Children's home run by New Horizons NW Limited

Inspection report children's home: 2614703 1 Registered provider: New Horizons (NW) Ltd 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. It provides care and accommodation for up to four children who may have social, emotional or learning needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since the home became registered in January 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), 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 requires improvement to be 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 children's home: 2614703 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children's home: 2614703 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by staff who know them extremely well. All the children who live in the home are progressing well from their starting points. For example, one child’s emotional well-being has significantly improved since they came to live in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is safe. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, and the home feels homely. As a result, children are able to develop an appropriate sense of permanence and belonging. They make progress and have a range of positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to learn and have fun on a day-to-day basis. Staff demonstrate a very good understanding of each of the children’s likes, and together they design structured, well-planned activities for all the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school and college regularly and do well. Staff understand that education comes in many guises and ensure that there is learning from each planned activity. During the inspection, evidence was seen of the range of activities children have access to and engage in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although there have been a number of changes to the staff team, this has not affected the consistency of care.

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improvement to be good

Risk management requires improvement. Allegations against staff are not always dealt with swiftly and effectively by the manager and the senior leadership team. Furthermore, delays in notifying safeguarding professionals mean that children living in the home are not always safeguarded effectively from potentially unsafe adults. The responsible individual is now taking action to address this shortfall.

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improvement to be good

The staff demonstrate good knowledge and understanding of risks to children and the protective strategies in place. The quality of written risk assessments is good. Furthermore, direct work with children is purposeful. As a result, this helps children to reflect on their lived experiences.

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improvement to be good

Children have never gone missing from the home. This demonstrates that staff have secure relationships with children. Behaviour management is well managed. A non- confrontational approach means that children live in a non-punitive environment.

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improvement to be good

Staff complete training in the use of physical intervention and de-escalation techniques. There has been a high level of physical intervention used in the home for some children. However, staff only use such measures of control to prevent Inspection report children's home: 2614703 4 children from hurting themselves and/or others. Staff record these incidents with care and provide a detailed record. As a result, managers have all the information that they need to evaluate these incidents.

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improvement to be good

Two significant events have not been reported to Ofsted. This reduces the regulator’s oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This is the home’s first full inspection since it was registered by Ofsted in January 2021. The manager brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role. She is organised and very efficient. The manager knows all the children in the home well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they feel supported by the manager and the deputy manager. Staff say the culture is supportive and feels like a ‘family’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training for staff is good. This means that staff are trained effectively to care for children. Staff are either qualified or working towards their qualifications. As a result, children are cared for by suitably qualified staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision takes place regularly, as do staff team meetings. Team meetings are focused on children. However, a team meeting lacked significant information relating to an incident that had taken place for one child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Previously, there has been a high use of non-permanent staff in the home. However, the manager has taken steps to address this. The manager has promoted staff from within the home, which has led to a full permanent staff team being in place now.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and the manager work well with external professionals. One child’s social worker told the inspector, ‘She is absolutely part of the family there, and the staff really care about her and want what is best for her.’ Inspection report children's home: 2614703 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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(e)) 18 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. 18 February 2022 Inspection report children's home: 2614703 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(c) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 18 February 2022

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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: 2614703 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Horizons (NW) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 12, Riversway Business Village, Navigation Way, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston PR2 2YP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Natalie Waterhouse

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Inspector

Rachel Springford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2614703 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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