Children's home run by Horizon Care and Education Group Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1256795 1 Registered provider: Horizon Care And Education Group Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately registered children’s home which provides care and accommodation for up to four children or young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or moderate learning disabilities. The home offers short, medium and/or long-term residential placements for children and young people aged eight to 18 years of age. The home aims to provide a period of stability to allow children and young people to reflect on their difficulties and make future plans based on a comprehensive assessment of their social, emotional, physical and/or educational needs.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1256795 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/04/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/01/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/11/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1256795 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The relationships forged between children and young people and the staff team are excellent. This is because staff act as positive role models and do what good parents would do. Fun, laughter and appropriate affection is the underpinning ethos of the home. This helps children and young people to feel relaxed and safe in the knowledge that they can be themselves. The staff genuinely want the children and young people to achieve, and work extremely hard to support them to make progress. The home has a therapeutic approach to parenting. Children and young people receive consistent care from a well-trained and supported staff team. All behaviour is supported in an empathetic and restorative way. Regular key-working sessions focus on healthy relationships, thoughts and feelings, and identity. Children and young people attend well-matched school and college placements and are making good progress. There is effective multi-agency work between the home,

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

schools, and the virtual school. One school said, ‘The home is really good, communication is great, [young person] has a really strong team around her. The manager is passionate about the young people in his care.’ The children and young people’s health needs are met and they now attend regular check-ups, including dentist, opticians, and health assessments. Other specialist services, including sexual health, drugs and alcohol services, and LGBTQ groups, are also accessed by the children and young. The home is well maintained. Bedrooms are personalised and have a warm, cosy feel. Throughout the home, artwork that has been created by the children and young people is on show, which helps make a homely and relaxed environment. There is a new sensory room which has soft furnishings, toys and soothing lights. Children and young people say that they like their home and that ‘it’s a good place to live’. Professionals are extremely positive about the service and the impact that staff have

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

had on the lives of children and young people. One social worker described the change in the young person as ‘remarkable’. She also went on to say that staff ‘love’ (young person) and that ‘they deeply care for him.’ Parents are equally positive about the service. They feel safe in the knowledge that their children and young people are well looked after.

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

The staff team has the ability to help children and young people to form secure relationships and to feel safe. Safeguarding incidents are well managed. The few that have occurred have been reported to the relevant professionals. Children and young people discuss with staff Inspection report children’s home: 1256795 4 any concerns that they have, and trust staff to keep them safe. One young person said, ‘I was difficult at first, but they stuck with me, they didn’t give up on me.’ Risk assessments are detailed and easy to understand. There is a robust admission process which ensures that children and young people are appropriately matched. The manager escalates concerns to relevant professionals when there have been any safeguarding concerns. The response of the home and other professionals has effectively safeguarded the young people. All safeguarding incidents in the home have been reported, though this has not

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

always been done promptly. For example, not all notifications to Ofsted have been made in a timely manner. Missing from home incidents are rare. There have been no incidents of restraint or bullying. The use of distraction and deflection has helped young people to learn appropriate ways of expressing themselves. Risk-taking behaviour that was previously present has significantly reduced. This is a result of the consistent therapeutic parenting by the staff team. Children and young people have regular key-work sessions on how to keep themselves safe. This helps young people understand risk and develop a concept of situations, places and people that could make them unsafe. The registered manager ensures that staff receive regular safeguarding training. This enables them to recognise and respond effectively to child protection concerns. However, the staff team requires further training and knowledge on ‘county lines’

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

which will further strengthen its knowledge on safeguarding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s manager is passionate and ambitious. The manager is well respected by staff and other professionals. His commitment to create positive outcomes for the children and young people has created an aspirational culture throughout the staff team. The manager has strong leadership skills and has made a big difference over the past 12 months. One staff member commented that ‘the home has massively improved’. The retention level of staff is high. As a result, children and young people are being looked after by staff whom they know and trust. Staff are happy, supported and feel safe, which is explicit in how they care for the children and young people. Supervision is regular, and the children and young people are always the topic of conversation. The induction and training programme for staff is robust and from the onset staff are supported to develop their knowledge of therapeutic parenting. The team also

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

has the support from a clinical therapeutic team. This means that children and young people have a consistent approach to care from staff. The manager clearly understands the children and young people’s needs. He and the staff team work with other agencies including education, health and specialist services. This has resulted in positive outcomes being achieved for each child and Inspection report children’s home: 1256795 5 young person. One young person has successfully moved on from the home to semi- independent living, and another young person plans to do so later this year. Other children and young people are making notable progress, and one young person has the potential of being reunified with family. The manager knows the strengths of the home and, over the past 12 months, has incorporated the children and young people’s views to help shape how the home is run. There are positive relationships with parents and professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from all key stakeholders needs to be sought on a more regular basis so that this can further contribute towards the development of the home. The home’s development plan needs to be more specific to where the home is in the ‘here and now’. Inspection report children’s home: 1256795 6

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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 registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(e)) 6 March 2020

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards,’ page 53, paragraph 10.11) Ensure that staff have access to county lines training.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: 1256795 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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Inspectors

Aaron Mcloughlin, Social Care Inspector Ceri Evans, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1256795 8 to 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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