Children's home run by Horizon Transitional Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 1268535 1

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Registered provider: Horizon Transitional Care Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to three children and young people aged eight to 17 years, who have a range of complex needs including autism spectrum disorder.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection, a new manager has been appointed who has recently become registered with Ofsted. At the last full inspection, the home was found to provide effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection date: 24 and 25 February 2021

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This monitoring visit

This visit took place remotely due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) restrictions. The purpose of the visit was to monitor children’s welfare given the length of time since the last inspection and that the independent visitor to the home does not always seek feedback from children about their experience or the views of professionals and other relevant people. Although this has started to improve, it has been difficult for the regulator to understand what is happening at the home for children.

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This monitoring visit

Children are well cared for by staff who know them well and create a caring and homely environment which meets their needs. Children make progress due to the security they feel and the positive relationships they develop with staff. External professionals value the quality of care and good communication by staff.

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This monitoring visit

Considerable changes have been made to improve the home environment in terms of use of rooms, decor and furnishings. Children’s rooms are now personalised to reflect each child’s personality and wishes. The lounge has been redecorated in a stylish way, which includes pictures of children, a new sofa and lamps, creating a more homely feel. In response to the current COVID-19 restrictions, the provider has invested in additional television platforms and games to keep children occupied. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 1268535 2 Suitability checks are completed when recruiting new members of staff to work at the home. Written references are now verbally verified before someone starts working in the home. Good safer recruitment practice helps to ensure that new staff are suitable to work with vulnerable children.

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This monitoring visit

Fire safety measures have improved. Recommendations from the annual fire risk assessment have been implemented and a regular health and safety audit is updated every six months. New fire doors have been installed throughout the home and unnecessary internal locks have been removed and locks to external doors adapted so that in the event of a fire, children and staff can easily exit the building to safety.

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This monitoring visit

The registered manager has not always thought through how to manage risks posed by COVID-19 to children and to others. For example, when a child returned to the home after being missing from home, he was required to isolate in his room for two days while awaiting a COVID-19 test result. This was despite not knowingly having come into contact with someone who had tested positive for the virus or displaying any symptoms. Although this was a difficult situation, it was not a child-focused or proportionate response.

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This monitoring visit

When children go missing from home, staff do not always do as much as they can to try and find the children and return them to the home quickly and safely. In addition, children do not always have the opportunity to speak to someone independent about why they went missing and what happened while they were away. This means that children may be at risk while missing for longer than they might otherwise be and lessons are not learned to prevent further episodes of going missing.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not always receive practical, detailed guidance to help them to understand what works best when children present challenges and to ensure that lessons are learned and communicated. This is a missed opportunity to support children to manage their behaviours more appropriately.

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This monitoring visit

At the last inspection, when children struggled to maintain regular school attendance, staff were too slow to escalate concerns with the children’s placing authorities. All children are now in education and professionals report good communication. However, some children are learning at home through the pandemic but records do not always show what educational activity the children are engaging in. This makes it difficult to track their progress and understand their learning needs.

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This monitoring visit

Staff feel well supported and value the support and supervision they receive from their managers. Team meetings are held regularly. Staff describe them as helpful and informative, which enables them to reflect and agree on actions.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have benefited from training to help them to understand a new approach to physical intervention. This approach is considered to be more child-centred and proportionate, and the number of incidents involving physical intervention has reduced. However, physical intervention records lack detail and clarity and so it is Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 1268535 3 difficult to understand the experience of the child and how effective the intervention was.

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This monitoring visit

Some staff have not completed the level 3 qualification within the required two-year time frame. While there have been issues with the training provider, which managers have tried to address over the last year, a small number of established care staff have not achieved the necessary qualification.

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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—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person.

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Requirement Due date

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)(v)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff respond effectively when children go missing from home and are offered a return home interview. In addition, review the approach to COVID- 6 May 2021 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 1268535 4 19 risks, to ensure a more child-focused and proportionate response in the event that a child may have had or has a COVID-19 infection and that this approach is agreed with relevant parties.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b)) 31 July 2021 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 1268535 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the ethos of the home supports each child to learn, emphasising the value of independent study and reading for enjoyment. Staff must support children with home study by encouraging them to learn independent study skills and helping them to practise those skills. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 29, paragraph 5.18)  The registered person should ensure that expectations of standards of behaviour are high for all staff and children in the home. These standards should be clear and unambiguous. Children should be supported to develop understanding and empathy towards each other. Positive behaviour and relationships should be reinforced, praised and encouraged; poor behaviour should be challenged and discussed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s

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Recommendations

policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. In particular, ensure that physical intervention records contain all required information. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4 )

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 1268535 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 Transitional Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 55 Woodfield Avenue, Wolverhampton WV4 4AG

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Inspector

Alison Smale, Her Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 1268535 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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