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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1276216 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 private company. The home provides care for up to three children aged between 10 and 17 years who have complex social and/or emotional needs. It may also continue to provide care for children when they reach 18 to support a planned move to an adult placement.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2022.

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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: 17 January 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: 1276216 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/01/2023 Full Good 08/11/2021 Full Good 03/03/2020 Full Good 19/03/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1276216 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved into the home and one child has left the home. At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home, as well as a young person who recently turned 18 and is waiting to move to independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a warm, welcoming environment where children thrive and make good progress. Staff take pride in the appearance of the home and ensure that it is a comfortable space for children to enjoy living in. Children help to choose decorations for their bedrooms and each child’s achievements are celebrated with certificates displayed on the walls. This helps children to feel comfortable and valued in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children recognise the good care that they receive. They gave overwhelmingly positive feedback about living in the home and discussed staff treating them as they would their own children. One child had asked to return to live at the home after living there some years ago. The child said, ‘This is the best home I have lived in. It’s amazing.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Support for children’s independence is a strength of the home. Children are supported to take responsibility for self-care tasks, including washing and keeping their bedrooms tidy. When children are approaching adulthood, they are supported to understand budgeting, study and work opportunities, and how to cook. This support allows children to feel well prepared for adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend education or engage with a tutor if they are not attending school. Most children make good progress, however, one child who is not attending school has very little structured time or access to informal learning opportunities and there is no clear plan in place. This means that staff are missing valuable opportunities to help the child learn and prepare for the next stage of their education.

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

Children trust the staff who care for them and know that they can confide in them. Children discussed feeling safe and knowing that staff will support them with difficult issues. One child had recently disclosed some concerns and worries and was supported to understand why this information needed to be shared with other professionals.

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

Staff understand children’s needs and vulnerabilities very well. Robust risk assessments are in place and are updated regularly to reflect current issues. The home’s approach to risk is a balanced one, and strategies are put in place in consultation with children’s placing authorities. Inspection report for children’s home: 1276216 4 Children rarely go missing from home. When they do, staff use their knowledge of the child to know what action to take. Return home interviews are completed and consultation with the child’s placing authority helps to inform a robust plan to manage future risks.

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

Physical interventions are rarely used in the home. When they are required, they are only used as a last resort and are proportionate to the risk posed. Children are supported to reflect on incidents and try different ways to manage their feelings, to avoid further physical intervention being necessary to keep them safe.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted through the use of praise, rewards and incentives, however, the use of consequences in the home is not fully understood by staff. This has resulted in inconsistent recording of consequences, making it difficult for staff to identify patterns and trends or assess whether the consequences are working effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced and qualified manager. The manager leads a stable team of staff who are very committed to the home and the children living there.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager promotes reflection during team meetings and staff supervisions and in clinical consultation meetings. As a result, staff are open to sharing ideas and are keen to try new ways of supporting the children. On one occasion, discussions with the home’s clinician led to suggestions for resources that could be used to help a child manage their anxiety. The manager quickly purchased the resources and staff are now using these and helping the child to express their feelings in a worry journal.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a very good advocate for the children. She has built positive relationships with children’s placing authorities and is able to challenge them when needed. On one occasion, the manager advocated for a child whose planned move to adult accommodation had been delayed several times, and was successful in securing his move without any further delay.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff undertake a range of training to meet the needs of the children in the home. However, the training records do not provide full information about all the training completed by staff. As a result, the manager found it difficult to evidence the extensive training that staff have completed to help them care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most of the staff have completed the required qualification. One member of staff has not achieved the qualification within timescale. There have been difficulties with a new training provider, which have caused further delays. This was also highlighted at the last inspection and remains an ongoing problem. Inspection report for children’s home: 1276216 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff in a care role, including external agency or bank staff, must have the qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). The registered person may extend the period if the member of staff has not worked in the role for a prolonged period, such as sick leave or maternity leave, or if it is not reasonable to expect the member of staff to complete in this timescale due to the nature of the hours they work. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.12)  The registered person should ensure that the ethos of the home supports each child to learn, emphasising the value of independent study and reading for enjoyment. The home must make available suitable facilities, equipment and resources for learning. This specifically relates to the home having a clear routine

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Recommendations

in place for children who are not attending school, and providing informal learning opportunities in the home and community. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 29, paragraph 5.18)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. This specifically relates to consistent recording of the use of consequences. It also relates to ensuring that a full record of each staff member’s training is kept in an accessible way. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes 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: 1276216 6

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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: 1276216 7 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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