Children's Home run by Horizon Care and Education Group Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2531921 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 is a private children’s home registered for up to four children. The home’s statement of purpose states that children living in this home may have a range of social and emotional difficulties or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were three children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2021

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2531921 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/08/2022 Full Good 07/09/2021 Full Good 17/09/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/07/2019 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2531921 3

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improvement to be good

When children move into the home, they are sensitively welcomed. Before moving in, they are provided with opportunities to visit and meet staff. The manager ensured that transition plans were in place for children who have left the home.

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improvement to be good

Children’s personalities are reflected in the furnishings and decoration of their bedrooms. When needed, staff support children to keep their rooms clean and tidy. Although walls in the home have recently been repainted, the woodwork is chipped and needs to be freshened up. Bathrooms and the windows in the home would also benefit from being updated.

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improvement to be good

When children do not have an identified school, staff work with them and other professionals to identify appropriate provisions. When children are not in education, the weekly planners in place to support participation in educational activities are not routinely followed.

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improvement to be good

Relationships between children and their families are promoted. Children are supported to see their families in line with their plans. Family members have visited children at home. This ensures that children’s identities are maintained.

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improvement to be good

Children like living in the home and they have developed good relationships with staff. The manager and staff are proud of the children’s progress and achievements. All children have individual internal care plans which reflect their everyday lives. However, these care plans are not reviewed with children, and children are not contributing to the care and support they receive.

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improvement to be good

Individual sessions take place with children. These are not planned or informed by information available to staff locally or online. When children do not want to engage in direct work, a creative approach is not taken by staff to encourage this.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to manage their behaviours and feelings safely. When children struggle with their feelings and emotions, staff use effective de-escalation strategies which are informed by the home’s therapist. Physical intervention is only used as a last resort. Incidents are recorded and include all relevant information. These are routinely reviewed by the manager.

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improvement to be good

There has been an increase in the frequency of missing-from-home incidents for one child. The manager and staff team work closely with external professionals and regularly share information. However, staff are not provided with a clear plan containing detailed strategies to follow. This lack of clarity means that staff are not Inspection report for children’s home: 2531921 4 supported to take effective and consistent action in response to missing-from-home incidents.

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improvement to be good

The manager works closely with children’s placing authorities. They share updates about children’s progress and any safeguarding issues. When asked about the communication between staff at the home and other professionals, one social worker said, ‘It is multidisciplinary working at its best.’

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improvement to be good

Children who self-harm have detailed risk management plans that identify when room searches should take place. When children’s rooms need to be searched, this is done in a sensitive way. Children are made aware of the rationale and findings from any room search. When items are removed from children’s rooms, children are helped to understand the reason why. Room searches are recorded and reviewed by the manager.

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improvement to be good

Children who misuse substances are offered support to manage this. Staff have received substance misuse training and are aware of the associated risks. When children refuse support, staff are not tenacious in their efforts to engage children around these issues.

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good

The manager is qualified and experienced. She is liked by the children and is involved and engaged in the daily care provided to them. External professionals speak positively about the manager.

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good

Staff say that they receive regular supervision from the manager. They say that this is supportive and offers them the chance to reflect on their practice. The manager does not receive regular reflective supervision. This means that she does not have the level of support that is needed to manage the home.

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good

The manager ensures that there are sufficient staffing levels for the children living in the home. She has reduced the frequency and number of agency staff. This helps children to be cared for by a consistent staff team. All staff complete mandatory training and any additional training specific to the children’s needs. However, the statement of purpose is not updated to reflect changes in the staff team and staff’s qualifications.

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good

The manager has oversight of all records for the children living in the home. These records are not consistently signed and dated by staff members. There are monitoring systems in place to ensure that the manager is aware of the day-to-day running of the home and the care provided to children. These are not routinely evaluated by the manager to establish patterns and trends to identify learning in order to improve practice. When recommendations for improvements are made by the independent person, these are not always responded to in a timely manner. Inspection report for children’s home: 2531921 5 The manager acts swiftly when there are any concerns about the care provided to children. When necessary, she will follow the performance management plans as outlined in the workforce development plan. Inspection report for children’s home: 2531921 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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;

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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;

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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)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi))(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that all risk assessments contain clear steps for staff to follow should an incident arise. They should also ensure that all staff are following the safeguarding procedures. 29 September

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. 29 September Inspection report for children’s home: 2531921 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(x))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that children not attending education have a regular routine and education timetable, and are supported to complete educational activities while not in school.

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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

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; 27 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2531921 8 understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is updated when any changes take place in the home. They should ensure that incidents and work are evaluated to establish patterns and trends and identify areas of learning in order to make continuous improvements. They should also ensure that recommendations by independent monitoring services are actioned in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should receive regular supervision. 29 September

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. (Regulation 7 (1)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that children can contribute to their support plans. 27 October 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all children receive proactive direct work, targeted to their specific needs, to help them understand how to keep themselves safe. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.7)  The registered person should ensure that all records for each child are kept up to date, and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the Inspection report for children’s home: 2531921 9 Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that the home maintains a clean and well- kept environment that supports children’s physical, mental and emotional health. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3)

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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: 2531921 10

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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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Inspector

Sarah Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2531921 11 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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