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

Inspection report for children's home: SC475323 1 SC475323 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 private company. It is registered to provide care for up to three children aged between seven and 17 with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2022 and is suitably qualified.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC475323 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/07/2022 Full Good 23/08/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/06/2021 Full Inadequate 17/03/2020 Interim Not judged Inspection report for children's home: SC475323 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children currently live in the home. One child has lived in the home for three years and another child moved in during the inspection. Since the last inspection, another child has moved into and then out of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make very good progress in the important areas of their lives. This is because staff and leaders are child-focused and have high expectations for the children. Staff understand children’s starting points and celebrate their progress and achievements. Professionals agree that staff know children well and were very positive in their feedback on the home. In relation to one child, one professional said, ‘The progress of the child has been excellent. Having seen [name of child] develop his confidence over the last two years has been great to see.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide continuous nurture and therapeutic support to children. This support allows staff and children to develop positive and meaningful relationships. Staff use humour, kindness and curiosity when engaging with children, which helps the children to feel safe and well cared for. As a direct result of this approach, children grow in confidence and thrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to make progress in their education. Children make very good progress from their starting points. For example, one child had not attended school before moving into the home. Staff have worked with a local school to support the child and increase their timetable at a pace suited to their needs. As a result, the child’s engagement, achievements and attendance levels have significantly improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to reconnect and then keep in touch with their families. For example, staff have supported one child to re-establish contact with their father after four years and they recently spent some family time together. Another child shared time with a sibling during the inspection. Consequently, children spend time with people who are important to them, and this improves their well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, children’s moves into the home are well managed. Carefully planned assessments help the registered manager to understand whether staff can meet a new child’s needs alongside those of children already living in the home. Furthermore, the registered manager provides children and their families with important information about the home. This reassurance means that children and their families feel supported during crucial moments in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a pleasant and welcoming home environment. Since the last inspection, the home has undergone redecoration. Children’s bedrooms are decorated beautifully and are suitable to welcome children into the home. However, leaders have not ensured that all fire doors close effectively. This has the potential to leave staff and children vulnerable. Inspection report for children's home: SC475323 4

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

Staff use a therapeutic approach to support children’s behavioural needs. They make good use of clinical support to fully understand children’s needs and how best to support them. This results in children being cared for by staff who are intuitive and sensitive to their past experiences.

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

Effective plans are in place to help staff understand children’s needs. Risk assessments are reviewed and updated regularly to reflect changes, and this helps staff to keep children safe. When incidents occur, staff manage these well. The manager ensures that staff and children have the opportunity to reflect and learn from what has happened. These actions help to keep children safe and support their well-being.

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

Staff use consequences proportionately to help children understand the impact of their actions. Any consequences used are specific to the child and the incident and are used alongside targeted work to help children reflect on their behaviour. This allows children to learn in a supported way that there are consequences to their actions.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. When children do leave the home without consent, staff take appropriate action to safeguard them. Procedures for children who go missing are clear, understood and followed by staff. As a result, staff are consistent in how they work to keep children safe.

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

Children have access to the internet and there are appropriate safeguards in place. Children’s access to the internet is monitored in a proportionate way, with their cooperation. Children are supported to understand the importance of staying safe online through some creative one-to-one work with staff. Also, staff are proactive in sharing learning about children’s online risks with colleagues. On one occasion, a documentary was used to help a child understand the risks of online chat rooms. This was shared with all staff to increase the knowledge base in the home. This means that children can enjoy the benefits of online activity in a safe way and receive care from a well-informed staff team.

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

When children make allegations, the registered manager notifies all relevant parties quickly. Investigations are completed and the registered manager ensures that debriefs take place with children. This helps them to reassure children about what has happened and the outcome. However, the registered manager does not always ensure that internal safeguarding records include advice given by other professionals. These gaps in recording have the potential to compromise the quality of care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably qualified registered manager, who is child-focused, passionate about children and keeps them at the heart of all he does. He is Inspection report for children's home: SC475323 5 committed to making improvements in the quality of care received by children. He is creative and knows the home’s strengths and areas for development. This passionate approach ensures that children receive a good quality of care in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported in the home. They describe the registered manager as ‘amazing and supportive’. Supervision and appraisals are completed regularly and are used to develop and improve staff practice. The registered manager challenges poor practice and takes action when necessary. Consequently, the registered manager has created a culture in the home where children feel safe and comfortable, and staff enjoy coming to work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable and consistent staff team in place. Staff work well together and they work hard to cover gaps in the home’s rota. The manager is also recruiting to the three staff vacancies in the home. This ensures that children have consistent and predictable care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are suitably trained and equipped with the skills to meet the needs of the children. The registered manager uses team meetings and supervisions to further develop and upskill staff. For example, specific workshops have been held with staff on matters relating to children’s sexualised behaviour. This supportive approach helps staff to improve their practice and has a positive impact on children’s well- being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has made improvements to the home’s monitoring systems. He now uses detailed external and internal monitoring systems to drive forward improvement. He uses this information to highlight patterns and trends and identify any areas for improvement. Effective consultation with others, including the children and staff, is embedded into this process. As a result, the manager’s systems develop and improve the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager works well with external professionals, who are complimentary about his child-focused approach and ability to work well and engage with children. One professional said, ‘The registered manager was the main reason we chose this home for the child. I can see he is child-focused and wants the best for children.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager does not consistently challenge external professionals effectively or hold them to account for their actions. For example, one child’s placing authority failed to provide the manager with sufficient information about the child. Furthermore, the authority did not work with or support the registered manager in managing one child’s move out of the home. However, the manager did not challenge or raise concerns about this poor practice. Consequently, these shortfalls left one child vulnerable when leaving the home. Inspection report for children's home: SC475323 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should challenge the relevant professionals’ performance when they have failed to maintain communication or review children’s plans.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 7 June 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. They should ensure that the home complies with the relevant health and fire safety legislation to keep children safe. For example, the registered person should ensure that fire doors in the home fully close and work effectively. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children's home: SC475323 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: SC475323 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

Dean Wilton, Social Care Inspector Vicky Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC475323 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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