Children's home run by New Horizons NW Limited in Sefton

Inspection report children’s home: SC473475 1 SC473475 Registered provider: New Horizons (NW) Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to five children and young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since September 2019.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC473475 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/06/2019 Full Good 24/10/2018 Full Good 08/08/2017 Full Good 20/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC473475 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people live in a caring and nurturing environment, and they are making good progress in all aspects of their lives. Children have formed positive and trusting relationships with all the members of a consistent staff team. This has given children the sense of security they need to thrive. One child said, ‘It’s really good here. The staff bring everyone together like a proper family. They really listen to us and are always there for you.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy spending time with each other and with staff. The staff team strives to create a warm, family atmosphere within the home. The staff provide children with lots of encouragement, praise and emotional support. As a result, children have matured and grown in confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are engaged in education, training and/or employment schemes. Some children who have previously struggled to engage with education have increased their attendance since living at this home. Two children are enrolled on apprenticeship schemes and have clear aspirations for future careers. One young person has a work placement at a local cafe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen to and act on children’s wishes and views. There are regular children’s meetings and children are encouraged to participate in decisions about their day-to- day care. At a recent meeting, children expressed an interest in being part of the recruitment process for new staff. The registered manager recognised the importance of this and facilitated their participation. This empowered the children to have more involvement in the way their care is delivered.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of activities both in the home and the local community. Staff are very creative and organise lots of activities in the home to keep children occupied and stimulated, for example baking, arts and crafts, pamper nights and projects in the garden. This was particularly important during the periods of national restrictions due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. One independent reviewing officer said, ‘The staff have really rallied round the children in lockdown. I was really impressed with them. They kept children occupied and pulled out all the stops to ensure they had pleasurable experiences in such a challenging time.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are being well prepared for adult life. Staff support them to learn the skills they will need to live independently with confidence. They are encouraged to plan, prepare and cook meals, and take part in daily tasks such as cleaning and laundry. Some children now travel independently to their places of work.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to keep in touch with their families and other people who are important to them. Some children have re-established links with family members and increased the amount of time they spend with them, since living at this home. Inspection report children’s home: SC473475 4 Supporting children to maintain these important relationships promotes their emotional health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff demonstrate a good understanding of children’s needs. There are robust internal communication systems in place which support staff to keep up to date with children’s changing needs. However, some aspects of care planning could be improved. Information about how staff should meet children’s needs is contained within multiple documents. This is confusing, as the information in them is sometimes different and conflicting. Furthermore, some care plans contained out-of- date information. These shortfalls could lead to children receiving inconsistent care. A recommendation has been made to improve practice in this area.

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

Children receive high levels of supervision and support that are in line with their identified needs. This helps to ensure that children are safe and protected from harm. Children told the inspector that they feel safe and they have someone they could speak to if they were worried about anything.

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

Staff have established consistent boundaries and routines, which children are responding to well. To keep them safe, some children have temporary restrictions on the amount of free time they have. Children and relevant professions are consulted about these arrangements, which are kept under regular review. This helps children to be involved in the decision-making process and to understand what is expected from them.

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

Children benefit from regular key-work sessions which help them to explore their feelings and worries. When children engage in risk-taking behaviours, staff undertake focused individual work to help educate children on the risks of their behaviours. These sessions provide a forum for children to reflect on their behaviours and the consequences of the choices they are making. One professional said, ‘The young person feels valued and hopefully now realises this is a home for her; she has stability and her behaviours have reduced considerably.’

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

At times, some children get upset and anxious, and staff have to physically intervene in order to keep children safe. These physical interventions are rare, as staff are skilled in defusing and de-escalating situations. The manager ensures that following any physical intervention, the child has an opportunity to discuss their feelings. Children are learning to manage their emotions better.

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

All staff receive safeguarding training at the start of their employment. Robust recruitment procedures ensure that all employees undergo thorough background checks prior to being offered employment. These measures help to protect children from harm.

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

The staff team know the young people well and understand their individual vulnerabilities. Staff respond quickly to emerging risks and take swift and appropriate action to ensure young people are safeguarded. However, the quality of Inspection report children’s home: SC473475 5 some risk management plans risk was variable. Some documents were not updated to reflect the current strategies and control measures that staff were using to safeguard young people. Furthermore, some plans contained conflicting information. A requirement has been made to improve practice in this area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably experienced and qualified to undertake the role. She is committed to providing high-quality, child-centred care for the children living at the home. The registered manager is well supported by her senior managers, and together they form an effective and visible leadership team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager demonstrated a comprehensive knowledge of the children’s needs. She works in a positive and proactive way with external agencies, and involves professionals when required to ensure that children’s needs are met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External professionals spoke highly of the quality of care provided for children at the home. They reported good levels of communication and have had good experiences of collaborative working. One social worker said, ‘[Young person’s name] has made good progress here and this has been a settled placement for her. The staff team manage her complexities well.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some significant incidents have occurred in the home, and staff have managed these well. However, the manager has not recorded her analysis of these incidents. This is a missed opportunity to learn from significant incidents and to shape future practice. In addition, the manager’s six-monthly review of the quality of care provided by the home lacks analysis of significant incidents. This does not support the manager to identify patterns and trends and to drive improvement. A recommendation has been made to improve practice in this area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from having regular team meetings and individual supervision sessions. Managers use supervision to set targets for staff and to monitor their performance. Supervision helps staff to understand their roles, and promotes continuous professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive training that is aligned to the needs of the children living at the home. For example, staff have recently attended training on autism spectrum disorder, prior to the admission of a young person with additional needs to the home. Staff report that the training was beneficial and increased their knowledge in this area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in the home and staff retention is high. Staff spoke enthusiastically about their roles and demonstrated a high level of commitment to the children they work with. Staff told the inspector that managers were approachable and available to support them when necessary. One member of staff said, ‘The manager is very supportive. She is open to new ideas and listens to what we have to say.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC473475 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 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)) 28 May 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s care plans reflect that they are receiving care which meets their needs and promotes their welfare, taking into account the child’s gender, religion, ethnicity, cultural and linguistic background, sexual identity, mental health, any disability, their assessed needs, previous experiences and any relevant plans (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2). Specifically, care plans should be reviewed to ensure that they contain up-to-date information on children’s support needs and clear guidance for staff on how these needs should be met.  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from

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Recommendations

disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Inspection report children’s home: SC473475 7

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and children, 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: SC473475 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Horizons (NW) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: New Horizons (NW) Ltd, Unit 12, Riversway Business Village, Navigation Way, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston PR2 2YP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Natalie Waterhouse

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Inspector

Sophie Thomson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC473475 9 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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