Children's home run by Horizon Transitional Care Ltd

Inspection report children's home: 1268535 1 Registered provider: Horizon Transitional Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides accommodation for up to three children who have a range of complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is suitably qualified and holds a level 5 qualification. The registered manager is leaving; however, a new manager has been appointed.

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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.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 24 and 25 February 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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

Date of last inspection: 5 November 2019

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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: 1268535 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/11/2019 Full Good 22/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 1268535 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with staff. The registered manager and staff know the children well and offer children care that is individual to their needs. One child, who was spoken to by the inspector, described the staff as caring. The inspector observed positive, nurturing and caring interactions between the registered manager, staff and children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff work hard to ensure that children have access to appropriate educational opportunities. Staff listen to what the children want and need, and explore different options with them. For one child, this has led to him attending training to pursue his passion for cooking, and he has also secured a one- day work placement at a local restaurant. This is excellent progress given the significant gap for this child in accessing education previously.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to make a complaint and are confident that they will be listened to. One complaint has been made, and this was responded to well by the registered manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to learn independent life skills. Staff work with children to develop these skills at a pace that is right for them, and children become more confident because of the help they receive. One child told the inspector that he will soon be undertaking weekly shopping, budgeting and cooking more regularly, which he is looking forward to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to access routine health appointments. One child, who moved into the home, had missed several immunisations in his early life. Staff responded to this promptly and ensured that these were all updated. When children require specialist support for their emotional health, this is followed up.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel welcomed into the home. Children who move on from the home generally do so in a planned way. Two children have had well planned transitions after living in the home for two years. One child returned to live with family, and another child moved on to suitable adult provision. These are excellent outcomes. However, one child had to move on from the home because staff were unable to meet their needs. From this, managers have learned to ensure that, when a new child moves in, they will seek all the relevant information from the placing authority.

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

Risk assessments and behaviour support plans are detailed and provide staff with a clear understanding of children’s needs. Staff know what they need to do to support children and help them to manage their behaviours and reduce risks. This promotes children’s safety and welfare. Inspection report children's home: 1268535 4 There are clear procedures which staff follow when children go missing from the home. A child’s views about seeing people who are important to him have been carefully considered. Actions taken in response have led to a reduction in missing- from-home incidents.

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

Children are supported by staff to talk about their feelings and develop ways to better manage their frustrations. Staff promote positive behaviours, and the need for physical intervention to keep children safe is rare. Records relating to physical interventions have recently improved, and staff receive debriefs which allow them to reflect and learn from such incidents.

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

Following an isolated incident, when some children took the home’s car keys and put themselves at risk, managers completed thorough investigations and reviewed night-time policies and procedures. Changes have been made to ensure that night- time practices are more robust, for example securing locks on the office door and safe, where keys are kept.

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

Managers ensure that staff working in the home are safely recruited. This means that only adults who have passed full recruitment checks provide care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced and has helped to develop the home. The registered manager is leaving, and the deputy has been appointed as the new manager. This will ensure consistency for children and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Strong senior leaders maintain effective oversight of the home. They have high aspirations for staff and children and have plans to further develop the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive relevant training to help them to meet the needs of children in their care. Over half the team have the required level 3 qualification in caring for children and the rest of the team are enrolled on the course.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff informed the inspector that they feel valued and supported. Supervision records show that staff have opportunities to reflect on their practice. Staff have good support in place to allow them to progress and develop their skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One parent and two social workers shared positive feedback with the inspector, stating that they receive regular updates. They also said they feel that staff and the registered manager know the children well and support their progress and welfare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has monitoring and review systems in place, but these are not always effective. For example, statutory review meeting minutes for two children were not on their files, and this had not been followed up with the respective placing authorities. In addition, following a recent incident between two children, involving concerns about internet safety, the registered manager did not liaise promptly with relevant agencies. This was addressed during the inspection. The manager had also not considered notifying Ofsted about this incident. Relevant work Inspection report children's home: 1268535 5 was done with the children about using the internet appropriately and safely, enabling them to learn from what happened. Inspection report children's home: 1268535 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considered appropriate having regard to the range of needs children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, liaise with all relevant parties to keep them updated about events at the home and to seek their advice when needed. 31 October 2021

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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 kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) 31 October 2021

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they notify Ofsted if there is an incident relating to the safeguarding of a child living in the home which they consider to be serious. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10) Inspection report children's home: 1268535 7

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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’.

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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: Carthorne Cottage, 55 Woodfield Avenue, Wolverhampton, West Midlands WV4 4AG

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Inspector

Shazana Jamal, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1268535 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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