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

Inspection report children’s home: 1234243 1 Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This three-bedded home aims to provide children with a warm, homely and non- institutionalised environment. The manager registered in December 2018 and is currently undertaking the required level 5 qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 11 to 12 December 2019

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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 good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 26 February 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1234243 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/02/2019 Full Good 22/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/09/2017 Full Good 06/12/2016 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: 1234243 3

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislation (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  Medicines must be administered in line with a medically approved protocol. Records must be kept of the administration of all medication, which includes occasions when prescribed medication is refused. Regulation 23 requires the registered person to ensure that they make suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. These are fundamentally the same arrangements as a good parent would make but are subject to additional

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Recommendations

safeguards. Where the home has questions or concerns about a child’s medication, they should approach an expert such as a general medical practitioner, community pharmacist or designated nurse for looked-after children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)  Where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded, or not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. If no education place is identified by the placing authority, the registered person must challenge them to meet the child’s needs under Regulation 5 (engaging with the wider system to

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Recommendations

ensure children’s needs are being met). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  Staff should report any allegation of abuse immediately to a senior manager within the home. Any allegation of harm or abuse must be addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.17) Inspection report children’s home: 1234243 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a consistent staff team. Staff work very well together to provide a stable environment for young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage good behaviour by building strong relationships with young people. Staff set firm but realistic boundaries. They use humour to de-escalate any challenging behaviour. Staff build young people’s self-esteem by giving positive feedback when young people improve their behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people can express their views in regular house meetings. These meetings are informal but effective. Young people make choices about activities and menus, as well as talking through any concerns they may have. Young people are encouraged to participate in family-style mealtimes. By sitting together and talking with staff, they improve their communication and social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people know how to complain. Managers respond to complaints in writing. This means that young people feel listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some young people are at the point of important education milestones. When young people are struggling with their education, staff work to ensure that academic achievement remains a key focus for them. However, staff are not yet doing enough to support young people who are not attending school to engage in educational activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage young people to lead healthy lifestyles. They do this by providing nutritious meals and encouraging young people to participate in physical activities. However, robust systems to ensure the safe administration and recording of medication are not in place. Although this has had no impact on young people, there is the potential for medication errors.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and homely. Young people make choices about improvements to decor. However, there are areas that need improvement. For example, there are some cracks visible as a result of subsidence. At present, some areas are quite plainly decorated, but plans are in place to add new pictures to communal areas.

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

Staff have the skills to keep young people safe. Good safeguarding training is provided. This begins with thorough and very effective induction training. Training is child-centred. For example, staff received specific training to address the needs of one young person. This was effective, helping staff to improve their behaviour management strategies.

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

Staff ensure that young people have quick access to specialist health services. As a result of good joint working with health professionals, a distraction box was developed and used to support young people to develop safer behaviours and better emotional Inspection report children’s home: 1234243 5 well-being.

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

When young people go missing, staff encourage them to return to the home. They do this by following them and attempting to maintain contact. Independent return interviews do not always take place quickly enough. This means that the reasons for going missing are not always explored and emerging patterns may not be identified.

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

Physical intervention is used only when necessary to keep young people safe. Good- quality restraint records enable the manager to carry out a careful review of each incident. Restorative justice approaches are also used so that young people can learn about the impact of negative behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers support the staff team well. Team meetings are used effectively to improve the knowledge and skills of staff. For example, specialist clinicians attend staff meetings to give advice on the specific needs of young people. Good staff support systems ensure that staff are motivated and empowered to deliver good-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision is effective. This means that managers know the strengths and areas for development of their staff team. Staff are supported to improve their care practice. For example, more experienced staff provide peer support to new starters.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers want the very best for their young people. They challenge young people’s local authorities if any aspect of care planning is not effective. They could enhance this by escalating concerns more promptly if improvements do not take place quickly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers’ monitoring systems and the monthly independent visits are used effectively to promote improvement. Any emerging trends or patterns are identified. Strategies to deal with shortfalls are quickly developed. However, managers are not carefully reviewing all records. This has meant that a potential allegation made by a child has not been recognised as such.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training and induction are of a good standard. Bespoke training is commissioned when necessary to meet the needs of young people. The manager is also committed to her own professional development. She has attended a workshop run by the police about county lines and young people who go missing from care.

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children’s home: 1234243 6 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: 1234243 7

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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

Simon Hunter: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1234243 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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