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

Information about this children’s home

This home is privately run and provides care and accommodation for up to four children or young people. The children and young people require care and support to deal with their emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection date: 5 February 2020

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Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection judgement: Declined in effectiveness

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Information about this visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), Ofsted suspended all routine inspections in March 2020. As part of a phased return to routine inspection, we are undertaking assurance visits to children’s social care services that are inspected under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF).

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Information about this visit

At these visits, inspectors evaluate the extent to which:  children are well cared for  children are safe  leaders and managers are exercising strong leadership.

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Information about this visit

This visit was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, following the published guidance for assurance visits.

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Information about this visit

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s social care system has delivered child-centred practice and care within the context of the restrictions placed on society during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Findings from the visit

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance visit. Assurance visit report: 2494962 2

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The care of children

Children and young people currently living in this home make good progress overall. Staff are adaptive in their approach when responding to each child or young person’s unique and different needs. As a result, children and young people overcome challenges and make good progress in many aspects of their lives.

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The care of children

Staff encourage and support children and young people to attend school. Staff work closely with education colleagues to ensure that barriers to participation are minimised. As a result, children and young people’s opportunities to learn have continued throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

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The care of children

Family contact is encouraged and supported by staff. Where appropriate, staff have promoted face-to-face contact during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has contributed to improved relationships between the children and the key people in their lives.

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The care of children

The regular social and leisure activities provided to the children and young people reflect their wishes, choices and interests. For example, children and young people have enjoyed going to the seaside, playing snooker, going to the cinema, having beauty sessions and playing games.

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The care of children

The house feels like a family home. The children and young people live in a home environment that is decorated and furnished to a good standard. The atmosphere is welcoming, and the children and young people are comfortable in their surroundings.

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The safety of children

Some children and young people have had an unsettled period and exhibited risky behaviour, for example in going missing from the home and taking part in anti-social behaviour and drug misuse. Such behaviour was compromising their safety and welfare. However, the manager and staff displayed a strong commitment to overcoming the difficulties, and effective action was taken to address these concerns. As a result, the children and young people are more settled, and their risk- taking behaviour has reduced.

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The safety of children

The manager and staff ensure that all children and young people’s risk assessments are constantly reviewed, taking into consideration the COVID-19 pandemic and the easing of restrictions. Good levels of communication within the team ensure that everyone is aware of presenting issues or concerns and how to manage these effectively.

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The safety of children

Some children and young people do go missing from the home. However, the staff respond to incidents effectively. There are clear procedures that staff follow. This includes going out looking for the children and young people and contacting relevant professionals. Furthermore, the manager requests relevant meetings when needed to help respond to and minimise any known risks. Assurance visit report: 2494962 3 Staff work directly with children and young people, using everyday resources in a way that encourages them to talk about their feelings and behaviours. This has helped children and young people to better understand risk and how to keep themselves safe. However, the quality of direct-work records is variable. These records do not fully evidence the in-depth work undertaken with children and young people. This is a missed opportunity to highlight some of the good work undertaken by staff.

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Leaders and managers

The home is managed well. The manager is child focused and has a thorough understanding of the specific needs of the children and young people who live in the home.

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Leaders and managers

Staff spoken to during the visit said that the manager provides effective leadership to the staff team. Staff feel well supported in their roles and have access to regular team meetings and supervision. This helps to develop their practice. Partnership working is effective. The manager and staff team develop positive relationships with the placing social workers and external agencies. This means that children and young people have access to the right levels of support.

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Leaders and managers

The staff have received all required training, and more specialist training is available if needed. This helps to ensure that the staff are equipped to meet the individual needs of the children and young people living in the home.

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Leaders and managers

Children and young people move to the home in a planned way. This helps them to settle and understand what to expect. However, the records relating to the matching process lack detail. For example, there is no evidence in the impact risk assessment to show how the children are matched to the home or how their behaviour may impact on others. This process does not assist the manager in making informed decisions about future admissions. The manager undertakes regular monitoring of the home to ensure that it operates in accordance with the statement of purpose. The manager has a realistic understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the service.

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Leaders and managers

The requirements raised at the last inspection have been met.

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Recommendations

 Children’s homes provide support and care for some of our most vulnerable children and young people. We want each child in care to be provided with the right placement at the right time, and for residential childcare to be a positive and beneficial choice for the children and young people living in children’s homes. Assurance visit report: 2494962 4 (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 4, paragraph 1.1)

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Recommendations

 In particular, improve the quality of information in impact risk assessments. Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) In particular, ensure that direct-work sessions are written up in suitable detail.

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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

Debbie Foster, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: 2494962 5 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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