Children's Home run by Horizon Care Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC062406 1 SC062406

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Horizon Care Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home forms part of a large social care company. The home is registered to provide care for three young people. It provides therapeutic care for young people who may have experienced neglect, abuse or trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since 8 November 2019. The manager post remains vacant.

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This monitoring visit

This home has not been inspected since 19 February 2020. Ofsted has suspended assurance visits due to the third national lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and is undertaking monitoring inspections when needed. This monitoring inspection has been undertaken to monitor children’s welfare at the home following concerns raised from recent safeguarding incidents. The inspector visited the home to conduct this monitoring visit.

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This monitoring visit

The matching of the new young people is weak. Managers do not fully consider the needs of the new young people against the needs of young people already living in the home. Subsequently, following an increase in incidents of challenging behaviour between young people, managers have made the decision to end the placement of one of the young people. This is not a positive outcome for the young person and, consequently, young people’s care is compromised.

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This monitoring visit

Staff receive regular supervision. However, staff say that they do not feel supported and morale is low. Not all staff receive annual appraisals or mandatory training when required, for example, two staff members have not had their performance appraised for over 14 months. Not all staff are debriefed following incidents. This means that staff do not always receive the support and guidance required to support them in their role. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC062406 2 Restraint is used rarely but appropriately. Care is taken to use the least restrictive interventions and only as a last resort. However, following incidents of restraint, young people are not always given the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of the restraint and why the measure was deemed appropriate to use. This creates a missed opportunity to use feedback and assessment to improve

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This monitoring visit

Recording of incidents of challenging behaviour is detailed. However, managers have not ensured that all records in the home are completed when required. For example, on one occasion when two young people were missing from care, records were only completed for one young person. Risk assessments do not include all relevant information. Key information was missing from one young person’s risk assessment regarding risks posed to her at a bridge in the local area. These omissions mean that staff do not have access to up-to-date information to help them to keep young people safe.

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This monitoring visit

The environment is not homely and there are places that require repairs. For example, there is damage to walls in several rooms and the walls are bare. Some rooms are dirty. One young person’s bedroom windows are all boarded up due to another young person repeatedly breaking the windows. The bathroom is dirty, with damage to the bath. Managers have an improvement plan for the home, which includes new sofas for the lounge. However, at the current time, young people are not provided with a home with a nurturing environment.

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This monitoring visit

In addition to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the home has also been unsettled due to managerial arrangements. The original registered manager left the organisation in November 2019. Interim management arrangements had been put in place but had failed to stabilise the home. There has been an increase in safeguarding notifications, which also coincided with a child moving into the home. There are now new interim management arrangements in place to implement a detailed action plan. Staff are responding well to these changes.

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This monitoring visit

Managers have accepted the findings of this monitoring visit and have started to address the shortfalls.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 19/02/2020 Full Good 21/11/2018 Full Outstanding 12/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/10/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC062406 3

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii)) 19 March 2021

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(d)) 19 March 2021 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC062406 4 The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

Use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(h)) 19 March 2021

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 19 March 2021

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; 19 March 2021 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC062406 5 the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 19 March 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least annually. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should ensure that staff access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and complete all required training. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC062406 6

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Horizon Care Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Agata Dokszewicz

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Inspector

Kev Brammer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC062406 7 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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