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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2532036 1 Registered provider: Horizon Care and Education Group Limited

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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 provider. It provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The previous registered manager recently retired, and a new manager has been appointed. She has submitted her application to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home. Two children spoke to the inspector about their experiences of living in the home.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2532036 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/08/2023 Full Good 26/07/2022 Full Good 29/09/2021 Full Good 25/07/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2532036 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy and like living in the home. The staff have been able to develop trusting relationships with children in a short space of time. The only new member of staff is the manager, which means children have benefited from consistency of care offered by staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a welcoming feel to it. It is nicely decorated and has plenty of space for children to relax and spend time either together or apart. Children’s bedrooms are personalised. This helps children to develop a sense of belonging and to feel settled in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education and help children to achieve their educational potential. One child who was home educated has been helped with regular tuition away from the home to enable them to take their GCSEs this year. Another child was uncertain about further education after taking their GCSEs and therefore opted to take a part-time job. This was supported by staff, but with advice they have now been able to make the decision to attend college later this year.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a wide range of activities. One child is a skilled roller-skater and staff have helped them to find an appropriate club to enjoy this activity. The children also have opportunities to go out as a group to watch films and to go to concerts. Holidays have also been planned and arranged with input from children, to enable them to enjoy time away from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children who have left the home did so in an unplanned way, as information was not available to the manager at the time of referral. The staff did not have the skills to meet the children’s needs and subsequently the manager worked with placing authority social workers to find more appropriate places for the children to move to.

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

Children say that they feel safe living in the home. Their risk plans are comprehensive and identify their specific risks and vulnerabilities, to ensure that they receive effective support from staff. Children contribute to these plans, helping staff to understand how best to help them. Plans are updated regularly to ensure that all staff are clear about the strategies they should use to keep children safe.

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

Children rarely go missing from this home. When incidents do occur, staff follow children’s plans and take relevant action to ensure that children are supported to return safely. The proactive measures staff take reduce the risk of harm to children.

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

The interactions between staff and children are natural and warm. Staff engage in meaningful conversations with children to help them understand and manage their Inspection report for children’s home: 2532036 4 emotions and behaviours. These conversations are documented well, so progress can be seen.

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

Staff have undertaken relevant training to keep children safe online and help children to understand the positive and negative nature of the internet. Staff respond to issues sensitively, enabling children to make safer choices online.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is new to the home. She previously worked in another home owned by the provider and knows the staff and organisation well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team has remained unchanged since the previous inspection. This has helped with consistency of practice for children. Staff are positive about working at the home. They have the children’s best interests at heart and are committed to supporting them to succeed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children know how to make a complaint and have done so recently. The manager listened to the children’s issues and appropriately acted on their concerns. This was documented and the children were happy with the outcome.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

In the short time the manager has been at the home, she has used monitoring systems effectively to gain an understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. This enables her to take effective action when required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff do not get the opportunity in supervision to reflect and learn from their work with the children. This is a missed opportunity to support staff development and limits the manager’s oversight of the progress and areas for development in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have attended all their mandatory training and complete additional training to help them look after children in a meaningful way. The therapeutic service is undergoing some changes and therapeutic interventions cannot currently be accessed by children or staff as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. Inspection report for children’s home: 2532036 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)  The registered person should ensure that they have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2532036 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Gemma Waddington

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Inspector

Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2532036 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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