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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1249183 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 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

At the time of the inspection, there were four children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2019.

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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: 16 February 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1249183 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/02/2022 Full Outstanding 28/01/2020 Full Good 23/08/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 22/05/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1249183 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a friendly and welcoming environment. They consider it to be home and see staff as extensions of their family. Children are supported to make progress in all areas of their lives due to the individualised and nurturing care that they receive. The progress of some children has been limited as they have only lived at the home for a short period of time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s choices are reflected in how the home is decorated. Children are involved in choosing what they want to eat, and the older ones are supported to develop their cooking skills. Children often spend time cooking and baking together, which they all enjoy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children take part in a wide range of activities, both within and outside of the home. Birthdays and milestones are celebrated, and thought goes into planning these celebrations so that all of the children can be involved. Special occasions are captured and included in a memory book for each of the children. These enable them to see how they have grown and changed during their time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When they move in, children are made to feel welcome. Child-friendly information provides details about what living in the home is like, and they are encouraged to personalise their rooms. This helps moving in to be a positive experience. Some of the children felt that there could be more discussion with them before new admissions are agreed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to build positive relationships. This is reflected in the good relationships that children have and how well they get on with each other. If children are unkind, they are encouraged to reflect on their behaviour and make amends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff experienced difficulties in supporting one child who lived at the home for a few weeks. Although the staff were able to keep him safe, the child’s behaviour did have a negative impact on the other children at times.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff advocate strongly for children’s education and have built excellent links with schools and colleges. Staff motivate children to keep momentum in their learning and provide children with cards and small gifts to show how proud they are. Children’s attendance in school improves, and staff support children to complete educational activities when they are not in school. One child is building on the independence skills that they have learned at home, such as food preparation, and is applying them in college. As a result, they are able to complete new tasks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop independence skills. One of the children is due to move to their own flat, and while they are excited, they are also sad about leaving. The child referred to this home as ‘the best home’ that they have ever lived in. Staff Inspection report for children’s home: 1249183 4 try to stay in touch with children who have moved on, even if this has been sudden or unplanned.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to see people who are important to them. This has resulted in one of the children no longer going missing from care. Staff listen to children’s views about who they want to see, and their views are respected. One of the children is now contacting their advocate less often as they are confident that the manager will promote their views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s physical health needs are met through universal services. They receive emotional support from staff and the in-house therapist, who also provides guidance to the staff team when a child moves into the home. Although this guidance was available before one child moved in, there was a delay in the staff reading it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well presented; however, some minor maintenance and cleaning issues detract from the overall appearance of one of the bathrooms and a bedroom. The manager took steps to resolve these once they were brought to her attention.

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

Children say that they feel safe. The potential risks to children who are currently living in the home are well understood by staff. Risk assessments are comprehensive and easy to follow so that staff know how to support the children. Children are involved in writing their plans and assessments, and the child-friendly language that is used reflects their choice of wording.

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

Staff make phone calls to check on children’s welfare when children are spending time away from the home. The frequency of the calls reflects the child’s age and vulnerabilities. One of the children spoke positively of being allowed increased independence as the staff were able to trust them when they were outside of the home. There have been no recent incidents of children being missing from home. If children are missing from home, staff know what to do, and this helps them to be found quickly.

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

The manager’s impact assessment is completed before a child moves into the home. However, consideration of the impact on the other children, and how they are consulted before a place is offered, could be better evidenced.

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

Children are only held when there are no other options to keep them and others safe. On one occasion, this was led by an agency worker who was not trained in the model used by the permanent members of staff. This was addressed by the manager and did not reoccur. When children have been held, the incidents are well recorded, and there is reflection afterwards.

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

Consequences are very rarely used; children’s positive behaviour is rewarded. The children have clear boundaries. One of the children said that the rules are ‘fair’. Inspection report for children’s home: 1249183 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager leads by example. She wants the best for the children, and her commitment to supporting the children to achieve in all areas of their lives is reflected in the practice of the staff team. A number of professionals referred to the manager and staff as going ‘above and beyond’ to support children. Professionals state that the communication from the manager and staff is ‘excellent’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak highly of the support that they receive from the manager. Staff are encouraged to develop and progress. Supervision sessions are reflective and include discussion about the individual needs and progress of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safe recruitment practices are followed. New staff receive an induction and spend time shadowing other staff, allowing the children to get to know them. Staff speak positively of the support that they receive from colleagues. Staff access training to help them understand the individual needs of the children. However, for one of the children, the additional training identified for staff in the pre-admission assessment did not take place until after they had moved in.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are used as opportunities to share learning and reflect on each of the children. When things have not gone well, this is evaluated so that practice can be improved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are systems in place for staff to record that they have read documents. However, there is no monitoring of the timescale in which this is achieved. This means that the manager cannot be confident that all of the staff have the most up- to-date information about the children. There are shortfalls in the system for identifying maintenance issues. However, once reported, these are addressed in a timely manner. Inspection report for children’s home: 1249183 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that, having completed the assessment before a new child has moved in, all staff have the necessary training and knowledge to meet the combined needs of the children living in the home.

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Requirement Due date

This relates to all staff completing training that has been identified as necessary before a child moves in.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that audit systems are robust and promote improved practice. This relates to ensuring that staff have a full and current understanding of each child’s support needs.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the presentation and maintenance of all areas of the home are monitored and that any issues are promptly addressed. 1 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1249183 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: 1249183 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: Unit 12, Venture House, Prospect Business Park, Longford Road, Cannock, Staffordshire WS11 0LG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Oliver Scrimshaw

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Inspector

Laura Grundy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1249183 9 regulates and inspects 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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