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

Inspection report children's home: 2645184 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

This privately run home provides care for four children. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2021.

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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 inspections 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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children's home: 2645184 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in this home receive good care from a nurturing staff team. The inspector observed warm relationships between children and staff. One child said: ‘It’s all good. The home is nice, and the staff are nice.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and comfortable. It is well presented, with photos of the children on display throughout the home. Children said that they are able to choose the décor and items for their bedrooms.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities with staff, both individually and together. They enjoy going to the cinema, the trampolining park and walks in the nearby countryside. Children have fun and benefit from positive relationships with staff and other children living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have been supported well by the staff team when moving into, and on from, the home. One child has moved out of the home since it was registered. The registered manager met with staff from the child’s new placement and supported the child to visit their new home before moving. This helped the child to settle quickly. The child’s social worker told the inspector that this transition had been managed well by the registered manager.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff promote the health and well-being of children living in the home. Staff support children to attend their health appointments. Staff monitor children’s well-being and discuss with children any extra support they may need outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children living in the home are in full-time education. When children struggle in school or college, the staff work with teachers and professionals to address any problems. For one child, an educational placement is yet to be identified. The registered manager has researched local schools and liaised with the virtual school to ensure the child’s return to school as soon as possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with the people that are important to them. Where children’s family live a considerable distance from the home, staff support contact arrangements flexibly. One child’s parent said, ‘They [staff] are absolutely brilliant.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children told the inspector they would talk to the registered manager if they were unhappy or had a complaint. Children are aware that they can access an independent advocate, and staff have helped them to do this when it has been required. This means that children have the support needed to express their views. Inspection report children's home: 2645184 3

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

The staff have a good understanding of children’s individual needs and risks. However, risk management plans do not identify all known risks to children. Some plans do not identify known risks that staff are already working to respond to. This means that staff do not have written guidance on the strategies they are to follow in order to keep children safe. Furthermore, some plans have not been updated with recent information.

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

Safeguarding practice is discussed in team meetings and during individual staff supervisions to ensure that staff understand how to respond to any emerging safeguarding concerns. The registered manager and staff have responded appropriately to incidents within the home in order to keep children safe. Records are detailed and have been shared with relevant professionals. However, not all significant incidents have been shared with children’s family members when it was appropriate to do so.

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

Staff talk to the children to help them to understand their behaviour. There is an effective rewards system in place to promote children’s positive behaviour. This is adapted in consultation with the children and for any specific goals they want to achieve. As a result, sanctions have not been used in this home.

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

On occasions, staff have needed to use physical intervention in order to manage children’s behaviour safely. These incidents have been scrutinised by the registered manager and detailed debriefs are undertaken with children to explore the reasons for their behaviours.

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

The registered manager and staff work closely with the professionals involved with children to ensure that they understand children’s needs and that any issues are addressed. However, for one child, there is no local authority care plan on file.

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

The registered manager gathers information about children before accepting a new admission. She considers the needs of the children already living in the home, as well as the home’s location, to assess the impact of any risk.

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

There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home. There are plans in place with actions for staff to follow if children were to go missing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a permanent manager. This is her first experience as a registered manager. She is currently working towards the relevant qualification to underpin her knowledge of the role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff told the inspector they are supported in their role. Staff receive regular supervision. Records demonstrate that staff are encouraged to continually reflect on their practice in order to improve children’s care. Formal supervision sessions also Inspection report children's home: 2645184 4 support the registered manager to reflect on areas for her own development, such as delegating tasks to others within the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended by the staff team. The registered manager has used these meetings to share her vision for the home with the staff team. Records show detailed reflection on any incidents or behaviours of concern and the strategies staff use to manage this behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to a wide range of training to support them in their role. This includes specific training in the specific risks for children living in the home. The registered manager also works with the in-house psychologist to further develop her understanding of children’s behaviour. Since the home was registered, two members of staff have achieved the qualification relevant to their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has worked hard to maintain consistent staffing following a period of high sickness due to COVID-19. When agency staff are used, consideration is given to the needs of the children and the skills of the other members of staff on shift. The registered manager prioritises the needs of children when planning for new staff members to join the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External monitoring identifies areas for improvement. However, when a parent has raised a concern to the independent person, there has been a delay in the registered manager addressing this. Furthermore, the registered manager has not kept them updated of the action they have taken in response to their concerns. Inspection report children's home: 2645184 5

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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

The registered person must ensure that all known risks are assessed and that all strategies to minimise risks are recorded in children’s plans. 4 March 2022

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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 signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children’s case records contain up-to-date plans relating to each child, including a copy of any plan for the care of the child prepared by the child’s placing authority. 4 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children. 4 March 2022 Inspection report children's home: 2645184 6 The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (1) (3))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that any concerns arising from reports by the independent person are considered as part of this process.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should oversee the welfare of the children in their care through observation and engagement with each child’s family/carers, particularly in relation to notifying family of any incidents of concern. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23)

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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: 2645184 7

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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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Inspector

Genevieve O’Reilly, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2645184 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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