Children's Home run by New Horizons (Stockport) Limited in Bury

Inspection report for children's home: 1261138 1 Registered provider: New Horizons (Stockport) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home is operated by a private organisation. The home provides care for up to six children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were five children and one young person living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager. The interim manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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: 15 November 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: 1261138 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/11/2022 Full Good 18/01/2022 Full Good 15/10/2019 Full Good 20/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: 1261138 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff understand children’s needs and how best to support them. This ensures that children make progress in many aspects of their lives. For example, staff prioritise children’s education and all children attend school or training. Staff are very proud to talk about children’s individual educational successes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by a dedicated and experienced staff team. Staff have a good understanding of what children’s lives were like before they moved into the home and how this may have impacted on them. This contributes to staff being sensitive and caring in their approach.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting relationships with staff. This means that they can speak to staff when they have worries. Regular children’s meetings called ‘natter and nibbles’ give children the opportunity to share their views, wishes and feelings with staff. Children are consulted on all aspects of living at the home and this informs how staff care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain relationships with the important people in their lives. Family time is well managed to ensure that children enjoy quality time with their parents or brothers and sisters.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children regularly have support sessions with their allocated key worker. Topics discussed include mental health, personal safety and independence. This helps children develop important life skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health is well managed. They attend routine appointments and referrals are made to external agencies to support specific health matters. Staff support children with a calm and nurturing approach to their health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy activities with staff. The home has a communal games room, a beauty room, meditation area and a large garden to play in. Staff talk to children about their interests, such as football, animal care and health and beauty. Group activities and holidays help children develop their social skills and their relationships with each other.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each child is given a children’s guide when they come to the home. However, the guide is a long document and is not written in child-friendly language. This means that younger children or those who struggle with reading may not understand it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children are ready to move on and progress to independence, they are supported to be prepared for their moves. One young person has recently turned 18 but remains at the home. This is because efforts by the placing authority to find a new home for them have been unsuccessful. In the short term, the young person Inspection report for children's home: 1261138 4 has been allowed to remain at the home while further efforts are made by the local authority to find a suitable home for them. While this is well intentioned, staff do not have the skills to care for an young person and there has been insufficient planning or consideration of how to manage the competing needs of the young person and the children who live in the home. There are signs that the decision to allow the young person to live at the home is not in their best interests or those of the children.

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

Staff prioritise the safety and protection of children. When concerns arise, staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities in protecting children. Children feel that staff care about them, and this helps them to feel safe.

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

Individual assessments identify potential risks for children and provide strategies to manage and reduce risks. Children are provided with opportunities to review their risks and identify areas where they feel risks have reduced or where they require further support.

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

Staff understand the procedures in relation to children who go missing from the home and these are implemented quickly and effectively. Staff work with the children to understand the reasons behind an episode of going missing from home.

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

Children have reward charts to encourage positive behaviour. They are rarely given consequences. Children respond well to this approach and develop their social skills. On one occasion, a child given a reward was told not to tell the other children. This was an isolated incident and is not typical of how staff normally work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and knowledgeable and has had a positive influence on the home. Staff describe the manager in positive terms and recognise how she has promoted a reflective approach to their practice. The manager is working hard to develop the staff team and has allocated each member of staff an area of focus, so that they can take a lead and be an expert in that particular aspect of children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff undertake mandatory training. In addition, they complete training which is specific to the needs of the children they are caring for. Staff have either completed the required qualification or are working towards achieving it. This ensures that they have the skills and knowledge they need to provide good-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive monthly supervision from the manager. Supervisions are in-depth and allow staff to reflect on their practice. Staff have individual targets and review their learning from each supervision. This helps staff to develop their skills and meet children’s needs. Inspection report for children's home: 1261138 5 Team meetings are held regularly. During these meetings, staff discuss how best to meet children’s needs. This helps to ensure that everyone caring for the children is consistent in their approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager communicates effectively with other professionals supporting the children. This ensures that children are helped consistently and have positive outcomes in health, education, social skills and independence. Inspection report for children's home: 1261138 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard requires the registered person to ensure that arrangements are in place to—

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

the child is, or has been, persistently absent from the home without permission. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(iii)(e)(i)(ii)) 28 August 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should review and update the children’s guide and ensure that it is written in children friendly language. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.23) Inspection report for children's home: 1261138 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: 1261138 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Horizons Stockport Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 154-156 Buxton Road, High Lane, Stockport, Cheshire SK6 8EA

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Inspectors

Sue Garner, Social Care Inspector Maria McGranaghan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1261138 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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