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

Inspection report for children's home: 1234243 1 Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care for up to three children. There were three children living at the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager is not yet registered with Ofsted.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1234243 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/06/2022 Full Good 08/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/09/2021 Full Inadequate 11/12/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1234243 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy spending time with staff at the home or going away on holiday. Staff provide children with lots of nurture and praise. This supports children to build strong and positive relationships with staff, which helps children to make progress in many areas of their lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are regularly sought and taken seriously by staff. Staff have responded to children’s wishes, for example, by purchasing new equipment for the home, such as gaming consoles. Staff are working with one child to provide a more balanced and nutritious diet that also meet the child’s food preferences, after the child had talked about their likes and dislikes.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in their care planning and staff advocate effectively on their behalf. Staff write records about the children in a nurturing and sensitive manner. However, one child’s name has been spelt incorrectly at times. The manager has responded to this to ensure it does not continue but the records have not yet been altered to the correct spelling.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When a new child moves in, staff carefully consider the impact on children already living at the home,. On one occasion, staff felt that the information provided by the local authority about a child did not correspond with the behaviours they observed. Although staff raised their concerns with the local authority, they have not effectively challenged the lack of information they were provided with. This has created instability for children, due to an increase in disruptive behaviour.

p.3

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

The manager acts quickly when concerns are raised about staff practice. Any investigations are carried out following advice from the local authority designated officer and in accordance with the home’s policies and procedures. The manager remains in regular and proactive communication with the children concerned and promotes their welfare. However, at times there has been a delay in notifying Ofsted.

p.3

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

Children are physically restrained only as a last resort to keep them and others safe. The manager has effective oversight of all records in relation to behaviour management. The manager challenges staff if he feels there are areas for practice development. Staff seek the views of children following physical interventions. Children understanding their rights to make a complaint.

p.3

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

Staff promote open discussions with children. When children feel angry, staff try and support them to understand the underlying reasons. Staff use age-appropriate methods to enable children to voice their feelings and frustration. With one child, Inspection report for children's home: 1234243 4 they referred to an animated character to help the child understand what they were feeling.

p.3

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

If children cause hurt or upset to others, staff have not always encouraged children to make amends. Staff have usually postponed the child’s activities because of their behaviour. This does not support the child to understand how their behaviour impacts on others. The current manager focuses more on rewards to support positive behaviour and is moving away from punitive consequences.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children have good relationships with the manager and other members of the management team. They enjoy playing games with the manager and there is lots of laughter and fun in the home. Children feel able to approach the manager for help or to ask advice. The manager makes himself available to children and staff because he understands how important this is.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the manager, who is committed and dedicated to helping children and staff achieve their potential. Staff said morale had recently improved and they have grown in confidence in their care practice. Staff have regular opportunities to reflect with the manager on their care practice. Staff practice would further improve with developmental appraisals of staff undertaken by the manager.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager seeks training for the staff to meet the children’s evolving needs. This includes working with external agencies to use their knowledge to develop staff to have a greater understanding of children’s needs. As a result, staff feel well equipped to provide the children with effective care. The manager understands that staff development and training are fundamental to providing the best possible care to children and so he accesses training quickly for staff to improve their knowledge and skills.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has built positive working relationships with external professionals who support the children. These agencies appreciate the transparency of the manager and his willingness to collaborate with them to support children. The manager also tries to build positive relationships with children’s family and friends. This helps the children feel supported in seeing their family and friends, and leads to them feeling settled and content in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 1234243 5

p.4

Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that regulation 19(2) details sanctions that are prohibited in behaviour management. Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.38)  The registered person should ensure that all staff must have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least annually. This appraisal should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and

p.5

Recommendations

children in the homes care. As part of the performance management process, poor performance should be addressed in a timely plan to bring about improvement. This recommendation was made at the last inspection and is restated. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should challenge (under regulation 5(c)) any placing authority who asks them to accept a child in the absence of a complete and current information. It is essential that homes understand what will be required of them before they accept responsibility for a child’s placement, to avoid disruption and instability for the child in future and for other children in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.5)  The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are

p.5

Recommendations

notified to HMCI without delay. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)  The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful record-keeping. This includes ensuring the child’s name is spelled correctly throughout. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the children have varied and nutritious food options which include their preferences. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.3) Inspection report for children's home: 1234243 6

p.5

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: 1234243 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 12, Venture House, Prospect Business Park, Longford Road, Cannock, Staffordshire WS11 0LG

p.7

Inspector

Ellen Monk, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1234243 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8