Children's Home run by New Horizons NW Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: 1235384 1 Registered provider: New Horizons (NW) Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides care and accommodation for two children aged between 12 and 18 years. There is a manager in post who has applied to Ofsted to be registered.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 8 February 2019

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: N/A Inspection report children’s home: 1235384 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/11/2017 Full Good 23/01/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1235384 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

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20(2)) 30/11/2019

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children receive a good standard of care provided by a suitably qualified staff team. The children live in a home where the staff deliver individualised care in a nurturing environment. Children are supported to develop and are given opportunities to learn to manage their emotions appropriately and decrease their risk-taking behaviours. Overall, they are making good progress. The children make trusting relationships with the staff, who get to know them quickly. The staff have a good level of knowledge about each young person. They understand the impact of previous life experiences on the children, the reasons for patterns of behaviour and the effect on each young person’s ability to maintain healthy relationships. Staff know children’s vulnerabilities and risks and can identify triggers, so that strategies can be put in place to minimise incidents. The staff have a good understanding of the children’s likes and dislikes.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making good progress across all areas of their lives. The manager and the staff work with a range of professionals to ensure that children make good progress in their education, health and social development. Current children manage full-time education with 100% attendance. Children receive the correct therapeutic interventions and, as a result, have decreased risky behaviours such as self-harm. Children have a voice in the running of the home and in decisions made about their lives. They are confident in making their voices heard. The staff take all children’s views and opinions seriously. Children listen and take the guidance that staff offer. The positive relationships enable the home to function in a calm and organised way. The staff team facilitates contact arrangements so that children can maintain healthy relationships with family and friends. Inspection report children’s home: 1235384 4

p.3

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

Safeguarding practices have improved in the last few months. In a relatively short period of time, the new manager has overseen a substantial decrease in the number and severity of self-harm incidents. Relationships with external agencies have improved, with the manager committed to maintaining the good working relationships she has developed with agencies such as the child and adolescent mental health services. The home is a safe place for the children to live in. The staff are better able to protect them. Safeguarding practices ensure that any cause for concern or allegation is managed well. The manager is suitably trained and qualified to oversee all aspects of safeguarding. She has good oversight of all records and staff practices. The staff are competent in assessing the risks and putting strategies in place to lessen the likelihood of risks occurring. Children are helped to understand the risks and how to stay safe.

p.4

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

Staff are very aware of the need to allow the children to be independent and to take appropriate risks. Feedback from children included: ‘I am happy here’, ‘I feel safe’ and ‘Staff look after me well’. The staff use individual-worker sessions to help children understand how to keep themselves safe. The staff are very aware and well informed of the risks to children in the local and wider areas. Staff were observed to be providing common-sense advice to the children. Staff follow clear strategies and apply clear boundaries. As a result, there has been a very low number of incidents of children going missing or being restrained, and of other serious incidents or matters requiring safeguarding referrals to other agencies. On one occasion, a restraint was used that was not proportionate to the incident. Staff had removed a child, after a number of behavioural strategies had been used, from the staff office

p.4

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

because of the potential damage the child may cause. The children are protected by careful recruitment procedures. Robust health and safety checks ensure that the physical environment of the home is safe and protects children from harm, or the risk of harm.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has been through a significant period of change in the last 12 months. A manager was appointed to the home and subsequently moved to the company’s post-16 provision and, as a result, withdrew her application in March 2019. Another manager was appointed and subsequently withdrew her application in August 2019 due to personal reasons. A manager has been appointed and has applied to be registered by the regulator. As a result, this has caused some unrest with the staff team and impacted on the children who say that they don’t like all the staff changes. The new manager is suitably qualified, has previous management experience and has experience of working with vulnerable children. She has had a positive impact in the home and has successfully implemented changes since her arrival. She knows the home’s strengths and has identified areas for development. This has resulted in a calm and much better organised home. The staff are more cohesive, working together well,

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report children’s home: 1235384 5 and children have made considerable progress. The manager provides strong leadership and management that the children and staff team have responded to. She provides good support to the staff and knows the children well. This means that the staff team can focus on achieving the best outcomes for children. Staff receive regular supervision and undertake a wide range of training. The transitions for the two children, one into the home and the other into semi independence, have been well planned. This has been recognised by parents and social workers and can be seen in the calm atmosphere in the home, where children have made good progress within a short period of time. Staffing numbers have improved as a result of an ongoing recruitment drive. At times, the staff from other homes are asked to cover at this home and are aware of the possible negative impact that this may have on the children. The manager’s and the

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

staff’s commitment to the children and their willingness to support each other have resulted in a strong team supporting children effectively. All children are treated as individuals, in a fair and non-discriminatory manner. The objectives of the home, as demonstrated in the statement of purpose, are embraced by the whole staff team.

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: 1235384 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Horizons (NW) Ltd

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 12, Navigation Business Village, Navigation Way, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston PR2 2YP

p.6

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Abbie Rosenblatt

p.6

Children’s home details

Inspector: Elaine Clare, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1235384 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.6

Children’s home details

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

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.7