrangements. This requires improvement to be good.

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improvement to be good

The home environment still requires improvement. Although the main living room area now presents as clean and tidy, other areas of the home appear as worn and unclean. The kitchen has damaged cabinets and water damage on the ceiling. Children’s bathroom areas need attention and one child’s bedroom that is currently unoccupied is uninhabitable. This was a requirement at the last inspection and is repeated. Inspection report children’s home: 2531921 7 Staff and one child are allowed to smoke in the grounds of the home and cigarette stubs were evident on the ground in the garden area. This is unsightly and does not demonstrate that staff are consistently adhering to the procedures in place. This was addressed with the responsible individual, who took immediate action to ensure that the area was cleaned.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, some risk assessments have been updated and the responsible individual has spent a lot of time with staff to ensure that they understand their roles and responsibilities in protecting children. However, despite all of this input, on one occasion, staff failed to demonstrate that they had taken immediate action when they were notified by another professional that a child might be at risk of harm. Staff also did not update the records, including the risk assessments, about the event. This does not demonstrate that all staff fully understand the importance of recording and reporting and following procedures in place. The responsible individual accepted that further work in this area is required. This requirement will be repeated.

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improvement to be good

Staff have spent individual time with children and ensured that they understand the risk associated with online gaming, mobile phones and internet safety. There are also now appropriate routines in place for internet usage, including appropriate restrictions throughout the day and night. This has supported the children to understand the risks that they may face when using these devices and the support that they can access if they are concerned.

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improvement to be good

There continues to be an inconsistent response to behaviour management in the home. Behaviour management plans still lack guidance for staff to follow. As a result, incidents are still poorly and inconsistently managed by staff. Staff are not consistent in their approach to using rewards and sanctions and often rely on the responsible individual to make the decision about any action that is required. This has caused frustration for children, who have been told, ‘It is Matt’s decision.’ Consequently, there is no clear recording of sanctions and rewards that have been used. This is a repeated requirement.

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

The registered manager is no longer working at the home. The responsible individual continues to monitor the home and has supported the staff in moving forward since the last inspection. A new manager has been identified and will start work at the home on 20 September 2019. They will need to complete an application form to register.

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

Not all of the requirements raised at the last inspection had been met. Although the responsible individual had identified these within his new monitoring systems, further time is required to ensure that they are all met and embedded into practice. Furthermore, external monitoring has been ineffective in addressing shortfalls in the home and monitoring the progress of actions to address breaches in regulation. Inspection report children’s home: 2531921 8 Rotas still do not clearly show which staff were on duty and the times that they were coming on and leaving shift. When changes had been made to the staff working in the home due to sickness, rotas had not been updated. This does not demonstrate the actual staff on shift and the hours worked. This is a repeat requirement.

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

Gaps were found in staff’s professional supervision. Staff’s professional development, support and guidance can be strengthened by ensuring that they all receive regular supervision and areas identified to improve practice are addressed. This is a repeat requirement.

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

Staff training records are still not up to date. Although staff reported that they have attended numerous training courses, including refresher courses, records did not consistently demonstrate this. This requires improvement to be good.

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

The registered provider’s oversight of fire safety is weak. For example, records fail to demonstrate that regular fire checks have taken place or include the children and staff involved. This is a repeat requirement.

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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: 2531921 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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Inspector

Michelle Edge, social care inspection manager Jessica Forshaw, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2531921 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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