Children's home run by New Horizons NW Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2567789 1 Registered provider: New Horizons (NW) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is managed by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who may have social or emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home. Both children spoke to the inspector about their experiences of living in the home.

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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: 2567789 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/07/2022 Full Good 04/08/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2567789 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children living in the home have been living here since the last inspection. They are settled and making progress. Children are provided with love and care from a stable staff team. Staff are proactive in building positive relationships with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are positive about living in the home. They say that they are provided with opportunities to take part in new experiences inside and outside of the home. One child attends a scout group and has developed friendships and made memories on camping trips. Another child enjoys regular swimming lessons and has attended dance lessons. These activities help children to build their self-esteem and promote their self-confidence, alongside promoting positive peer relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children share their views through regular children’s meetings. Conversations held in these meetings are recorded clearly in a child-friendly manner. The manager comments on the children’s meetings and the children understand that their voices are being heard and opinions acted on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school regularly. The relationships between the staff and schools are positive for both children. Consequently, children make good progress in their education. Staff at one school stated that the child is making ‘brilliant progress’ and the other school staff stated that the child feels ‘safe and secure’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s time with their family is supported when this is part of their plan. Family members are made to feel welcome at the home. One parent said, ‘The staff are amazing and I am made to feel very welcome in the home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The continued use of door alarms on children’s bedroom doors is not clearly risk assessed or reviewed to demonstrate the need for their use in relation to safeguarding and welfare reasons. This limits opportunities to ensure that bedroom door alarms are only used to keep children safe, and reduces children’s right to privacy.

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

Children say that they feel safe and are happy in the home. This was clear in the interactions observed by the inspector between the staff and children.

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

Staff complete face-to-face and online training to support the children. They are confident in following procedures to protect the children. Children rarely go missing from the home, but staff understand how to respond if they do and how to support children when they return.

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

Staff complete relevant key-work sessions with children that explore issues that are related to children’s plans. These sessions help children to develop their Inspection report for children’s home: 2567789 4 understanding of healthy and safe relationships both inside and outside of the home. These sessions help children to feel listened to. Any issues raised are acted on by the staff and manager.

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

Staff are skilled at de-escalation, and there has been a reduction in the number of times that children have had to be held for their safety. When interventions are used, these are recorded well, and the children and staff are spoken to afterwards. The manager also ensures that he has oversight of these incidents and supports the staff team to reflect on and learn from them.

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

Consistent and clear boundaries are in place. This ensures that children receive safe, reliable, and predictable care. Risks are identified, understood, and managed well. Risk and behaviour support plans are detailed and provide clear strategies for staff to reduce and minimise risks.

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

Children’s records demonstrate how each child has progressed and reflect their journey well. However, some records are not written in a way that is helpful for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is committed to improving outcomes for children. He understands the home’s strengths and areas for development. The manager is clear about the ethos of the home and is proactive in ensuring that staff use a consistent and therapeutic approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from access to regular team meetings. A clinical psychologist commissioned for one of the children also supports the meetings. This enables the whole staff team to reflect on children’s behaviours and to continually review the quality of the care that they deliver.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager promotes effective partnerships with the wider professional network. He is a good advocate for children and ensures that they have timely access to the services that they require.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has introduced a behaviour monitoring system. This enables staff to reflect on incidents each month and to consider what worked well and any learning that could come from it. This is helping the team to develop practice in the home. Clear processes are in place to ensure that the team communicates effectively, and that practice is consistent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has taken action to address previous shortfalls in supervision. Supervisions are now practice-focused. However, opportunities to ensure that they are reflective have been missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff say that they enjoy working in the home and feel supported by the registered manager. There has been one new member of staff join the team and this recruitment was carried according to safer recruitment procedures. Inspection report for children’s home: 2567789 5

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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

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 15 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff supervision is reflective and practice based. 15 November

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is necessary and proportionate; 15 November Inspection report for children’s home: 2567789 6 is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that bedroom door alarms are used for welfare and safeguarding reasons only and that their use is kept under review.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff record information in a child’s records in a way that is helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home 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: 2567789 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Horizons (NW) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 17 & 18 Navigation Business Park, Navigation Way, Ashton-On-Ribble, Preston PR2 2YP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Natalie Waterhouse

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Inspector

Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2567789 8 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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