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

Inspection report children’s home: 1234244 1 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 is a privately owned home that offers care and accommodation for three children, irrespective of gender. The home aims to create a therapeutic environment for children.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 28 to 29 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

Date of last inspection: 10 December 2018

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1234244 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/12/2018 Full Good 17/05/2017 Full Good 05/10/2016 Full Good

p.2

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 safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress. They are helped and supported by adults who care about them. Children have formed trusting and secure relationships with the staff. These relationships have improved their emotional well-being. One child was described by a professional as being ‘settled, happy and well adjusted’. Staff know the children well and help them to develop skills and strategies to manage their feelings.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has recently been decorated. It feels warm and welcoming. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to reflect their individual tastes. Photographs are displayed around the home showing children taking part in activities and enjoying holidays. As a result, children have a sense of belonging in the home.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have clear and consistent routines. All the children attend full-time education and are making progress. Staff attend school meetings and parents’ evenings, resulting Inspection report children’s home: 1234244 3 in good communication with schools. Children’s timetables and support arrangements have been adapted in line with their particular needs. This helps them to make good progress.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The therapeutic model of care is consistently applied by staff when caring for the children. All staff have received training in this approach. Children benefit from having meaningful therapeutic support plans that are kept under regular review by qualified staff. New child-friendly care plans are currently being put into place. This will give children the opportunity to comment on and contribute to their plans.

p.3

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

Children are safer because incidents of children going missing and self-harm have reduced in number. All incidents are well managed. Staff work well with other agencies and professionals to learn lessons from incidents. Good-quality work is carried out with children to understand the reasons for risk-taking behaviours. All children have clear risk assessments in place. These are regularly reviewed and updated. Staff have a good understanding of how to manage any risks.

p.3

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

Children are cared for by staff who have a good understanding of child protection. When allegations or safeguarding concerns have been raised, these have been dealt with immediately. All concerns have been shared with appropriate safeguarding agencies. Staff understand the risks posed to children when they are online. Additional support is accessed from external agencies, when needed, to address risks. Children have trusting relationships with the staff. This means that children are comfortable about discussing any concerns they may have.

p.3

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

All children and staff take part in regular fire drills. Fire safety systems are generally effective. However, some fire doors are routinely wedged open. This practice has the potential to be hazardous, but is not currently addressed in the home’s fire risk assessment.

p.3

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

Recruitment procedures are good. All relevant checks are completed, including verification of references. The registered manager is not yet verifying that adequate recruitment checks have been undertaken on all agency staff working in the home.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has high aspirations for the children and high expectations of the staff. The manager is very organised and keen to further develop the home and the staff team. There is good management oversight of the home. Feedback from children, parents and professionals is regularly sought. This has been used to further improve the home.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported and have regular supervision. Appraisals are detailed, with clear Inspection report children’s home: 1234244 4 action plans. The manager uses performance indicators and competency frameworks to help staff understand the expectations of their individual roles. As a result, staff feel valued and morale is good.

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff have received mandatory training alongside a wide range of additional specific training. New staff have had detailed inductions. The manager has invested a lot of time in staff development and training. As a result, children are being cared for by staff who are equipped to meet their needs.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has established good links with other professionals, such as social workers, education staff and the police. Communication with external agencies is excellent. All necessary information is shared in a timely manner. This ensures that everyone involved in the care of children is able to respond to any concerns swiftly.

p.4

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.4

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: 1234244 5

p.4

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited

p.5

Children’s home details

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

p.5

Inspector

Sarah Orriss: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1234244 6 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.5

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.6

Inspector

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

p.6

Inspector

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

p.6