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

Inspection report children’s home: SC482223 1 SC482223 Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home provides care and accommodation for three children who may require support in respect of social and/or emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The manager was registered with Ofsted in January 2019 and holds the required level 5 qualification.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 18 to 19 November 2019

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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit was carried out following receipt of a complaint in March 2019. No further action was required. Another complaint was received in November 2019. The matters raised were explored as part of this inspection. Inspection report children’s home: SC482223 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/10/2018 Full Good 17/10/2017 Full Good 19/12/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/05/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC482223 3

p.2

Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

p.3

Recommendations

In particular, ensure that, where possible, contact is made with family members or most recent carers to explore current issues and presenting behaviours.

p.3

Recommendations

 As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

p.3

Recommendations

In particular, ensure that supervision meetings occur at a frequency in line with the home’s policies and procedures.

p.3

Recommendations

 Regulation 40(4) requires the registered person to notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in regulation 40(4)(a)-(d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious (40(4)(e)). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10)

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Following the monitoring visit, which was carried out in March 2019, the home has been settled. This changed recently due to a child in placement needing additional support and another child being placed at the home in an emergency. The decision to place the child in an emergency was made without full information. Had full information been available, this might have influenced the decision to move the child in. However, at the time of the inspection the house was calm and settled.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite some significant events, the children continue to make good progress. Parents are complimentary about the difference that living here has made to their children. They spoke about how the team supports children, and them as parents. One parent Inspection report children’s home: SC482223 4 described it as ‘a home from home’. This is achieved through staff establishing a good rapport with the children and successfully utilising various strategies to build levels of trust and engagement.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children often arrive at the home without having a school placement. The team quickly establishes educational routines, which usually commence with home tuition. The two children living here have struggled to maintain their school placements or engagement with their tutors. The team is working closely with the relevant parties to identify alternative provisions.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have quickly recognised when children have experienced a decline in their mental health. This proactive response has ensured that children swiftly receive the additional external support they require.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and wishes are sought in different ways, such as in everyday discussions, keywork sessions and house meetings. The manager responds to the children’s requests via personalised letters. This demonstrates to the children that their views have been heard and will be acted on.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children attend a wide range of extra-curricular activities, and they have their siblings or friends over to visit. These experiences ensure that the children maintain family relationships and friendships, and this enables them to have similar experiences to their peers.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to move on in a positive way. Staff offer support with additional visits to them in hospital, or at their new homes. This ongoing support is then gradually reduced as the children become settled in their new surroundings.

p.4

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

The children have been through a difficult period. Some of their behaviours appear to be mirroring those of children who have now moved on. Other behaviours are linked to inappropriate friendship groups or unhealthy attachments. Staff are working with the children to ensure that they understand how to keep themselves safe and avoid placing themselves at risk. It is positive that staff are doing this in a non-risk-averse way, such as allowing a child planned free time when they regularly go out without permission. This approach has led to trust being established and a reduction in the need to report the child as missing.

p.4

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

While the children are away from the placement, staff carry out regular welfare checks and telephone calls. If they fail to contact the child, they follow the child’s missing-from- home protocols. These processes provide staff with clarity about the steps they need to follow in these situations.

p.4

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

Keywork sessions are used to tackle potential areas of risk and concern. The children’s participation levels in these sessions vary, so staff use creative ways to informally engage them in these conversations. Inspection report children’s home: SC482223 5 A recommendation has been raised relating to the matching of children’s needs, as a result of an unplanned emergency placement. When this placement was made, the decision to move the child into the home was likely to increase the risk of them being criminalised. Sadly, this is not in keeping with the organisation’s stance of avoiding the criminalisation of the children they care for. The manager’s subsequent actions demonstrate that the home has considered lessons learned and practices have been modified. For example, children can now only be admitted to the home on a planned basis.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is very competent, and her staff describe her as supportive. She remains ambitious yet realistic about the service. She is disappointed about the impact of recent events, considering the extended settled periods and positive outcomes that children are achieving.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

She, and her team, sensitively manage the relationship with their local community. This is to minimise any potentially negative impact on the local area. Professionals say that they are happy with the care provided, and the level of communication with children and their families, and professionals.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed her core staff team, and she helps staff to recognise their own potential. Staff undergo a comprehensive programme of training. However, staff supervision is not always occurring at a frequency in line with the organisation’s policies and procedures.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has made several notifications to Ofsted. On occasion, these have been made late or have been missed. On other occasions, notifications have been made for matters that were not significant events. The manager is reviewing the process, along with other managers within the organisation.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

She is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the service. Her development plan details how these aspects will be addressed, including using her internal audits and the monthly independent visitor reports as tools for improvement.

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 Inspection report children’s home: SC482223 6 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: SC482223 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Venture House, Unit 12, Prospect Business Park, Longford Road, Cannock WS11 0LG

p.7

Inspector

Sonia Hay, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC482223 8 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.7

Inspector

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.8

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8