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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2573144 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 home is owned by a large private provider. It provides care for up to two children who experience complex emotional difficulties. There was one child living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has recently left the company and the position is currently vacant.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 1 February 2023

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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: 2573144 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/02/2023 Full Good 06/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2573144 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has left the home and one child has moved in. At the time of the inspection, there was one child living at the home. Moves in and out of the home are well planned, which helps children to have positive transitions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with staff, even when their complex emotional needs mean that engagement can be difficult. One child discussed feeling safe and said they know who to talk to if they have any worries. They felt confident that they would be listened to and supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming. Children are encouraged to choose how their bedrooms are decorated. When children struggle to maintain clean and tidy bedrooms, they are supported by staff to understand why that is important, while also respecting the child’s views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are supported. Staff ensure that they attend all routine appointments and also seek medical advice when needed. Referrals are made to specialist organisations to help children get the support that they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children do not always attend education. Staff work with relevant professionals to secure local school places and welcome tutors into the home to work with children while they are out of school. However, the home does not provide enough structure when children are not attending school and there is a lack of informal learning to complement tutoring sessions. This means that children are missing out on valuable opportunities to learn informally.

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

Children are supported to understand their behaviour and to act in a socially acceptable manner. Positive behaviour is promoted using rewards and incentives rather than consequences.

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

Children are supported to reflect on their emotions through individual discussions, and staff support them to engage in therapy sessions. Children are helped to develop strategies to manage difficult feelings. One child uses a ‘self-soothe box’, with items that help them to calm. The home benefits from access to a clinician who is available to support staff to meet children’s complex emotional needs.

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

Staff have positive relationships with the police and are proactive in seeking support. On one occasion, police visited the home to discuss online safety with a child to help them understand the risks and learn how to keep themselves safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2573144 4 Managers are quick to act when staff practice falls below the expected standard. Thorough investigations are completed, and the necessary disciplinary action is taken to ensure that children always receive a good level of care.

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

Staff recruitment is generally safe; however, the provider does not always ensure that the necessary checks have been completed satisfactorily before agency staff work in the home. This means that managers cannot be confident of the suitability of agency staff.

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

Staff show a good understanding of risk; however, risk assessments are not always updated with new behaviours or strategies to manage them. On one occasion, a child’s risk assessment was not updated after they accessed inappropriate material on their phone, even though additional safety measures had been implemented. Recording of risk assessments needs to be improved to ensure that staff are always aware of current risks and how to manage them.

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good

The registered manager has recently left the organisation and the post is currently vacant. The home is currently being overseen by the manager of another home while the company recruits a new manager.

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good

Staff work well with children’s placing local authorities. When children are unsettled, staff are proactive in requesting stability meetings to consider ways to support the child to remain in the home. This demonstrates the home’s commitment to the children living there.

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good

Staff complete a range of training, which includes training specifically linked to individual children’s needs. When new needs are identified, the manager is quick to source new training so that staff have the skills and knowledge to meet those needs.

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good

Monitoring systems in the home are in place but are not always effective. Manager audits are not always completed in line with the organisation’s own processes. As a result of audits not being completed regularly, opportunities to identify shortfalls have been missed. Shortfalls include significant incidents not always being notified to Ofsted quickly enough, care planning documents that are missing and documents being difficult to access due to changes in computer systems. Inspection report for children’s home: 2573144 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, 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 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that audits are completed in line with company timescales. They must also ensure that serious incidents are notified within appropriate timescales. In addition, they must ensure that documents relating to children’s care are easily accessible and available for review. 28 December

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— 28 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2573144 6 full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to recruitment checks for agency staff.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that all children’s documents are on file and up to date, and that risk assessments are kept up to date, with new behaviours and strategies to manage them. 28 December

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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.

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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

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that staff provide structure for children who are out of education by engaging them in informal learning opportunities when they are not at school. 28 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2573144 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: 2573144 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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Inspector

Vicky Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2573144 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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