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

Inspection report children’s home: 1235654 1 Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people who may require support in respect of social and/or emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned and managed by a private organisation. There is no permanent manager in post. Another manager within the organisation is providing management support.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

Good

How well children and young people are helped and protected Good

p.1

Good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

Good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

Good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

p.1

Good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1235654 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 18/06/2019 Full Good 01/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/06/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1235654 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress in education. One young person has achieved a qualification in motor mechanics and is being supported to find an apprenticeship. Other young people have education placements secured for September 2021. For one young person, this is a bespoke education package that meets his specific academic and vocational needs.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are supported to take responsibility for their routine health needs. Tailored conversations between young people and the staff assigned to care for them are used to help young people prepare and plan for these appointments. If young people require more specialist support to meet their healthcare needs, staff ensure that this support is sought and provided.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress in areas of life that are important to them. This ranges from engaging in leisure activities, such as boxing or fishing, to developing independent-living skills. Staff accept that progress for young people does not always go smoothly. Staff provide consistent support which helps young people get back on track and make progress towards their goals

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have requested not to have formal meetings where their views are sought collectively. They are happy to talk to staff about issues as and when they arise. Staff also use regular tailored conversations to seek young people’s views on a range of topics. Young people know how to make a complaint. When they do, their complaints are taken seriously and are fully investigated and addressed.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are settled and have trusted relationships with staff, especially with their key workers. Young people have requested that staff support them in some personal challenging situations. Staff know young people very well. One professional said, ‘They know him inside out.’

p.3

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

Young people are kept safe, and they feel safe. There have been no allegations or referrals to the designated officer. Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding processes and know what they should do if they have a concern.

p.3

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

Staff have raised concerns about young people’s online activity. Staff have worked with partner agencies to address the concerns and have taken appropriate action. Although safeguards are in place, not all risks around game consoles have been thoroughly assessed.

p.3

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

Tailored key-work conversations are used to help young people reflect on how they have responded to difficult or challenging situations. Some key workers are Inspection report children’s home: 1235654 4 especially skilled at these conversations. They support the young person to problem solve and find their own solutions and outcomes.

p.3

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

Young people rarely go missing, and when they do staff take appropriate action to keep them safe and support them to return quickly.

p.4

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

Behaviour support plans are regularly reviewed and updated. However, the guidance to staff is not specific enough in some instances. For example, it is not clear how and when staff should support young people to maintain a reasonable standard of cleanliness of their bedrooms. Although staff appear to have a common understanding of expectations, the lack of direction could cause inconsistency in their support to young people.

p.4

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

There have been significant improvements to the environment. Young people and staff say that the house has a homely and welcoming feel and is a nice place to live.

p.4

good

The management arrangements have been unsettled for the last few months. A newly appointed manager left after six months and there has been no permanent manager since the beginning of June. Other senior staff, although experienced within the organisation, are also new to the home.

p.4

good

Although there has not been a significant impact on the daily needs of the young people, there is nobody who has a thorough overview of each young person. For example, young people’s basic cultural needs are being met, but there is no plan in place to expand and develop this. Similarly, some health needs are met on a day-to- day basis, but there is no longer-term plan to address the underlying causes.

p.4

good

There is a lack of management oversight. Meetings where decisions need to be made about how to support young people are not being followed up. Information from other agencies is not shared with all staff in a timely manner. Documents that provide guidance to staff about how to support young people are not updated in light of new information. Similarly, communication with families and professionals has been variable. This has the potential to impact on the consistency and quality of care provided to young people.

p.4

good

Another manager within the organisation has been providing support. Staff say that regular supervision and team meetings help them to feel supported. Staff are up to date with all mandatory training. Additional training to meet the specific needs of young people has been provided. Inspection report children’s home: 1235654 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

p.5

Requirement Due date

helps young people aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, to ensure that there is management oversight of care planning with clear and consistent guidance to staff about how to support young people. 1 September 2021

p.5

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: 1235654 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited

p.6

Children’s home details

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

p.6

Inspector

Alison Marshall, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1235654 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.

p.6

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7