Children's Home run by New Horizons NW Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1235384 1 Registered provider: New Horizons NW Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides care for up to two children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home also provides care for children with learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been vacant since November 2021. A new manager has since been appointed, and they have submitted their application to register with Ofsted.

p.1

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 SCIFF inspections on 12 April 2021.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

We last visited the home on 3 March 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. This report is published on our website.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1235384 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/10/2019 Full Good 08/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/11/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1235384 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from well-planned, highly individualised care that promotes their needs effectively. Children make good progress in relation to their starting points across aspects of their welfare and physical, social, emotional and behavioural development.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy good-quality relationships with staff and sustain their positive attachments. They benefit from consistency and stability in their lives. A social worker said, ‘I am satisfied with the placement. They help my child manage her choices. She has consistency and age-appropriate consequences.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school on a regular basis with good support and encouragement from staff. Staff work closely with the providers of the children’s education to support their progress, learning and educational achievement. A teacher said, ‘There are no concerns with attendance or punctuality.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Medical consent is in place and staff are familiar with the health decisions that are delegated to them. Children are registered with a doctor, dentist and optician, and they have access to these services when they need them. Children who require additional support have access to specialist services to promote their emotional well- being.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the children’s interests and hobbies. They promote positive activities for the children both at home and in the community. Children receive the support they need to spend time with their families. As a result, they sustain their close relationships with the people who are most important to them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children are involved in key decisions. Children are engaged in in- house meetings and receive good support through one-to-one work. Children benefit from effective, high-quality support from staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with social workers and other professional agencies to ensure that children benefit from the best possible help and all-round support. A social worker reported, ‘My child is doing well, and communication between the home and school is good.’

p.3

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

Staff ensure that children are safeguarded and protected from harm. Children are kept safe and feel safe. The use of clear risk management plans and effective safe working practices promote the safety and well-being of the children. Risks associated with children are well known and understood by staff. A social worker said, ‘My child’s self-harm has reduced significantly due to a variety of responses. They support her to attend therapy and I believe she is safeguarded.’ Inspection report for children’s home: 1235384 4 Children rarely go missing from the home, but on the occasions that they have, there is a well-coordinated response from staff and other professionals to promote the safety of the children. Staff actively look for children if they are missing and work closely with the police to secure their safe return.

p.3

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

Staff are trained in child protection. They know how to protect children from abuse and all other forms of significant harm. Significant incidents are reported to the appropriate authorities so that children are supported and protected.

p.4

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

Staff are trained in de-escalation strategies and ensure that the use of restraint is only used to protect children from harm. Staff help children to manage their feelings and emotions safely. Where restraint is used, it is proportionate and a last resort. The use of restraint is regularly monitored by the manager.

p.4

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

The accommodation provided for the children is physically safe, appropriately secure, warm, comfortable and homely. Staff ensure that health and safety matters are addressed effectively to support the safety of children, visitors and staff.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The previous registered manager left the home in November 2021. The current manager took up her post in January 2022 and has applied for her registration with Ofsted. The manager is suitably experienced and well qualified.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has recruited a new deputy manager and a small number of experienced and well-established staff. This is due to the home losing a number of staff previously. Staff morale has improved considerably, and a stable staff team is now employed. A social worker said, ‘There was inconsistent communication, but there’s been improvements in the staff team and management. I have no problems, whatsoever, since the new team has come in.’

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervisions have not taken place regularly. The manager is in the process of implementing new systems and structures, including development plans, to tackle any weaknesses associated with the home. Staff are receptive to these changes and told the inspector, ‘There has been a deliberate investment in the staff,’ and, ‘We are now in a better place.’

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager stimulates staff’s enthusiasm and channels their efforts effectively. She leads the staff team by example and demonstrates strong and effective leadership of the operations of the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff meet the aims and objectives as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. Staff have met and addressed the requirement from the last inspection.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is visited once a month by an independent professional to review the quality of the children’s care and the arrangements to safeguard children and promote their well-being. However, external monitoring visits are not routinely undertaken unannounced. This is a missed opportunity to see how the home Inspection report for children’s home: 1235384 5 performs when visits are unannounced and ensure that scrutiny of the home is effective. Inspection report for children’s home: 1235384 6

p.4

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, the 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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.6

Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

p.6

Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the improved frequency of staff supervision. 4 April 2022

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person must demonstrate every effort to achieve continuity of staffing so that children’s attachments are not overly disrupted. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1)  The registered person should ensure that the independent monitoring visits are unannounced. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

p.6

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: 1235384 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Horizons NW Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: New Horizons (NW) Ltd, Unit 12, Riversway Business Village, Navigation Way, Ashton-on-Ribble, Preston PR2 2YP

p.7

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Natalie Waterhouse

p.7

Inspector

Anthony Kyem, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1235384 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8