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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1256795 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 and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties, and mild to moderate learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 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: 30 November 2022

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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: 1256795 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/11/2022 Full Good 03/03/2020 Full Good 11/04/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/01/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1256795 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in the home and they make good progress from their starting points. Each child has personalised photo album that they take with them when they leave the home. These books remind the children of the things that they have done with staff while they have lived in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff record the positive praise that the children receive in their journals. The children can read these at any time. This helps them to understand that no matter how bad they believe that their day has been, the staff always remember the good things that children do.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff speak to the children about other children moving into the home. This helps the children to prepare themselves for the dynamics of the home changing. These sessions are revisited. This reinforces to the children that changes to the home are going to happen, and keeps an open forum for the children to speak to the staff about any worries or concerns that they may have.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress with their education. One child has 100% attendance. When children refuse to engage with their education program, the staff make attempts to engage the children in educational activities outside of the home. Despite the best efforts of the staff, one child’s engagement with their education remains sporadic. The registered manager is working with other agencies to support this child to return back to school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers discuss the children’s presentation, and any changes in their behaviour, with the therapy team regularly. Any changes to the children’s needs are evaluated well, and new strategies are then discussed with the staff. To improve the therapeutic input, the care staff tap into the therapeutic team for support as and when needed. This means that the children get the appropriate support and care when they need it most.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children seeing their families. The staff support this time through meaningful activities. One child wanted more time with their family The registered manager advocated well for this, and it now takes place. This means that children spend quality time with the ones that they love.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children like their bedrooms and they are personalised with their belongings. There are lots of books and games in the home to keep the children entertained while they are in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is generally well maintained. However, some maintenance issues have not been repaired in a timely manner. Some of the walls in the home are marked, one sofa in the living room has a large rip in the seat cushions, and the cupboard in the downstairs toilet is damaged. Inspection report for children’s home: 1256795 4

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

Children’s risk assessments include their known and presenting risks. These documents identify the clear actions and strategies that the staff must follow to reduce the children’s risks. The assessments are updated as and when the children’s needs change, and are reviewed monthly by the leaders and managers.

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

Staff manage any incidents of racist or derogatory language from the children to each other and towards the staff, appropriately. The staff speak with the children regularly to help them to understand how unkind words can make others feel. Staff revisit these discussions, to further raise the children’s awareness of how bullying makes others feel.

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

Any physical interventions that are used, are documented well. These records provide an overview of the incident and how the staff have tried to deescalate this. The children and staff are given time to reflect on the incident. This allows everyone to learn and understand what happened, and what could be done differently.

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

Allegations from children are taken seriously. The registered manager has a multi- agency approach and works in consultation with the local authority designated officer. The registered manager speaks to the children to check in on their welfare following incidents. This shows the children that what they say is taken seriously.

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

Children do not go missing from this home as they have stable and trusting relationships with staff. Staff do know what they must do should the children go missing. One child’s missing-from-home protocol has clear actions for staff to follow to help locate the child should they go missing. However, another child’s protocol was not clear. This oversight hinders the staff from providing a consistent and agreed response to this child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is highly respected by the staff and other professionals. He has a hands-on approach and has created a culture where there are high aspirations for the children to succeed. This has embedded a positive culture in the home that provides the children with a safe and secure home environment where they can flourish.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager takes staff misconduct seriously. Any incidents of poor staff practice are addressed formally, and in line with the provider’s policies and procedures. The registered manager supports the staff to reflect on their practice, and he is clear about what they need to do to improve. This in turn sets high standards for practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive high levels of support and encouragement from the registered manager, including regular supervision sessions and team meetings. During these meetings the registered manager encourages ongoing reflection and discusses Inspection report for children’s home: 1256795 5 research-based practice. This ensures that staff have the relevant skills and knowledge, and remain up to date with the children’s changing needs. The staff team provide a high standard of care that is extremely child-centred.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training is up to date and they receive development sessions that are specific to the needs of the children. There is an effective system in place that highlights when staff have completed their necessary training and when this needs to be redone. This ensures that the staff have an exceptional awareness of the children’s specific diagnosis, and helps them to understand the children’s behaviour better.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is aware of the home’s strengths and areas for development. The effective monitoring systems help leaders and managers to highlight any shortfalls. This enables the registered manager to act on these without delay. As a result, the service continues to evolve to ensure that the staff are able to meet the children’s needs consistently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is excellent communication between professionals and staff. Leaders and managers attend the children’s meetings and advocate on their behalf. This means that all professionals are working towards the same plan for the children. When there are barriers in children’s plans, the registered manager will challenge other professionals, and take appropriate action. This has resulted in children having extra resources to help them with their learning. Inspection report for children’s home: 1256795 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children environment is welcoming, and that any damage or maintenance is carried out in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when a child goes missing from the home that the protocol in place includes a strategy to minimise this risk, and includes a timeframe for when the child should be reported missing to the police. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.24)

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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: 1256795 7

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Oliver Scrimshaw

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Inspectors

Gemma McDonnell, Social Care Inspector Ed McCallum, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1256795 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.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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