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

Inspection report children's home: 1276442 1 Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private organisation and provides care and accommodation for up to three children. According to the statement of purpose, the home caters for children with complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in September 2018.

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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: Inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit was undertaken on 3 August 2021 following an inspection judgement of inadequate. A compliance notice issued in respect of regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard) was met. Inspection report children's home: 1276442 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/06/2021 Full Inadequate 05/02/2020 Full Outstanding 19/03/2019 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 1276442 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There has been an improvement in the quality of care provided to children, because of improvements to the staffing arrangements. There is now a stable core staff team. Staff are committed to building and maintaining positive relationships with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to engage in education, and achievements are celebrated. One child, who finds change difficult, has recently been supported to successfully move from school to college. He spoke very positively about his aspiration to pursue a career in motor vehicle mechanics. Another child, who is struggling to cope in the classroom environment, is being carefully encouraged by staff. The manager is working closely with other professionals to seek alternative education opportunities. A sensitive, well-planned approach to supporting children to achieve in education increases their chance of success.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have well-planned key-work programmes which are aligned to the goals identified in their placement plans. In some instances, conversations between staff and children are recorded inaccurately as additional key-work sessions. However, there are some excellent examples where key-work sessions give children the opportunity to talk about the things which matter most to them. One child is being sensitively supported to understand more about their sexuality. A key-work session centred around attending a Pride event helped them understand what to expect at the event. Staff promote an inclusive culture which promotes equality and diversity and enables children to explore their developing sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Working in partnership with people who are important to children is given high priority. Managers proactively seek to welcome children’s families to the home. An inclusive approach helps children to maintain positive relationships with their families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s independence is fully promoted, and staff are committed to preparing children to live more independently in the future. Staff are responsive when children are reluctant to engage in independence activities. Staff find creative ways of trying to motivate children. However, children’s progress in relation to independence skills is not routinely documented in records of achievement. As a result, there are missed opportunities for celebrating success.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in relation to their social and emotional well-being. The social worker for one child who has recently left the home said, ‘I am so impressed; I saw this child transformed.’ The social worker went on to describe the significant reduction in the number of behavioural incidents involving the child. The social worker said that, because of the child’s relationships with the staff, they learnt how to be reflective and express how they were feeling without getting angry. Inspection report children's home: 1276442 4 Building and maintaining positive relationships with staff makes children feel secure and cared for and enables them to make good progress.

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

Children’s safety and well-being is a priority. Managers make sure that children are aware of their own risk assessments, and of the plans in place to reduce risks. Empowering children to have a view about how their own risks are managed contributes to their protection and sense of security.

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

A recent incident, which led to an allegation against staff, was dealt with quickly to ensure the child’s safety. However, there was a delay in the incident being reported to external safeguarding professionals. This was a missed opportunity for timely independent scrutiny of the plans which were put in place to safeguard the child.

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

Following all behavioural incidents, the manager carries out a thorough review with the children and staff involved. Learning is shared with the child’s social worker, which demonstrates transparency and effective joint working. Due to the positive relationships enjoyed between children and staff, the use of physical intervention is rare. The inspector found one example of a sanction being discussed in a key-work session because a child held the view that it had not been fairly applied. Staff had not recognised the action as a sanction, and therefore it was not recorded as such. As a result, this incident of behaviour management was not subject to the same level of management scrutiny that is applied to other incidents.

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

Recent recruitment of staff has been successful, and there is now a full staff team in place. Managers are currently seeking to employ an additional staff member so that there are no shortfalls in staffing when there are planned or unplanned staff absences. Changes to recruitment practices demonstrate that safe recruitment is now understood and implemented by the manager and staff responsible for this area of practice. This reduces the potential for unsuitable adults to be employed at the home.

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

The constant one-to-one staffing level, needed to keep one child safe, is rigorously applied. There are occasions when this level of supervision has the potential to have a negative impact on the child’s day-to-day life. Staff are mindful of this and ensure that children get the support they need to safely enjoy activities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate in her efforts to be a trusted figure for the children, and she has high aspirations for what children can achieve. This makes the manager a good role model for the staff. The manager receives excellent support from the responsible individual. Together, they have taken positive steps to address the shortfalls identified at the last full inspection. Inspection report children's home: 1276442 5 Changes to the organisation’s internal structures have strengthened the support services available to the management team. As a result, staffing issues such as disciplinary matters can be addressed promptly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers make sure that staff are given the training and support they need to provide high-quality care to children. Staff speak positively about their induction training, which has recently been reviewed and improved. Staff are fully informed about the therapeutic model which is at the centre of the home’s ethos. This therapeutic approach reduces the likelihood of behaviour management being necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team understands the importance of working in partnership with other professionals. Managers keep other professionals fully informed about children’s progress. Managers proactively advocate for children and challenge decisions made by other professionals when they believe those decisions are not made with children’s best interests in mind.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers facilitate monthly meetings between the staff team and the organisation’s psychologist. These meetings provide opportunities for staff to understand the reasons for children’s behaviour and to agree the best strategies to care for them and keep them safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management have a well-informed awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. They have been responsive when external monitoring systems have identified areas for development. The managers demonstrate a commitment to ensuring continuous improvement. Inspection report children's home: 1276442 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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to ensuring that external safeguarding agencies are contacted without delay, in the event of an allegation of abuse against a person working in the home. 30 November

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s staff recognise and celebrate the achievements of their children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.7) Inspection report children's home: 1276442 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’. Inspection report children's home: 1276442 8

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rebecca Grimshaw

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Inspector

Helen Simmons, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1276442 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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