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

Inspection report for children's home: 1258434 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 home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is registered and holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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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: 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 for children's home: 1258434 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/11/2019 Full Good 12/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/07/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1258434 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive experiences at the home. Overall, children spoke to the inspector about how they were happy and felt safe. Managers and staff have provided consistency and stability, giving children a sense of belonging and permanency.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff build trusting relationships with the children. Children feel able to share their views and know that staff will listen. For example, children said that the garden needed to be revamped and staff took action to address this. In addition, when a child made a complaint, the manager took appropriate action. Children are involved in decision-making about their life and home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend education and are making progress. Staff value children’s education and support them to ensure that they progress. For example, staff support children to attend tuition outside their education hours. The manager and staff work closely with education providers to ensure that partnership working is effective. This shows that children are cared for by adults who care about their future and who have aspirations for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are recognised as individuals. Staff consider the needs of the children and are motivated to support them in developing their identity. A family member said that staff had gone above and beyond to support their child. This practice helps increase children’s self-worth and celebrates difference.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When there are concerns about the health needs of children, the manager and staff take appropriate action. For example, staff took action to address a child’s outstanding health appointment and as a result the child was seen by an appropriate medical professional. This practice ensures that children receive the support they need to improve their health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are able to maintain and build on the relationships that are important to them. Staff work closely with children’s support networks and support children to see those people who matter to them, irrespective of the distance. Consequently, children remain in contact with people who are important in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop their independence. Staff consider the individual needs of the children and help them to work towards independence at their own pace. One family member said that staff had provided the child with positive role models which had inspired the child to make future goals. This allows children to develop life skills that will support them in adulthood. Inspection report for children's home: 1258434 4

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

Children feel safe at the home. Risks are well managed and understood by staff. When incidents have increased, the manager has considered the reasons why and has made adjustments to children’s plans. Through this proactive response, incidents have reduced and the children have become safer.

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

The manager and staff support children to understand risks. Regular key-work sessions take place that focus on areas relevant to the child. Staff take a variety of approaches to engage children effectively. These include the use of videos and visual aids. As a result, children’s risks have reduced in many areas compared to when they moved in.

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

Children are cared for by staff who are child-centred and passionate. Children’s plans provide clear strategies and information for staff to follow. This means that, when incidents occur, staff take appropriate action to protect children.

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

When physical intervention is used, this is as a last resort. Staff complete adequate records following an intervention and the manager has oversight of these. This ensures that staff’s practice is reviewed to ascertain that the children are safeguarded effectively.

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

Staff have a good understanding of safeguarding procedures. However, on one occasion, there was a delay in staff sharing information about an allegation. Once the manager became aware of the allegation, she took prompt action to ensure that the child was safe and to address staff’s poor practice.

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

Overall, staff ensure that medication records are well maintained. However, on one occasion, the entry in the controlled medication book was not signed by two staff members. While the manager evidenced that the medication was correctly administered by two staff members, the controlled book does not comply with the recording expectations of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a passionate and motivated manager who is a positive role model to the staff team. The culture of the home is characterised by aspirations for all four children. Staff and managers work together to support children to achieve positive outcomes. This joined-up approach provides the children with consistency and helps them to progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Extensive monitoring through a variety of tools allows the manager to identify patterns and trends in children’s progress. The manager consults with the clinical team to evaluate trends and uses this feedback to make improvement to the quality of care children receive. As a result, children receive individualised care that adapts to their changing needs. Inspection report for children's home: 1258434 5 The manager provides regular, good-quality supervision to staff. This, alongside team meetings and training, contributes to the development of the staff team. The manager and staff have a good understanding of their learning needs and have undertaken training to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills to help children progress. On one occasion, the manager arranged to share training with a education provision to help staff understand a child’s identity. The manager works proactively with a number of professionals to promote positive

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

outcomes for children. This includes providing detailed weekly reports to social workers. The manager uses her links with other professionals, such as the police, well, to provide education and advice to the children. This ensures that children receive consistent support from all professionals involved in their care and they are given advice and guidance that help them to develop.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children do not fully understand why there are alarms on their bedroom doors. When reviews of the alarms are conducted, the manager does not obtain the views of children. External professionals are not all aware that door alarms are in place. For example, one professional told the inspector they did not know this was in place for a child. In response, the manager contacted social workers to clarify they were in agreement for these, although not all responses were received at the end of the inspection. As a result, children are not supported to understand why this measure is used by the home and how this is kept under review. Furthermore, children’s professionals are not involved in the review process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, records for the children are up to date and provide sufficient guidance to staff on how to care for the children and keep them safe. This means that children are cared for by staff who understand their needs. However, the delegated authority for certain children is incomplete. This does not provide clear guidance on the legal decision-making for children. Inspection report for children's home: 1258434 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 involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation (5)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager is to ensure that there is a completed delegated authority in place for each child. 7 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised. (Regulation (21)(c)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager is to ensure that when reviewing the use of door alarms, the rationale for their ongoing use is clear, and that the child understands the reasons for their use. 7 March 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that records are kept of the administration of all medication. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15) Inspection report for children's home: 1258434 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 for children's home: 1258434 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Rebecca Grimshaw

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Inspector

Melanie Griffin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1258434 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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