Horsebridge House

Inspection report for children’s home: SC452713 1 SC452713 Registered provider: Greenfields Adolescent Development Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider and offers care for up to three children. The provider states in the home’s statement of purpose that care is provided for children who have experienced trauma in their formative years. At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has applied for registration with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 22 November 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC452713 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/11/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/08/2021 Full Good 14/01/2020 Full Good 12/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC452713 3

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improvement to be good

The inspector found many positives in the progress and experiences of children. However, there are shortfalls in safeguarding practice and management oversight. Had these not been identified at the inspection, the children currently living in the home, and others, may have been placed at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Children are making progress from their starting points. One child is now attending full-time education. He is also more able to safely express his emotions, which has resulted in fewer behaviours that challenge staff. Other children have been helped to access appropriate healthcare services, which has facilitated their needs being better understood and supported. Families and external professionals are positive about the care children receive.

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improvement to be good

Children said that they like living in their home. They feel safe and well looked after by the adults around them. One child said that they would like to continue to live in the home if they could, although they are aware of the reasons that this is not possible.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to participate in the activities they enjoy. One child continues to attend a local youth group and has made a friend, who he spends time with in the community. One child is focused on developing her independence skills with support from the staff team and external professionals. Another child continues to express his artistic flair through his paintings and story-writing.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, improvements have been made to the quality of the environment, which now feels much more homely and warm. The home is clean and tidy, has been decluttered and redecorated and unnecessary physical restrictions have been removed. Children’s bedrooms are personalised in line with their interests and individual preferences, and children benefit from a dedicated art space, game station and large gardens. The staff office feels institutional, with laminated flowcharts and guidance pinned to the walls. However, leaders and managers were receptive of subtle improvements that could be made to soften the environment.

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improvement to be good

Staff say that they enjoy working in this home. They spoke positively about the care of children and the support they receive from their manager. Staff were able to identify the improvements that have been made since the last inspection.

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improvement to be good

When a child raised a concern to staff, staff did not follow the home’s safeguarding procedure, which resulted in delayed action by leaders and managers. When leaders Inspection report for children’s home: SC452713 4 and managers became aware of the concern, they reported the concern but failed to share the information with all relevant external professionals. Consequently, a robust multi-agency response was not agreed to help safeguard the child or others. During the inspection, leaders and managers took appropriate action to rectify this shortfall.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour management plans and risk assessments were updated following the concern being raised. Leaders and managers were clear that they were aware of additional safety measures. However, these safety measures were not shared with staff. Fortunately, this vulnerability in risk management was not exploited, and leaders and managers took action during the inspection to ensure that all staff were aware of the additional measures in place.

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improvement to be good

A teaching member of staff from a child’s school raised concerns about a child’s online activity. Care staff supported the child to take appropriate action to keep them safe. Continued vigilance and curiosity from staff identified further concerns, which were quickly responded to.

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improvement to be good

Staff have responded effectively to support a child’s mental health needs. Staff shared their concerns and sought advice and guidance from relevant mental health professionals. This resulted in positive outcomes for the child, who is now more able to seek support and talk openly about their mental health.

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improvement to be good

Care plans provide staff with an overview of the children’s needs and the strategies staff require to support them. As care plans are lengthy documents, the manager has implemented care summaries to ensure that the information is accessible to staff.

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improvement to be good

The use of restraint has reduced in this home since the last inspection. When restraint has been used, it has been proportional and necessary to the risk of harm. Staff use a range of strategies to avoid the use of restraint, which the child is more often able to respond positively to. Following the use of restraint, staff check on the child’s welfare and reflect with them about what could be done differently in the future.

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good

The manager has taken action to address the requirements and recommendation raised at the last inspection. Although there remain some areas for further development, leaders and managers are receptive of this.

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good

Despite a reduction in the use of restraint, some incident reports portray staff to be issuing a child with repeated reminders of the consequences of their actions. In some instances, these reminders are punitive and inflammatory for the child, which is not in keeping with the home’s ethos set out in their statement of purpose. Leaders and managers explained that this was the result of recording errors, and the manager has provided staff with additional advice and guidance. Although this has Inspection report for children’s home: SC452713 5 reduced the use of punitive reminders by staff, they remain on a journey in developing their report-writing and de-escalation skills.

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good

Following incidents, staff are supported by the manager to reflect on their practice and identify what could have been done differently. In one debrief with staff, records suggest a negative and uncaring attitude towards a child’s care. This was not challenged by the manager at the time, who is confident that this represented another recording error. Despite this, children who read their records could feel upset, confused and worried about the language used by staff.

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good

Training compliance for mandatory learning is generally high. When staff require refresher training to update their knowledge and understanding, they are booked on the relevant courses. The manager has also been proactive in sourcing additional training for staff from external professionals. However, training compliance for some training courses that would support staff to meet the individual needs of the children is low.

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good

Team meetings and staff supervision sessions support staff to reflect on the needs of the children and the care they are providing. Team meetings are also used by the manager to communicate important messages to the staff team about its practices and how they can be improved on. Inspection report for children’s home: SC452713 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, 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.

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff have a clear understanding of how to keep children safe and reduce the risk of harm. Moreover, staff should be supported to identify and respond effectively to concerns about children’s safety. 14 August 2023

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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

promotes their welfare. 14 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC452713 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; and

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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)(a)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that the strategies staff use to support children are consistent with the ethos set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person should use review systems to support staff to reflect on their practices and identify areas for improvement.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should support staff to understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should be supported to understand that information about children should be recorded in a way that is helpful to them and cannot be perceived to be stigmatising. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC452713 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Greenfields Adolescent Development Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Caretech Community Service Ltd, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Martin Brown, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC452713 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 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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