Children's home run by Horizon Care and Education Group Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 2509452 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

The home is run by a private organisation and is registered to care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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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 inadequate

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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

Date of last inspection: 8 February 2023

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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: 2509452 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/02/2023 Full Good 15/03/2022 Full Good 10/03/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 15/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2509452 3

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improvement to be good

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

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improvement to be good

The home is well presented, and children’s bedrooms are decorated to reflect their personal interests. Children say they are happy living at the home.

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improvement to be good

However, there has been some staffing instability due to many of the core staff team leaving, which means leaders and managers have used and will continue to rely on non-permanent staff to provide care and support. This does not give children the opportunity to build trusting and meaningful relationships with the adults who care for them.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to remain in contact with people they care about. Family time is well managed to ensure that children enjoy quality time with their parents and siblings. One social worker shared how staff are proactive in the role they play in facilitating family time.

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improvement to be good

Children’s emotional and physical health is well managed. They attend routine appointments and are supported to access specialist services to meet their individual needs. Leaders and managers routinely communicate with the organisation’s therapist for guidance on how to support children effectively.

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improvement to be good

Children’s social interests are promoted. Children say they feel listened to and have opportunities to take part in activities of their choice. For example, staff have arranged to attend a music concert with one child.

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improvement to be good

Children are making progress in education. Staff have supported children who previously were not in school to attend regularly. They provide incentives and rewards linked to children’s attendance. When children are absent from school, staff are good advocates for children to return to their academic provision.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have not ensured that non-permanent staff members have the training and knowledge to fulfil their role and responsibility to safeguard children. For example, during the inspection, it was identified that not all staff had completed their mandatory training, and agency members of the team had not received the necessary training to ensure that their response to safeguarding incidents followed safe and best practice. Inspection report for children's home: 2509452 4 Safety plans provide guidance for staff to follow to help them manage the behaviour of children. Plans prompt staff to consider referrals to specialised services so that children can receive targeted support to protect them from further harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff work closely with partners to identify training for children to help them understand risks connected to their behaviour. This is discussed in key-work sessions, along with measures they can take to keep themselves safe. However, key work is not being completed with children in accordance with the home’s policies, which means that children have limited opportunity to discuss key issues with their key worker.

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improvement to be good

There is a proactive response to allegations. Records demonstrate that leaders and managers investigate allegations in accordance with legislative guidance. During this process, staff are encouraged to reflect on their own practice and learning to prevent similar incidents occurring in the future.

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improvement to be good

Newly appointed staff undergo recruitment checks to ensure that the safety and well-being of children are not compromised. Where candidates have previously cared for vulnerable people, references are sought. If references cannot be obtained, leaders and managers demonstrate how they have considered what risks this poses to children before allowing someone to start their employment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager post is vacant. The last registered manager stopped managing the home on 31 July 2023. A new manager has been managing the home since that time and had applied to register with Ofsted. However, this manager has recently withdrawn their application to register. In addition, the current responsible individual has resigned from their role. However, a new responsible individual has been appointed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff say they feel supported by the manager. However, they do not routinely receive supervision where they can reflect on their practice and consider areas for development. Leaders and managers do not dedicate time to review staff competence and identify support needs to ensure that children are receiving good enough care and that staff are confident in their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managerial oversight of the home is poor. Leaders and managers do not have systems in place to monitor and evaluate the quality of care given to children. This has resulted in shortfalls in staff practice being missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staffing arrangements in the home are unstable. Several members of the core staff team have left or are absent from the home. Consequently, there is an over-reliance on non-permanent staff members, which increases the potential for children to experience instability in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The core staff team is up to date with mandatory training. However, leaders and managers have not made sure that mandatory training for bank staff is not Inspection report for children's home: 2509452 5 outstanding and that agency workers have the skills and knowledge to safely meet children’s needs. Inspection report for children's home: 2509452 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 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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

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; and

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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)(b) (2)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide consistent care to each child.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must 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 in the home. 3 April 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2509452 7 In addition, they must ensure that robust systems are in place for monitoring of the home and making sure children are receiving regular key-work sessions.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that mandatory training for all staff, including non-permanent staff, is up to date and kept under review. In addition, they must be certain that agency workers have the relevant training to meet children’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers should provide staff with support through regular supervision.

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home.

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person so appointed; and

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Requirement Due date

the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) (2)(a)(b)) 3 April 2024

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2509452 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

Chibuzo Otache, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2509452 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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