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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2612115 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 large private provider. It is registered to provide care for four children with learning disabilities. One child was living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection of the home since it was registered in September 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since September 2021 and is suitably qualified and experienced.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2612115 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2612115 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress with the support of staff. Staff celebrate and are proud of every step forward children make. For example, one child in the home was able to begin to take responsibility for their behaviour and apologise to staff unprompted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to children’s health. They buy specific foods and treats so that children do not feel that they are missing out on these. Staff also take care with children’s diets, specific to their needs. This means that over time children lose weight, which is beneficial to their health. The registered manager is working to develop systems to capture this progress over time so that children can see this for themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have ample opportunity to share their views with staff through key-work sessions and through informal conversations. Children’s views are always considered, and staff respond well to verbal and non-verbal feedback. As a result, staff know children’s behaviour and needs well. This emphasises how keen staff are to help children as much as they can.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a bright, cheerful and welcoming home. Staff have considered all aspects of the environment, to be able to support sensory needs. This includes a sensory room, quiet-boil kettles and guest slippers so that visitors make less noise when they walk on the hard floors. Children have toys to play with and space for physical play. When children show their distress and upset through damage to the home, this is quickly repaired so that children can continue to live in well-cared for surroundings. This also adds to the homely feel of the environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff value education for children. They are happy to take children to and from school, even longer distances, as they understand how important it is for children to maintain relationships at school. Staff support home-schooling for children who move into the home without an education placement. This helps children to see how important learning is, and they engage with this well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build positive relationship with professionals who are important to children. They regularly talk with schools and the local police. Staff have sometimes needed to call the police to help them keep children safe. The registered manager has created a ‘police passport’. This gives the police the information they need to best support children. However, staff do not always communicate well with some other professionals. This is rare and does not detract from the good work that is happening with others to support children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to meet children’s individual needs. For example, when one child wanted to increase their social skills staff found a youth club for children with additional needs for them to attend. Staff supported this child to attend and over time they began to relax and interact with their peers more. The registered manager Inspection report for children’s home: 2612115 4 is clear about why she chose this activity and made her decision with the impact of this activity in mind. This approach widens children’s opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff share their worries with children’s networks when children pose a risk to themselves. For one child, this contributed to the decision to make them subject to a deprivation of liberty order. Staff adhered to the conditions of this order but did not talk to the child about this being in place and its impact. As a result, children are not always aware of the restrictions around them. This is a missed opportunity to help children understand their plans. It also does not support them to give their views about them.

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

The registered manager considers information about children before they move into the home. She also seeks the views of staff so they are part of the planning. The registered manager puts training in place for staff when children have specific diagnosed conditions. This means that staff increase their knowledge about how children’s medical conditions have an impact on their behaviour and presentation. The registered manager also creates a summary of these conditions and shares this with all managers who are on call to the home. This means that the wider management group is better able to support staff when they need it.

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

The registered manager completes risk assessments for children. Staff use this guidance to complement their knowledge of children, and this helps them work with the children safely. When children do put themselves at risk of harm, staff act in line with these plans and seek external support if needed.

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

The registered manager takes any allegation about staff seriously. She shares information with safeguarding partners and carries out investigations so she can be clear about the validity of these comments. This means that children can be confident that they will receive a response when they raise any concerns. Staff complete records of these allegations and any incidents but these sometimes lack clarity and detail. The registered manager has identified this inconsistency through her monitoring of records and has a plan in place to address this. Staff have committed to improving their record-keeping so that children’s records are a good reflection of their life in the home.

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

Staff are proactive in helping children use the internet. They are open with children about what checks are in place and why they need to make them. The registered manager liaises with other professionals and acts to keep children safe when staff find any concerns. As a result, children have age-appropriate access to the internet.

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

Staff work as a cohesive team. They are consistent and this helps children who need predictability and routine. Staff invest in time to hand over information between shifts. This means that staff are all aware of any concerns and newly seen behaviours, and celebrate children’s achievements. The consistent staff practice contributes to children’s safety and helps them build good relationships with staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 2612115 5 Staff physically intervene with children only as a last resort, and this is infrequent. On one occasion, staff used a restraint they were not trained to use. Staff are clear why they did this, and they based their decision on safety and the best interests of the child at the time. However, the records do not clearly show this. Staff and the registered manager know that records of physical intervention need to be of a better quality, and they have a plan in place to address this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is knowledgeable and experienced in working with children with learning disabilities. Staff are confident in her guidance, feel supported and love coming to work. The registered manager has high expectations for children and staff work to these standards. Staff share this vision as they want the best for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has put effective handovers in place between staff. Staff share even the smallest details about children, and this helps them to develop good relationships with children. As a result, children have reliable adults caring for them who understand their triggers and potential upsets.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well supported by relevant training and supervision. They use their time with supervisors to consider their approach to their work and have clear agreed actions. Staff meet regularly to talk about the children with the clinicians who work in the provider’s clinical team. The combination of these opportunities enables staff to share their experiences of children and ensure that they work consistently to help children in their day-to-day lives. This means that children receive reliable and predictable care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children have numerous opportunities to share their views, complaints or ‘grumbles’. The registered manager pays keen attention to these and addresses them as needed. Staff undertake individual work with children about things that are important to them. This helps children to feel that their views matter.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has clear oversight of the home in all areas. She has effective monitoring systems to help her with this and provides regular reports to the responsible individual. The registered manager’s oversight means that she knows the strengths and areas to develop well. For example, the registered manager has noted that staff’s recording is inconsistent and has booked workshops with staff to address this. The registered manager embodies an openness to learning which inspires staff. This typifies the whole team’s desire to develop and improve so that children have the best opportunities they can. Inspection report for children’s home: 2612115 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 children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that children are aware of any restrictions on their liberty and the reasons for these restrictions. The registered manager must also ensure that children’s views about these restrictions are clearly recorded and shared with the appropriate people to be considered when plans are being made for them. 9 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 9 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2612115 7 within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iii)(iv)(vi)(viii)(b)(i)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff must ensure that they complete detailed records. In addition, the registered manager must ensure that she is aware of and reflects on debriefs with staff, whether she carries these out or they are undertaken by others, with her authority.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the quality of children’s records is of a high standard and accurate, and that the records should be understandable to the reader including children, should they wish to access their records now or in the future. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children’s home: 2612115 8

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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: 2612115 9

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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

Karol Keenan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2612115 10 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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