Children's Home run by Horizon Care and Education Group Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC463852 1 SC463852 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

This privately run home offers support and therapeutic care for up to four children who may have experienced neglect, abuse or trauma which has left them vulnerable.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspection of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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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: 25 September 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 for children's home: SC463852 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/09/2019 Full Good 19/12/2018 Full Good 10/08/2017 Full Good 02/05/2017 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: SC463852 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive experiences while living in this home. A motivated and dedicated staff team provides children with a supportive and nurturing environment. One child described the staff as ‘accepting and reassuring’. This has led to children making good progress since moving into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The living environment is beautifully decorated. The children have personalised their bedrooms, and the hallways display photos which capture special moments spent together. In addition, the children have contributed to the redecoration of the communal spaces, which has included taking photos of animals at the local nature reserve. This promotes a sense of belonging and pride.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff successfully support the children to make good academic progress. Children have good school attendance and are working towards suitable qualifications. All children have individual education plans where staff track target grades and attendance and identify areas of further support. This helps to evaluate the children’s outcomes and supports children to reach their full potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to engage in a wide variety of activities both in the home and in the wider community. Children have their own interests, such as attending a local rugby club and visiting theme parks and one child has completed a diving qualification. In addition, children are encouraged to welcome friends to the home for sleepovers and themed dinners. These activities help the children have fun, build confidence and develop their social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff ensure that services are in place to address the children’s emotional health needs. Clinical support plans are completed each month by the home’s clinical team, and these review each child’s emotional well-being and help to inform and evaluate care. In addition, the children access direct work, which is planned at a pace that suits the individual. As a result, children’s psychological and emotional health improves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s written records reflect the journey of their time spent at the home. This is a thoughtful recognition of each child’s progress and reflection of what else can be done. In addition, the children are encouraged and supported to share their views on the care they receive. Children have influence over the location of their next home and the arrangements for their time spent with family. This inclusive approach helps the children to reflect on their experiences and informs their sense of identity. Inspection report for children's home: SC463852 4

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

Children feel safe in this home. They are confident that staff will listen to them and take any concerns seriously. One child said, ‘There have been many times where I have felt unsafe, but never here.’

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

Children’s behaviour has significantly improved over time. Staff are knowledgeable about risk and vulnerabilities and actively talk to the children about keeping themselves safe. However, written risk assessments require more detail. For example, the impact of a child smoking is not fully considered. The lack of detail in risk assessments may lead to inconsistencies in staff practice and may compromise the well-being of children.

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

Incidents of children going missing from home and physical restraint are rare. This is because of the strength of the relationships between the children and staff. During inspection, warm and humorous interactions between the children and staff were seen. The open and honest communication in the home means that the children can discuss worries and concerns. Children’s positive behaviour is also recognised and rewarded by staff. The staff follow a restorative approach to respond to negative behaviours and will undertake additional key-working sessions. This motivates the children to understand their vulnerabilities.

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

Staff have well-established working relationships with a range of external professionals. The manager attends regular meetings with local safeguarding teams to build an understanding of risks in the area, which then informs the home’s location review. In addition, the police hold educational workshops for the children in the home to help them understand risks themselves. This enables the children to work toward more positive outcomes.

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

Staff do not always ensure that medication is administered correctly. There are occasions when staff have not followed the instructions on the prescription and an occasion when a dose had been missed. This could have a negative impact on children’s health.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is qualified and has relevant experience for the role. She is passionate and provides strong leadership. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she demonstrated great commitment by moving into the home. This ensured that the children received consistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff group in the home is consistent and stable. Team meetings and supervisions are regular, reflective and evaluative, which means that staff are supported in their roles. During the inspection, staff told the inspector they feel valued and highly motivated. They said that they can contact the manager at any time and she will provide support and guidance. This means that children are receiving care from dedicated staff members, which has enabled children to build strong and trusting relationships. Inspection report for children's home: SC463852 5 All staff have completed mandatory training. However, the manager has not ensured that staff have completed training specific to the needs of the children, such as training in alcohol and drug awareness. Therefore, staff may lack an understanding of how this affects the children’s lives. During inspection, the manager took immediate action to rectify this shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One child’s case file does not contain all the required information. There is evidence of the manager escalating concerns to the local authority. However, the information is still not available. As a result, staff do not always have the information they need to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals comment on the effective working partnerships and the positive difference that the manager and staff team have made to the children’s lives. Families spoke highly of the home. They said that the staff and managers keep them informed and that communication is good.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has ensured that requirements from the last inspection have been met. During this inspection, the manager demonstrated enthusiasm and capacity for developing the service by compiling an action plan to address the shortfalls. This ensures that the quality of care that the children receive is improved. Inspection report for children's home: SC463852 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))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that the children’s risk assessments consider and assess all known risks. 20 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that medication is administered to children as prescribed. 20 December

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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; and 20 December Inspection report for children's home: SC463852 7 are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the need for a child’s care plan to be kept up to date.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff have access to appropriate resources to support their training needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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 for children's home: SC463852 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: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited, Venture House, Unit 12, Prospect Business Park, Longford Road, Cannock WS11 0LG

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Inspector

Sophie Hills, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC463852 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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