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

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is owned by a private organisation. The provider states in its statement of purpose that they provide care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties and/or learning difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2022. The manager is also registered for another of the organisation’s homes.

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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 outstanding

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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: 23 February 2022

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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: 1235384 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/02/2022 Full Good 08/10/2019 Full Good 08/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1235384 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The two children in the home have remained settled since the previous inspection. They are cared for by a stable and established staff team. This has provided them with stability and consistency.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well. They have a good understanding of their needs. Regular work is undertaken with children that is meaningful and relevant to their needs and vulnerabilities. Staff use research-informed strategies and resources to interact with them. This means that children are provided with the opportunity to learn and reflect on issues relevant to them. As a result, they have made good progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with partnership agencies to ensure that all aspects of children’s needs are met. For one child, additional specialist support is now being provided to meet their emotional needs. As a result, the child’s ability to independently regulate their emotions has improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children attend education full time. They both enjoy school and engage well. Staff work in partnership with education staff to ensure that children are provided with consistent care at home and in school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a variety of activities and are supported to engage in new hobbies and interests. They enjoy activities with children from other homes in the organisation, through arranged fun days and sports days. Staff support them to lead active and healthy lifestyles. Staff understand barriers to children’s engagement in planned and supported activities with the adults who care for them. They support the children to overcome these and are creative in their approach to promote engagement. Children are supported in making informed decisions. This helps children feel listened to and empowered. As a result, one child now enjoys spending time with staff in the community on a regular basis and is considering enrolling in a local community group.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has implemented new formats for children’s records. These are now more child-friendly and personalised in line with the children’s preferences and interests. Staff spend time with children to discuss these when the documents are reviewed or updated. This means that children are fully informed of the plans in place to support them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children well to maintain relationships with family and those important to them. Friends are welcomed into the home for sleepovers and to enjoy planned activities. Children are supported well by staff when there are unforeseen changes in family dynamics. Social work professionals praised the staff for their commitment to ensuring children spend time with their families, regardless of the distance or location. Inspection report for children’s home: 1235384 4

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

Staff are responsive to children’s individual needs. They work hard to manage and mitigate risks. The work undertaken with children helps them understand and reflect on their behaviour. Staff understand children’s triggers and vulnerabilities. As a result, the risks for children are reducing.

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

Risk plans include guidance for staff to follow. However, records do not always include the appropriate level of detail. This means that staff do not have accurate information on what the current risks are for children and how the strategies to manage these can be effective.

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

Individual support plans provide staff with clear strategies to support children. These are developed in consultation with children. Strategies are agreed in line with their wishes. Children are provided with child-friendly versions of these documents. This supports them to be fully informed of how staff should support them.

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

Incidents of challenging behaviour have reduced. When incidents do occur, staff take appropriate action to keep children safe. However, room searches have been undertaken without children’s consent and on some occasions by only one member of staff. Furthermore, records of these lack detail on the rationale for them being undertaken.

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

When children go missing from home, staff actively look for them. Staff work in partnership with professionals and agencies to keep children safe. Children’s records include clear and detailed guidance for staff to follow in the event of children going missing. Staff support children to understand the risks associated with being missing from home. Staff are proactive in implementing safety plans to prevent further incidents.

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

Incidents of staff physically holding children have reduced. When incidents occur, staff use physical intervention as a last resort to keep children and others safe. Low- level techniques are used in line with children’s preferences. Reflective work is undertaken with staff and children following incidents. This provides children with the opportunity to learn alternative strategies to manage their emotions.

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

Positive behaviour is consistently promoted. Staff use a restorative approach with children following incidents to help them understand their emotions and the impact of their behaviour. One child went with staff to purchase a new television following damage having been caused. This helped her understand the financial implications of her behaviour. Children are also supported to apologise when their behaviour has impacted on others, both in the home and the community. Inspection report for children’s home: 1235384 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is managed by a qualified and experienced manager. She is dual registered and manages her time effectively between the two homes. She is supported by an enthusiastic and passionate deputy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is ambitious and inspirational. She is dedicated to providing outstanding care to the children living in the home. The manager knows the children well and is involved in their daily care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Some areas of the home would benefit from being redecorated and the bathroom looks tired. This detracts from the warm and homely environment the manager strives for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is proactive in identifying areas for development in the home. She has excellent oversight of the care being provided to the children. She has taken swift action to address shortfalls since managing the home. When issues with staff practice have arisen, these have been dealt with promptly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The children are cared for by an established and experienced staff team. The staff team has remained stable since the last inspection. Staff morale has improved, and staff say that they feel remotivated and happy in their roles. One member of staff said, ‘The manager and deputy have been like a breath of fresh air since they started.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Strong relationships have been developed with professionals involved in the children’s care. Social work professionals say that communication is excellent. They say that the manager works in partnership with them to ensure the best outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff benefit from regular supervision. Reflective team meetings take place fortnightly. They provide staff with opportunities to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children. The manager delivers bespoke training on research-informed practice to support the team’s understanding of children’s individual needs and behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Development plans for the home are excellent. They reflect the high expectations and aspirations that the manager has for the children and the staff team. The internal and external monitoring of the home is of a high standard. However, the internal quality of care reports are not always submitted to Ofsted within the given timescales. Inspection report for children’s home: 1235384 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that children’s records are updated to include relevant information and detail of known risks. 14 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 14 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1235384 7 Specifically, that the home’s statement of purpose includes details of all staff working in the home, including bank or relief staff, and that this is sent to Ofsted within given timescales.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s bedrooms should not generally be entered without their permission, though it may be necessary to establish routines to allow for rooms to be cleaned regularly. Usually, rooms should only be searched if the child has been informed or asked for their permission. Specifically, searches of children’s rooms should be undertaken by two members of staff and with prior consent of the child, if safe to do so. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)  The registered person should ensure that the processes put in place to review the quality of care should allow for a report to be produced at least once every six months. The report should be sent to Ofsted within given timescales. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.3)  The registered person should ensure that for the children’s home to be a

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Recommendations

nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of its children, it will be a homely, domestic environment. Specifically, action should be taken to refurbish and redecorate communal areas and the bathroom and ensure that the home is maintained with high levels of cleanliness. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 1235384 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Horizons (NW) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 12, Riversway Business Village, Navigation Way, Preston, Lancashire PR2 2YP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Natalie Waterhouse

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Inspector

Claire Hobbs, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1235384 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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