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. Two children were living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has applied to be registered with Ofsted and is working towards a qualification in leadership and management.

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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: 25 January 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: 2612115 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2612115 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children currently living in the home benefit from nurturing relationships with staff who care for them. They seek positive physical contact from staff. For example, when a child returned from school, he gave staff meaningful hugs, which was reciprocated by staff who asked him about his day. One child has recently joined a youth group, which provides him with an opportunity to make friends in the community that he lives in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work well with professionals to help children to keep in touch with people who are important to them. When there are barriers to children seeing people who are important to them, staff respond sensitively and provide emotional support. One child who has experienced a family bereavement has been supported by staff to make a photo collage and they planted flowers in a memorial planter dedicated to their loved one.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious. Careful consideration has been given to the decor and furniture to ensure that it meets the needs of the children and provides them with comfort and a sense of belonging. Pictures of children are displayed around the home and are a reminder of the positive experiences they have had since moving into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A range of activities at home and in the community are available for children. Staff seek children’s views on what they like doing and they use feedback to plan trips that children enjoy. One child spoke about the fun they had on holiday with staff. These experiences give children the opportunity to make memories that promote their emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children are making progress with their learning. One child continues to attend the same school as he did before moving into the home. His views about school are understood by managers and plans are being put in place for him to move to a school closer to the home, which will reduce his travel time. The other child is taught at home by a tutor, and there has been an increase in tuition hours. Delays in finding a suitable school for this child mean he is not accessing a full curriculum and has limited opportunities to develop his social skills with children his age.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has been supported to see the doctor and receive treatment, despite their reluctance to do so. However, on some occasions, there are delays in children accessing primary healthcare services. For example, it is unclear how the manager has escalated concerns regarding delays for a child who requires an assessment by an occupational therapist. On another occasion, staff have not arranged for a child to have a dental check within advised timescales. Inspection report for children’s home: 2612115 4

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

Staff recognise and celebrate children’s achievements. Children are frequently praised and rewarded with activities and treats of their choice. This motivates them to make continual progress and make positive choices about their behaviour.

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

The children living in the home at the time of the inspection are respectful and understand each other’s differences. Children can name staff and teachers who they can talk to if they have any worries. They develop trusting relationships with peers and adults who care for them and this helps them to feel safe.

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

It is rare for children to go missing from home. When they do, staff work well with the local police to ensure that children’s vulnerabilities are understood. Children are quickly located and supported to return home. On their return, staff request for an independent person to speak with children about their experiences while they have been away from home. The manager reflects on incidents and puts additional measures in place to reduce further incidents. For example, a new fence and gate have been put up at the front of the property, which delays children from leaving the home and allows staff to redirect behaviours that could cause them harm.

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

The manager ensures that staff receive training in the use of physical intervention. This has been used by staff to keep children and staff safe. Staff use minimal force and keep clear records of the incident. These records are reviewed by the manager to ensure that behaviour management strategies are effective and in line with the child’s plan. Staff support children to reflect on incidents and seek their views. This creates a learning culture and promotes children’s safety.

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

When children raise concerns about staff or professionals who work in the home, they are taken seriously. The manager works with the child’s social worker and local authority designated officer to investigate concerns. Children are informed of the investigation outcome.

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

Children’s views and wishes are listened to and staff work hard to fulfil children’s requests. One child who has since left the home became frustrated due to delays in his request to move being acted on. Despite the manager advocating on behalf of the child, the situation affected relationships he had built with staff and there was an increase in aggressive behaviours that staff found difficult to manage.

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

External monitoring systems in place support the manager to improve and develop safer recruitment practice. However, on one occasion, the manager did not explore gaps in a staff member’s employment history.

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

Children use electronic devices, including to play games. Some devices allow children to access the internet. Systems in place to reduce the risk of online abuse are not effective and do not restrict age-inappropriate websites. One child accessed inappropriate material. While some measures were put in place following this to reduce risk, these do not go far enough. As a result, the potential for accessing harmful contents remains the same. Inspection report for children’s home: 2612115 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands children’s needs and she ensures that children remain at the centre of the decisions made. Children’s plans are implemented well and children receive personalised care. The manager advocates for children when required. This ensures that children’s views are considered and acted on.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work well with professionals and people who are important to children. As a result, children benefit from consistent care from a strong support network.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there has been a reliance on agency staff. However, this is reducing. Consistent agency staff are used where possible and they always work with a permanent staff member. The responsible individual does not intend to increase the number of children staff are caring for until the home is sufficiently staffed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has monitoring systems in place and, on the whole, these are effective and support the service to develop. On some occasions, learning has taken time to embed in practice. For example, three medication errors of a similar nature were made before the manager implemented a new system. Medication is now dispensed by the pharmacy in individual doses.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working in the home and feel supported by the manager. There has been an improvement in the frequency of supervision for permanent staff. However, the manager does not ensure that agency staff are supervised in line with the home’s workforce development plan. This is a missed opportunity to gain feedback and review individual agency staff practices. 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 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that internet safety measures are reviewed and improved to reduce the risk of children accessing inappropriate material on their devices. 12 April 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should work closely with relevant professionals to ensure that children are supported to return to full-time education as soon as possible. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should ensure that staff do all they can to support children to attend routine health appointments and act to reduce delays to children accessing specialist services. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.11)  The registered person should maintain good employment practice, ensuing that recruitment and supervision of staff safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. In particular, the manager should ensure that agency staff who work in the home regularly receive supervision to support them in their role. Also, Inspection report for children’s home: 2612115 7

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Recommendations

when there are discrepancies in a person’s employment history, these should be explored by the manager and an assessment carried out of the person’s suitability to work, until clarification has been obtained. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1.)

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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 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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Inspectors

Helen Malanaphy, Social Care Inspector Kirsty Truesdale, Ofsted Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2612115 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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