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

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2572132 1

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Horizon Care and Education Group Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is part of a large private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who have social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager were registered in March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

On 15 February 2021, Ofsted undertook a monitoring visit of the children’s home. The inspector identified that children were not effectively safeguarded. As a result, a compliance notice was issued under regulation 12 (the protection of children standard).

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This monitoring visit

Ofsted carried out this monitoring inspection in response to a serious complaint received about safeguarding practice at the home.

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This monitoring visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), Ofsted completed a risk assessment and made the decision to carry out the inspection at the home.

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This monitoring visit

Inspectors identified serious safeguarding failings resulting in children being at risk of harm. As a result, Ofsted has used its powers of enforcement to suspend the registration of the home.

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This monitoring visit

Staff response to risk-taking behaviour is not effective and places children at risk of further harm. For example, staff allow incidents to escalate and fail to intervene quickly enough to reduce risk and potential harm to children. During one incident, staff failed to intervene or respond effectively to support a child who was displaying physical aggression. As a result, this led to a member of staff being assaulted and the police were called to the home. Furthermore, two members of staff left the home during the incident as their shift had ended. This left the home significantly Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2572132 2 understaffed to effectively manage the serious incident taking place. These shortfalls compromised the safety of children and staff.

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This monitoring visit

During another incident, leaders and managers did not ensure that there were sufficient staff to manage the behaviour of children in the home. Despite Ofsted being reassured at the monitoring visit on 15 February 2021 that there were sufficient managers who could be called on in an emergency, this system failed. As a result, staff were left feeling anxious and uncertain as to how they should respond to children’s behaviour. This resulted in an incident, which escalated to the point where one child attempted to take their own life twice by using a ligature.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers fail to ensure that children’s allegations about staff are quickly addressed. Records indicate that, on 16 February 2021, a child made an allegation against a member of staff and called the police to complain. Leaders and managers were not aware of the allegation until they were alerted to this by inspectors at this monitoring visit. This ineffective leadership and management and failure to follow safeguarding procedures places children at risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

Management oversight in the home is inadequate. Monitoring and review systems are ineffective and shortfalls in the recording of key incidents have not been addressed or identified by leaders. Following two significant incidents, leaders and managers have failed to ensure that staff and children are spoken to and the incidents have not been reviewed and evaluated. This means that key information is missed, and children are not protected from harm.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that the home has a sufficient number of skilled and experienced staff to provide care for each child. They have not effectively assessed staff knowledge to ensure that they have the skills to meet the needs of the children in their care and keep them safe.

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This monitoring visit

Significant incidents involving children living at the home and allegations have not been notified to Ofsted in a timely way, and in some cases not at all, because managers and staff do not consider these to be serious. When incidents have been notified to Ofsted, they do not contain all of the necessary information. A failure to share information with all relevant people compromises the safety and welfare of children. Furthermore, the regulator is unable to carry out its monitoring function to ensure that appropriate action is taken by the provider to safeguard young people.

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This monitoring visit

While some risk assessments have been reviewed following incidents with children, they continue to give inadequate information to staff. The strategies and control measures in place do not provide specific guidance to staff to effectively manage children’s behaviour. In addition, the home’s overall bullying risk assessment identifies the risk of bullying in the home as ‘low’, but a younger child is scared of older children. Consequently, staff are not confident in supporting children during difficult times.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not help children to protect themselves from unhelpful or damaging relationships with peers in the home. For example, younger children in the home Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2572132 3 appear to feel they have to join in with older children’s negative behaviour due to feeling frightened. Staff have not been able to support children to remove themselves from these situations. Consequently, this has led to serious incidents and placed children at risk of harm. While there is some evidence that staff have taken action to promote positive relationships between children, this has been ineffective. As a result, children have been left at risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have failed to follow and adhere to children’s care plans. For example, staff asked one child’s parent to support the child for an additional night of family time due to staffing shortages. This had not been discussed with the child’s social worker or agreed in the local authority plan. Consequently, the placing authority has raised a complaint which is being investigated by senior leaders. This means that external professionals’ confidence in the home has declined and they are concerned for the welfare of children.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

This home has not received a judgement inspection. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2572132 4

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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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— mutual respect and trust; an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same; have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them; that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(x)(xiii)(b)) This relates to staff understanding and knowledge in being able to identify both the signs and impact of bullying in the home. 28 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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— *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; 14 March 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2572132 5 *have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s

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Requirement Due date

child protection policies; *that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)) This relates to staff understanding and implementation of children’s risk assessments, and their role in keeping children safe, particularly with regards to risks of physical aggression. This also refers to staff understanding and implementation of the home’s child protection procedures and action to take when a child makes an allegation. *The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— *helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and *promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— *lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with

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Requirement Due date

the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; *ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; *use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(c)(d)(e)(h)) 28 March 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2572132 6 This relates to the manager’s oversight and monitoring of children’s risk assessments and significant incidents in the home. It further relates to the manager’s oversight of staffing in the home. This also relates to the provider ensuring prompt referral of safeguarding concerns and allegations to the designated officer. 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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(2)(c)) This specifically relates to appropriate care planning for children and staff following and adhering to local authority care plans. 28 March 2021

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Requirement Due date

A responsible individual must— have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26 (7)(b)) This specifically relates to the responsible individual’s oversight and monitoring of the home and ensuring that the home’s child protection policies are followed. 28 March 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction. (Regulation 33 (1)(a)) This relates to the registered manager ensuring that staff working in the home have received an appropriate induction and support. 28 March 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. 28 March 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2572132 7 (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)(e)) This specifically relates to serious incidents in the home where Ofsted has not been notified in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are 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 children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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 and Education Group Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited, Venture House, Unit 12, Prospect Business Park, Longford Road, Cannock, Staffordshire WS11 0LG

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Inspectors

Dean Wilton, Social Care Inspector Karol Keenan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2572132 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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